Sony Ericsson working on a PSP phone, minus the Ericsson?

Look, we've heard our fair share of PSP phone rumors, and there's really no reason to trust this one any further than your average baseless musings, but if Marketing Week's "sources in Japan and Korea" can be trusted, Sony's PSP phone could be hitting shelves as soon as Christmas 2009. What does seem clear to these shady sources is that Sony won't be forking over the PlayStation branding to its Sony Ericsson partnership, and instead will build its PSP phone all by its lonesome. Other "details" from "analysts" are slightly less legit-sounding, with some stating it would be "relatively easy" to work phone features into the PSP since it already includes WiFi. Um, ok. Still, reasonable or not, this is clearly a rumor that will never die -- until Sony builds the dang thing, in which case we can start talking up a sequel.

[Thanks, Alex]

[HAI 2 U @ Jun 27th 2008 10:18AM]

that's gonna be one big ass phone ...

[E71 @ Jun 27th 2008 10:34AM]

or one small-ass screen for a psp!

[Aguiluz @ Jun 27th 2008 10:20AM]

Stop the chatting and start producing!

[Aguiluz @ Jun 27th 2008 10:20AM]

Stop the chatting and start producing!

[Aguiluz @ Jun 27th 2008 10:20AM]

Double posted...

[hiko36 @ Jun 27th 2008 10:24AM]

I'm very proud.

[Ethan @ Jun 27th 2008 10:32AM]

No need for it to be double-sided, really. You could have it slide down under the geometry buttons for a keypad, and maybe slide it up to put UMD's in? And why have the menu buttons where they are on the PSP? They'd be useless in phone orientation.

Mind you, looking at the article, the 'patent' is from somewhere else. But the article doesn't make a lot of sense. Making walkman phones was a strategic error? It's the best thing they've got against iPods right now.

[SHoe @ Jun 27th 2008 11:15AM]

I still kind of like this concept that was floating around a while ago:

http://www.2dayblog.com/images/2008/february/se_psp_phone.jpg

Needs some work but it looks like it could do. I think the UMD is the biggest obstacle to a PSP phone. It sucks battery and it's frickin huge. I knew that was stupid when I first laid eyes on it. They should have just gone with memory stick based games,

[DrXym @ Jun 27th 2008 11:08AM]

It doesn't need UMDs. They could sell games through PSN or the phone provider. If they had to provide UMD functionality they could always stick it in the docking station that you use for charging the device. Just sync a game / movie while charging and you're good to go. They'd have to figure how to prevent users from swapping games with each other but I'm sure they could strike a reasonable balance (e.g. requiring a resync every 30 days or 30 plays, whichever was first)

[Ethan @ Jun 27th 2008 11:24AM]

Routinely sending gigabytes of data down pipes (or moreso over the air) still isn't a good idea, I think. I think video downloads, or things like xbox originals work because users who don't have the network capacity have alternatives. I don't think you can use it for an essential part of the device.

[DrXym @ Jun 27th 2008 11:37AM]

That depends what type of games you want to buy and how much it costs to buy them. Lots of PSP games use a lot less space than the 1.5Gb max limit. A 3G PSP phone could comfortably download lots of titles in 10 minutes. Bigger games might require more time, but hey if you're not paying for the bandwidth what does it matter?

And if there was a UMD docking station you can still play all your old games too. Just sync 'em to the phone. An 8 or 16Gb phone is easily enough to hold 10 or more games depending on their size.

There is absolutely no reason to have the UMD in the phone. If you must have UMD, buy a PSP. A phone would have to be a lot smaller, lighter and power efficient. The UMD is obviously the first thing to go.

[Ethan @ Jun 27th 2008 3:19PM]

I think I'm doing the maths different to you or something, because I think it's infeasible. By all means PSP should have downloadable games, but as for now the most popular games are the ones like Crisis Core, which do use most of the disc, but ultimately neither of us can know either way, they don't release those stats.

For your hypothesis to work, advertised speeds have to work all of the time. However, coverage is rubbish, within that coverage you have to be very near a mast for full speed, and congestion or general inadequacy means it falls short of being 'mobile broadband.' It also depends on Sony's servers delivering it full speed too. It also depends on the theoretical maximum of the network. A few have a decent 7.2mbps but people won't be willing to get the expensive plan with it (mainly those services are bundles with business phones) and generally it's a more pithy 328kbps.

Also, They'd take their sweet time putting them up for download. Partly this is because the original contracts with Sony's developers and third=party publisher will not have covered formats other than the UMDs. The games industry is a lot more sensible than the TV industry but these things do take time.

Not that it's a bad idea, it's just one that outreaches it's grasp.

[Todd @ Jun 27th 2008 10:32AM]

Personally I could care less about the iphone. This psx phone is the one I've been waiting for. Just come out already!

[Kaiser-Machead @ Jun 27th 2008 10:34AM]

"Look I can't talk right now I'm in the middle of Code Lyoko here!" *click*

[hiko36 @ Jun 27th 2008 10:35AM]

Why wouldn't they just keep the current PSP form factor and add a phone feature? No need to reinvent the wheel here people.

[hiko36 @ Jun 27th 2008 11:03AM]

Also a touch screen for the keypad.

[DrXym @ Jun 27th 2008 11:10AM]

That would be a recipe for failure. It would sell as well as the Nokia NGage and with good reason.

[hiko36 @ Jun 27th 2008 11:26AM]

The Ngage was not an established name. The PSP is.

[DrXym @ Jun 27th 2008 11:47AM]

You're kidding I hope. If you think someone is going to hold up something the size of a PSP to their ear you are seriously, seriously deluded.

Nokia was (and possibly still is) the largest phone seller in the world, and they found out the hard way that games or not, no one is going to hold some stupidly shaped slab to their ears just because it can also play games.

Any PSP phone would have to be at least 2/3 the size of a PSP and a good deal lighter. Sony are good designers so they hopefully know this for themselves.

[natels @ Jun 27th 2008 10:47AM]

Now in GTAIV, for PSP, you'll have to actually answer the phone and try to understand Little Jacob yourself.

[Podaman @ Jun 27th 2008 12:16PM]

What gwan rasta? Can I close the window, hot box. Seen? One love Niko.

[yode @ Jun 27th 2008 1:56PM]

aw blood clot mon

[gabe @ Jun 27th 2008 10:53AM]

Wow - again Sony losing track - we don't need another "function"!!

gps, chat, video, mp3, etc. BRING US GREAT GAMES!

[tekdroid @ Jun 27th 2008 10:57AM]

I'll only buy if they let me peck my digits and letters with PSP's current virtual keyboard.

[broli @ Jun 27th 2008 11:15AM]

Psssssssst engadget...Have you noticed that the openmoko is out to consumers since a few days. Oh I guess they didn't give you a bunch of them and and some of their market stocks. So it's not worthy to mention.

[DefPo3t @ Jun 27th 2008 11:19AM]

hey troll
http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/22/openmoko-freerunner-looking-good-for-early-july-release/

[Paul @ Jun 27th 2008 11:53AM]

Interesting idea, but lots of reasons not to care right now. 10 years of complaints haven't taught the "opensource phone" community that a 2.5 mm phone jack isn't where it's at? Blazing EDGE speeds too much for you, then try GPRS. Sound good? Want to buy one? Just try. Oh, and no press release to announce this wonderous even. Do they have FCC certification for a US release of their NA tri-band model?

[Cougar @ Jun 27th 2008 11:18AM]

My opinion on the PSP phone is that they shouldn't try to make it a real phone.

Just put a quad band chip in there (plus 3Gs) and give it bluetooth, so it would be intended to always be used with a headset or loudspeaker.
No need to put the big PSP against your face to chat.

Along the way they could give the PSP: a touch screen, an accelerometer, a better screen (higher res and maybe make it an AMOLED for better quality and energy efficency), an nvidia tegra chip and longer battery life.
Yeah dream on!

Also they could lose the UMD drive, make it even slimmer and add some internal mem.

[Moloch_the_Mystic @ Jun 27th 2008 12:17PM]

They have the picture out, they released it on Yahoo yesterday:

http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/is-this-the-playstation-phone-/1221430

[Tony @ Jun 27th 2008 1:21PM]

That's not it.

[NightBlade @ Jun 27th 2008 12:18PM]

Not gonna' happen.

[majortom1981 @ Jun 27th 2008 12:26PM]

Just because they are patenting one doesnt mean they will make one.

Nintendo has a patent for a gameboy phone that never materialised thats pretty old.

[thedesolate1 @ Jun 27th 2008 12:30PM]

I Believe its a FAIL... they should just start working on the psp2 witch should use memory sticks and not UMD and the PSP phone should be a PSP mobile platform like what nokia is doing. Otherwise neither will be fully profitable since they will compete against each other. We have already seen the failed Ngage. Plus with 3G and VOIP slowly creeping up on carriers and considering most video gamers are some what tech savvy a psp phone isnt a good idea.

[GiF @ Jun 27th 2008 12:38PM]

Wow
next thing they need is a DS phone, that'll make TONS of money...

[BratPAQ @ Jun 27th 2008 4:42PM]

maybe same form and size of psp, but will have a small bluetooth headset clinged into it.

[Erica @ Jul 27th 2008 9:50AM]

I think the phone should be a little cooler, with more memmory, because i don't think that one thing can hold a lot. your right about, maybe changing the form of the psp too. but other than that it still needs just a little more work.