1.5 Firmware has been released in Japan and should be available in the US tonight. Japanese translated page of features
http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?message.uid=27514583#U27514583
Note the following:
I don't really know what that means but I think the first means you can send messages while playing a game now.
Second one might mean you can download in the background.
