Sony’s next PlayStation 3 update, firmware 2.40, will deliver several features that owners have been wanting for a long time.

We’ll let the Sony dudes explain the new features in detail in the video following the jump. For the most part, the enhancements include:

• the ability to access and move throughout most of the PlayStation’s interface, known as the XMB (or Xcross Media Bar), while in-game
• to read or send messages while in-game
• to change the music selection in-game, creating a custom soundtrack
• and to keep track of your success with Trophies, which is a more elegant Achievement system than the Xbox 360’s.

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Years ago, when product developers were thinking up what’s next, an obvious choice was electronic devices connected to each other, first through cables, then wirelessly as technology improved and the Internet became more important in our lives. At the center of this discussion was always Sony, the worldwide consumer electronics leader.

Sony invented the Walkman and portable music. It set the standard for high-quality television with the Trinitron and Wega. It popularized and legitimized gaming with the PlayStation. It seemed only natural that Sony would lead us into the brave new digital world.

Oddly, this never happened.

So the news today of Sony’s latest grand plan to rule digital entertainment rings hallow, even pathetic, as companies like Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, Amazon, and others forge ahead with innovative products and services. Sony, sadly, is left playing catch-up.

The highlights of Sony’s announcement include:

More networked devices

Sony Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer outlined the company’s plan at a news conference in Tokyo. At the center of the initiative, Sony wants 90 percent of its electronic products to wirelessly connect to the Internet by 2011.

That seems a bit obvious. Shouldn’t every consumer electronics device connect to the Internet these days? Our refrigerators will. Our cars will.