Cross-game text chat has been around since April, but voice chat has so far been a no-show. Kotaku writes that they tried to contact Sony for a truly official response, but only received a curt reply:

As you know, we haven’t made any announcements on upcoming firmware and don’t comment on rumour or speculation.

It’s quite possible that the next firmware update will in fact bring cross-game chat, but I think we’re getting a bit too excited over a forum post. [Playstation Forums via Kotaku]

First, we already know that apps running in the background as a process is possible on the iPhone. The iPod app, SMS app, and various other apps all run in the background now and continue running no matter where you go in the phone. Also, user-made Installer.app apps like Apollo (an IM client) already run in the background just fine. So why did Apple make this limitation that all apps have to quit whenever the user switches out? Memory management. From Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines for the iPhone:

Apple has no idea what combination of applications you could possibly install on your phone, and they can’t control it. If you were to install two apps that took up loads of the iPhone’s memory (we’re talking RAM), and they both ran in the background, it would slow down the phone’s other, more important tasks such as calling or iPodding. If this were the case, Apple would be blamed for making a slow or non-responsive phone even when it’s not actually Apple’s fault. This is exactly the thing that goes on in Windows Mobile devices. It’s fine when you’re just running normal, natively-installed apps, but when you get to multi-tasking with your own installed programs, the phone becomes sluggish and everyone curses Microsoft. Apple wants none of this.

So the implication to you, the end-user, is that you can’t have apps running in the background, constantly checking the internet. This means no RSS reader that’s always up-to-date and no IM apps that always sit in the background, listening for messages. If you’re wondering Exchange’s push email and calendars are going to work in this scheme, it’ll be integrated into Apple’s first-party Mail system, which can be allowed to run in the background.

But in the end, it’s only a small portion of apps that are really affected by this rule. Games or utilities can save their app status to disk often so that you can resume where you left off when you start it back up. But until the iPhone allows SDK-applications to run in the background, you’re probably better off using a web-based chat application in Safari (which already has permission to). [Tech Crunch]

Our momentum will continue with the introduction of in-game communication in the summer, firmware update 2.4 and the strongest line-up of games through our third party partners and our own studios. I’d personally like to thank our trade and business partners for helping us on the start of the PS3 journey.

So, there’s going to be improved in-game chat (maybe expanded to every game via an in-game Xross Media Bar?) that’s even better than the chat we’ve already used now? Sign us up. [MCVUK via Kotaku]

On the other hand, if the bubble could be mounted on a hat and the text could be punched in using a mobile phone or something similarly compact, it could be a fun way to engage in a conversation. Until you were tired of looking like an idiot that is. [Project Page via Make]

But Sergei Shevchenko, a malware analyst at PC Tools, says: “As a tool that can be used by hackers to conduct identity fraud, CyberLover demonstrates an unprecedented level of social engineering.”

Is that an endorsement or a condemnation? Either way it proves my point about y’all going around visiting .ru sites. It’s only available in Russian, where it takes far fewer words to get a lady excited, as long as those words include “fur coat,” “vodka,” and “diamond-studded rims on my Bentley”. If you do speak Russian, however, and want to CAREFULLY check out these claims, jump to Reuters for a link to the nasty.

CyberLover goes on sale February 15, perhaps as a suicide remedy on the morning after Valentine’s Day. [Reuters]

First of all, the type size of the messages is way too small on your screen—the text is barely even two points high. You can zoom in, but after every message you send, you must zoom in again. Also, messages don’t come in live; they’re fetched at the same time you send yours, making for some rather halting conversations and missed connections. Overall, it works, but it’s awkward.If you don’t send and receive a lot of messages, you’re probably better off using the iPhone’s SMS service. After all, that delightful iChat-like interface is hard to resist. Another choice if you’re using AIM: you can send messages to an iPhone (or any cellphone’s text messaging system for that matter), if you type +1 and then the 10 digit phone number as your buddy’s name. Any replies to your messages from your cellphone-toting buddy will count as a message, though.

You can also try Meebo, the supposedly do-everything-anywhere messaging service, but all we’re getting at that site when we access it from our iPhone is a spinning cursor. Colleague Jason Chen had some luck with it and was actually able to communicate, but characterized it as “super slow,” and certainly not pantsworthy. Meanwhile, technicians at Meebo tell us they’re working on optimizing the service.

Let’s hope this AIM/iPhone situation works itself out soon. Sure, AT&T wants to generate cash from messaging, but we look forward to the day when we can just use AIM for free on the iPhone, unfettered and easy to use just like the rest of the apps on the iPhone.