Sources are confirming that the upcoming PSP2 prototype that Sony is apparently showing to developers will not offer UMD support. The PSP2 will finally kill UMD for title storage. Instead, the PSP2 will use a combination of onboard 16GB of flash memory and memory stick slot for storage.

The biggest news, however, might be what our sources confirm is a lot of processing power. According to the whispers that we are now hearing, the PSP2 has as much raw processing power as the Xbox 360. While we have not been able to confirm the exact hardware specs, we hear that it does have 1GB of RAM that is coupled with a very high performance and low power processor.

The unit is expected to use a download purchase system very similar to the PSPGo, on which it is believed much of the strategy for the PSP2 will be based. It is unclear if the download title will be the only way to obtain games or if games will be available on memory sticks at retail. Sources tell us that it is still up in the air while Sony continues to talk to third-party developers to get a feel for which direction they want to see the device go.

Still, many developers have concerns about hardware and software protection, as piracy has been a problem for the previous PSP platform. Sony apparently is telling developers like the ones that we spoke with that they have a plan to deal with the problem; but are apparently is providing little in the way of specifics so far.