[quote name='Grave_Addiction']I don't think they're as important as before because every PSP up to 2.6 can now run homebrew, and the dead pixel issue is a deal killer for me. But that's just me.[/QUOTE]
True, 2.6's can run homebrew but they can't run *all* hombrew apps. Only 1.5's can run 100% of all homebrew. All other firmware versions only run about 75% of all homebrew apps. And also, like someone earlier mentioned, only 1.5's can run UDM iso's too.
And although there isn't anything that can repair dead pixels on your PSP, there are hombrew apps that will fix *stuck* pixels, which is what most of the pixel problems on PSP's are.
New loaders are already out for 1.5 PSP's that let you play legit 2.0+ UMDs plus run homebrew. Soon 1.5's will be able to do everything 2.6's can do and more, so I'd bet the prices of PSP's with 1.50 firmware are going to rise.