Rumor: Firmware 2.7 Details

Neobara of the GT Forums has shared the following allegedly leaked PS3 Firmware 2.7 details today:

"Anyway, A friend of mine works in an R&D department at Sony and recently let me in on the firmware details for 2.7. If you were disappointed with 2.6, you'll probably like what you're about to hear, but it's still missing some very crucial (and heavily requested) features. Here's a list of the things he told me will be changed:"

Friends List:
• Voice Messaging is now available as an alternative to text after selecting a user on the friends list. Voice message recordings are capped at 30 seconds.
• Home Integration: Saved Playstation Home avatar photos can be selected as photo ID for Gamer Card/Friends List.
• Trophy number and Gamer Level are listed under Friend names for quick reference.

Gamer Card & Trophies:
• Gamer Card layout has been changed to more closely resemble the Playstation Store aesthetic.
• Past Trophy information can be viewed in detail by selecting "Recent Trophy History" option.
• Newly aquired trophies auto-sync in the background
• Server infrastructure for Trophies has been optimized. Resulting in faster retrieval time for Gamer Card and Trophy information.

In-Game XMB:
• Loading time for In-Game XMB has been drastically reduced, resulting in a more seemless in-game experience.
• "Theme settings" options while in-game is now available, allowing custom themes to be applied to the In-Game XMB.
• Internet Browser can now be accessed while in-game.
• Voice messaging and voice chat options can be used while in-game.
• Options that cannot be used in the XMB during game sessions are grayed out (but still selectable) to eliminate user accessibility confusion.

Misc:
• Other slight UI tweaks and enhancements.

If this is true we can expect firmware update 2.7 sometime in the second quarter of 2009. Finally the integration of HOME and XMB, even though small a step in the right direction. Will we finally see in-game voice chat? I wonder what Sony have plan for firmware update 3.0.