Debunk: Revenge of Stuff's Sony Ericsson PSPhone mockup

The gaming community is buzzing this morning from some supposedly leaked scans of a possible PSPhone would give it a full 480 x 272 display, mini-analog stick, and drop UMD in favor of playing full PSP games via M2. Turns out they're scans from Stuff magazine from months ago, which seems to have passed under everyone's radar (including our own, initially) because so few people seem to actually read it.

[Via PSP Fanboy, with help from Engadget Español]

"New in 2008: July-Dec
Top box: Between both keyboards there is a 3 inches screen with the same resolution of the PSP (480x272 pixels) which guarantees a good gaming experience. Good as well for movies.

Lower right box: PSP functionalities were replicated in this architecture, making possible that all PSP games can be played. It won't have UMD slot, but it'll have M2 cards instead

Left box: Slide on one side and you'll find a joypad with analog stick for PSP controls. Slide to the other side and a number keyboard will show up enjoying the ergonomics of Sony Ericsson.

Plenty of opinion, final word: Probability of existence: 35%"

[Larryi5 @ Feb 17th 2008 12:12PM]

I think this is pretty badass however i find it fake for some reason

[Michael Ishigaki @ Feb 17th 2008 12:39PM]

This phone is definitely nice looking. But like you, I doubt it will ever come out. It won't sell well. People don't want a two year contract attached to a gaming device. The majority of consumers will purchase devices that specialize in communication (iPhone, Voyager, etc) instead of devices that specialize in things that are unrelated to the phone's service. In other words, why purchase a device that is a "portable gaming device... And oh yeah, a phone" when you're paying per month for it? Consumers would rather have a dedicated gaming device and, separately, a very good phone. Other consumers would rather have a "very good phone... And oh yeah, it plays a few games."

:)

[m @ Feb 17th 2008 12:55PM]

could the reason be that the post title says it's a MOCKUP? talk about people not reading!

[Aguiluz @ Feb 17th 2008 12:58PM]

Two year contract? Why not EBAY it, then unlock it.

Dark Alex should get one of these, then it's homebrew time!

[Tiptup300 @ Feb 17th 2008 5:18PM]

Now thats a phone I would buy. If the thumbstick was on the right. Is sony seriously making this mistake again? At least use one of those laptop nubs.

[superfresh @ Feb 17th 2008 5:30PM]

I tell you what, even if this was only a Skype phone, it would be badass. If this is going to be worth buying, though, they MUST add another analog stick, boost internal memory, get away from MemoryStick (not likely, I know), improve DAP functionality, include a brower that uses flash, and FINALLY get an online store worth using so I can buy media from the phone, a la iPod. If Sony is going to bust this out, they have to recognize that Apple has set a bar that must AT LEAST be matched. Adding PlayStation gaming to a device that equals the functionality of the iPod touch/iPhone and creating a better online store could really put Sony over the top.

[Sam Winter @ Feb 17th 2008 6:13PM]

Why do people look at the pic and then comment without FUCKING READING THE DAMN ARTICLE?!?!?!
GOD THAT DRIVES ME INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sam Winter @ Feb 17th 2008 6:13PM]

Why do people look at the pic and then comment without FUCKING READING THE DAMN ARTICLE?!?!?!
GOD THAT DRIVES ME INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jason_T @ Feb 17th 2008 8:27PM]

@ M. Ishigaki - I'm not sure what portion of the population I represent, but I think you're full of poop. I'd buy that in a heartbeat, I'd sign a two year contract, and I'd replace my 1st Gen PSP because of this phone/game's sexiness. Also not sure what marketing research you have performed to base your claims on, but my observation has been that handheld synergy is all the rage: pda + phone, music player + phone, camera + phone, internet browser + phone, a combination of all the aforementioned... this just seems like the next evolution and your analysis seems completely unfounded.

[sonyxxx16 @ Feb 17th 2008 12:15PM]

hy if u want i can give u a translation cuz the pic is from stuff magazine and i have it in romanian, i can translate it if u want

[packetsniffer @ Feb 17th 2008 1:13PM]

They already got it translated...

[Tom @ Feb 18th 2008 1:18PM]

This is exactly the same article as the December Issue of Stuff Magazine (UK version) along with a load of other mockups they did. I was just about to throw mine out and have put a scan up here:

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c369/tomallen35/stuffscan.jpg

File size had to be < 1MB, but it should still be readable.

[Mike M. @ Feb 17th 2008 12:28PM]

It appears fake, as the bottom right corner of the article looks to be stating theres only a 35% probability this thing exists. It's probably a mock-up, albeit a very cool one. Hire them SONY!

[Daniel De Arazoza @ Feb 17th 2008 12:14PM]

That is not spanish engadget. I want to guess that it is portuguese. Either way its a nice A** phone.

[James @ Feb 17th 2008 1:19PM]

When are they gonna learn? 2 Analogs or don't fucking bother.

[Justin @ Feb 17th 2008 5:08PM]

yea, 2 analog sticks ftw

they should switch the location, it'd look better if they had a d-pad for navigation instead of sony's shapes.

[alex @ Feb 17th 2008 12:15PM]

You may have difficulty translating that from spanish to english because it appears to be portugese

[adrian @ Feb 17th 2008 2:29PM]

Umm... If your Spanish-speaking bureau is having problems translating this it might be because I think it's Portuguese.

[ProudWiiOwner @ Feb 17th 2008 4:37PM]

i noticed urs after I posted mine! lol

but yeah, ese papel e em portuguese

[R Herrera @ Feb 17th 2008 12:16PM]

Ryan,

That's not Spanish, looks like Portuguese to me.

[Ireland @ Feb 17th 2008 2:02PM]

Guys, we get the message - it's Portuguese!

[Dan Erhardt @ Feb 17th 2008 8:14PM]

Hey i think that is portugese.

[Chebwa @ Feb 17th 2008 12:17PM]

That design is really, really, really fucking legit for a game phone. Except I hope that nub you see when it's closed isn't an analog stick. Ouch.

[Dan @ Feb 17th 2008 12:25PM]

It's not closed, it slides both ways

[Chebwa @ Feb 17th 2008 12:35PM]

Ugh. Nitpick. The phone being closed, that is. Let me make a correction.

* "closed"

[Sam Winter @ Feb 17th 2008 6:15PM]

You and those gay emo-kid pics... Every week it's a new one...

[Chebwa @ Feb 17th 2008 6:19PM]

...a white t-shirt = emo kid? You're really digging deep, man.

Let's see ya change that default icon to that sexy mug I'm sure you're hiding back there. : )

[A @ Feb 18th 2008 8:32PM]

You got some nice tits.

[Rui @ Feb 17th 2008 12:19PM]

Yep, that is Portuguese, and they basically refer the N-Gage as the inspiration for this phone. They say it has a dual slider mechanism like the N95 (one side for the psp controls, another for Sony Ericson's). Their end phrase says "We have a fertil imagination, don't we? Or maybe not.."
Nice work thought, looks like a cool device.

[rupaniii @ Feb 17th 2008 12:20PM]

That's a pretty good fake, because the reflections look a bit like 2 phones laying on a table in a diagonal manner in relation to the ceiling and the celing being composed of overhead office lighting, hence the two rectangular highlight pattern.
i would buy that phone and have no issues downloading the games from my PS3.

[dj-kenpo @ Feb 17th 2008 12:21PM]

that photo is clearly too clean for a leak. more like a render.

the design looks like one of those cheapo knock offs from china.
sony would add more 'sony style' to it. for better or worse.

it's clearly fake but do you really need anyone to explain that too you? if so, my cousin who was a king in a foreign land just died and we need soem help transferring the millions.

[jaalin @ Feb 17th 2008 12:23PM]

that's real cool, but i would imagine the screen would be much too small for some games, especially those involving text (crisis core, for example?)

[ShortFuse @ Feb 17th 2008 12:23PM]

Portuguese not Spanish, but this is what I could translate (knowing Spanish)
Top right: Something about a second keyboard then there's 480x272 3" display. Good for games, good for movies
Right: Buttons are the same architectures as the PSP model. The device will play PSP games but without having a UMD drive, it would be from an M2 memory stick
Left: The bottom slide one side for D-Pad and one analog stick while the other is the keypad, this will all the ergonomics you've come to expect from Sony Ericsson
Bottom: The first REAL Mobile Phone/ Game Console will surface one day in 2008
Goes on talking about fluff (Nokia vs SE; N-Gage vs PSPhone). It says it's a dual slider like the Nokia N95 (meaning it has a qwerty under the display). It says it mixes the comfort of the PSP and the a SE phone. Says it'll stream movies over Wi-Fi, and use LocationFree TV.

And the last thing it says: "We have a fun imagination, as you can see. Or perhaps, we don't?
Probability that this will exist: 35%"

Fake.

[jbhitter24 @ Feb 17th 2008 12:31PM]

did you just post this story about 5 minutes ago with a different headline, delete it, and then repost? or am i just crazy?

[Ryan Block @ Feb 17th 2008 12:36PM]

Yeah, changed the article a few times to reflect new information as it was coming in.

[Shadowfox952 @ Feb 17th 2008 12:50PM]

.... I want. Badly.

[Iain @ Feb 17th 2008 12:50PM]

Only 480x272?

Come on, if the Xperia X1 is going to get full WVGA, surely they can stretch to the that.

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Feb 17th 2008 12:52PM]

htc made the xperia

[Iain @ Feb 17th 2008 3:08PM]

Apart from Engadget's story on HTC manufacturing the Xperia and one other site which claims some mysterious Chinese publication has said it's true, I've seen nothing stating that HTC are actually the manufacturer.
It can't be considered to be any more than wild speculation at this point.

Also, since (AFAIK) HTC have never produced phones with a WVGA display before but Sony Ericsson have produced a large number of them for the Japanese market, I don't see any reason why we should assume they're not producing it themselves - I see no reason whatsoever as to why they would need to use HTC.

[Ryan Block @ Feb 17th 2008 5:07PM]

Iain, it's true. We have a very good track record, and wouldn't publish something like that if we weren't 100% sure. HTC is more than likely contractually obligated not to discuss its involvement in ODM projects, as it's meant to be an invisible process.

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Feb 17th 2008 6:34PM]

http://mobilephoneonline.blog.co.uk/2007/09/21/sony_ericsson_moves_to_windows_mobile_wi~3015713
Go here. It's solid and old proof.

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Feb 17th 2008 12:53PM]

this looks pretty cool but it really reminds me of a model you would find in China trying to pass itself off as a PSP Phone

[Beata Yamin @ Feb 17th 2008 12:56PM]

i'd buy it

[Rui Maldonado @ Feb 17th 2008 1:01PM]

here it goes, the integral translation with the best regards from Portugal.:

Between both keyboards, there is a 3 inches screen with the same PSP's resolution (480x272 px) which ensures great gaming experience. It's also great for movies.
PSP's functionalities have been replicated in the mobile architecture allowing the user to play all existing PSP titles. There won't be a UMD slot – it will use M2 cards to storage.
Slide it to one side, and it will show the analog stick joypad. Slide it to the other side, and you'll get a mobile keyboard with every ergonomics expected from a Sony Ericsson.

The first real mobile/gaming console, might see day light in 2008

You already can buy a mobile walkman, a Cybershot mobile and, in the rising sun's land, a Bravia cellphone. Don't you miss anything? Now that Nokia's Ngage is about to arrive disguised as a common phone, don't you think that Sony should give the giant brand missing to Sony-Ericson? We think so! We think it's time to the Playstation mobile make it's appearance! Until now, the biggest mobile's problem, drawn thinking of video games has been his size. the first Ngage was good for gaming but less functional as mobile. Other mobile/console wanna be's are good for calls and bad for gaming. It's where the double slider mechanism from the PSPhone enters (similar to nokia's N95). slide it one way, you'll find PSP controls, slide it other side around, and you'll find the common layout in Sony Ericsson's phones. The miracles of miniaturization will make PSP's guts arranged inside the PSPhone, allowing the mobile to run existing PSP games and to support multimedia streaming through WiFi, using LocationFree TV.
We have a fertile imagination, as you can see. Or might we not?
Existence Probability: 35%

The only sad thing is that this is just a mock up, and it's marked as so, but only reading the text.
But they do sell those magazines here in Portugal as if the real thing already was selling and is the "State of the art"!

[Nutzilla @ Feb 17th 2008 1:10PM]

This is only some crap mockups 3D model that T3 magazine got some crap random design studio to realise for them. Most of the time they get it wrong. I really hate T3 for doing this as it confuses the consumer and tend to think that the device exists, it sucks.

[Ethan @ Feb 17th 2008 6:55PM]

It's stuff magazine, although you'd be forgiven for confusing the two, they're incredibly similar.

t3 sells more, because it pretends it's random renders are real (see the ps3 mockup which has been floating around).

[frankXchange @ Feb 17th 2008 1:19PM]

Beautiful job, and despite not having the interactive display, could probably find a strong niche in the younger gaming set. Sony Ericson would be smart to hire its designers.

[snitch @ Feb 17th 2008 1:28PM]

i don't know but i don't think a PSP phone is a good idea, i sure won't be waiting on it. Anyone???

[Steve Childs @ Feb 17th 2008 5:58PM]

hmm, the problem is, how are the games going to work, when PSP games are on UMD. It says they can be loaded off a memory card, but I can't see Sony taking this route as it would be very easy to then pirate games!

Unless I suppose, they are somehow locked to play on that phone.

I hope these don't appear until mid 2009 at the earliest, I've only just started an 18 month contract!!

If done right, a PSP phone could well clean up and be even more successful than the iPhone.

After all, there is no smoke without fire, I'm sure Sony are working on a PSP Phone.

[John B. @ Feb 17th 2008 1:41PM]

Oh my god this thing looks like a nightmare to play games on.