UPDATE 03/20/07: Sony has revealed official details of the update, which we’ve reported on here.

From day one, among those who took a gamble (or stuck to their guns) and picked up a PlayStation 3, there have quite a few complaining that Sony’s new system didn’t have all the features out of the box that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has now. However unreasonable – after all, the 360 took over a year to get where it is – the fact remains that the PS3 has a lot of ground to cover, and Sony doesn’t seem to be wasting any time.

For awhile now, the legendary March update was said to offer everything from background downloading to the meaning of life, and it was called upon again and again to cover any dream features PS3-owners wanted to see on the system. With the month quickly coming to a close, it seemed the March update wouldn’t even be out on time, but at long last Sony has revealed the details for firmware update 1.6, which is set to hit on March 22nd, just in time for the European launch of the system.

Among the new features coming, one of the most anticipated is background downloading, which will allow players to do other tasks on their PS3 while it downloads large files from the PlayStation Network; unfortunately, Sony has stated there will be some limitations, though it won’t reveal them until the update hits.  Our guess is that it won’t allow you to actually play any games while files download, merely navigate the crossbar. The update will also now allow 20GB PS3 owners take advantage of Remote Play to view content on their console, a feature previously limited to the premium 60GB version. Your PS3 will also become a little easier to use as a web browser, with an auto-adjust for webpage font and the addition of a full-size onscreen keyboard. And, finally, Folding@home, which we discussed in a news story last week, will be added to the system, finishing off the additions that we do know of.

As always, we will continue to follow this story. When the update actually releases later this week, we’ll be sure to alert you, as well as tell you about any new features it might introduce. So, be sure to check back at VGGEN often!

Source: IGN