Imagination Technologies said to have signed on with Sony for PSP successor

Well, this is certainly interesting. While Imagination Technologies itself isn't going any further than to say that it has signed a licensing deal with a "major international consumer electronics company," EETimes.com is reporting that the company in question is, in fact, Sony, and that the deal concerns Imagination's PowerVR architecture being used in the successor to the PSP. More specifically, according to EETimes' unnamed sources, the PSP 2 will be using Imagination's SGX55x core, which itself, of course, still hasn't been officially announced either. As EETimes notes, if that turns out to be the case, it would certainly be quite the coup for Imagination, especially considering that its PowerVR MBX technology has already found its way into the iPhone, among other devices.

[Via EETimes.com, thanks Rob E]

[MrFairladyz @ Nov 26th 2008 8:06PM]

The PSP 2 (for real this time!!!)--

Now with improved speakers!!!

[Peter @ Nov 26th 2008 8:10PM]

I don't care; I'm not buying one until there are 2 thumbsticks!

[Indefinite Implosion @ Nov 26th 2008 8:14PM]

well, if it is PSP2 and they don't listen to the cries for twin joysticks from, well, frankly, everyone...
they are quite the idiots
and ssd
and no umd, but that would require the person to have a means to get the games onto it and make it as easy as simply slipping in a disc...
so hmm...

[Peter @ Nov 26th 2008 8:18PM]

I should dump UMD's and use flash cards. If I'm not mistaken the UMD's have 1.8GB of storage, and since flash cards now in that size are dirt cheap, it would be a much better choice. Also flash cards are smaller, faster, use less power, and they don't get scratched.

[1234321 @ Nov 26th 2008 8:24PM]

and more prone to easy pirating!

[Indefinite Implosion @ Nov 26th 2008 8:29PM]

yeah... and they take up less space so more room for something else or just make it thinner...
oh and i forgot before...
a good res. bright screen that doesn't have interlacing issues...
and (not sure if it does this already) make it so when you connect it to your tv it outputs at 1080p
kthnx.

[steven @ Nov 26th 2008 8:57PM]

"and (not sure if it does this already) make it so when you connect it to your tv it outputs at 1080p"

And the battery will last a whole 5 minutes.

[Indefinite Implosion @ Nov 26th 2008 9:07PM]

yeah well i figured you'd plug some power in at the same time...
well at least it would look brilliant... for five minutes...

[Extinction @ Nov 26th 2008 9:45PM]

PSP already uses SSD, as it's the same thing as memory stick.
If they remove UMD then I along with 99% of the original PSP owners won't be getting one. 100% Backwards compatibility is a absolute must
And I don't want to have to use a PC to install games on a PORTABLE.

[cb88 @ Nov 26th 2008 10:41PM]

The pandora already has the SGX GPU and a 600MHz ARM and 256mb ram (not much chance of the PSP 2 haveing that much)... and is on the virge of shipping where as this thing isn't even announced

PANDORA HAS DUAL ANALOG NUBS!!! emulators for nearly every console pre n64 will be available eventually with many at launch (already demoed PSX Amiga and MAME) and the developers will NEVER lock down the HW . N64 *should* be possible if a capable developer takes up the initiative

not to say there isn't any HW hacking to be done.... the wifi chip and SGX are highly propreitary so you can be sure someone will figure those out to take full advantage of them :-)

so... you guys have fun figureing out how to unlock your devices will pandora owners tweak them to their hearts desire at will (Linux lends itself to a LOT of tweaking and general customization fun)

[cb88 @ Nov 26th 2008 10:50PM]

also forgot to mention but the pandora also uses SD media (for up to 64gb total at the lauch data with likely support for larger single 64gb sd cards)

10+ battery life (about 8 hours max CPU load from tests)

and an excellent clear no ghosting screen with 800x480 res same as in the newer ArchOS

There will also be far more commercial interest in the pandora since it is not manufactured by GPH which made the GP32 and didn't do much to promote comercial gaming on thier device

well... since you can't ordered the Pandora until they guys that preordered the Pandora get theirs you have the opportunity to see review of it before you by just remember Open source projects like the Pandora get better over time it really is amazing the amount of support it already has and it hasn't even shiped yet O.o

[Adam Zey @ Nov 26th 2008 10:54PM]

"The pandora already has the SGX GPU and a 600MHz ARM and 256mb ram (not much chance of the PSP 2 haveing that much)... "

I don't follow. The PSP has a 333MHz MIPS processor and 68MiB of RAM (counting GPU/media processor) . Not that the ARM and MIPS processors are clock-for-clock comparable, but I would be surprised if a successor to the PSP didn't have at least the specs you're listing. Moore's law says that the 32MiB of main RAM in the original PSP-1000 should cost the same as 256MiB of RAM one year from now.

[Peter @ Nov 26th 2008 11:02PM]

@ Adam Zey
Unfortunetly, it isn't 1990 anymore and technology isn't doubling every 6 months; so good luck with that.

[lorddshadow2 @ Nov 26th 2008 11:04PM]

but here's the thing. the pandora, as amazing as it is, is for emulating old systems (at least as far as games are concerned of course). the psp is for new games with the capability to emulate some older systems. some. they're completely different and serve different purposes. so the pandora would need better specs because its like a mini computer. the psp wouldn't need that much, not now at least.

[cb88 @ Nov 26th 2008 11:06PM]

because the 256mb ram wasn't even originally planed due to the cost being REALLY high for those SoCs with that much ram...

The pandora team is cutting thier buget really close to get the first batch out at a wash.. and make the most powerful device possible within the pricing constrains

question is.... will the PSP2 be out in a year? the Pandora is already on the verge if shipping the first batch

and one thing is certain PSP2 with be loaded with all form of DRM and all that ... Pandora will not and will run most of the software available on linux that alone puts it way ahead of the PSP2 which will likely only run its limited set of apps and games to begin with while the Pandora already has the full firefox ported and ubuntu has been demoed on the device on a 128mb ram developer unit and performance was respectable

[Joey @ Nov 26th 2008 11:15PM]

Good luck playing new games on your Pandora. A shame, really, with all that power and all it's capable of doing is emulation and home-brew games/apps, whereas the original PSP touts PS One games and pretty much everything your Pandora can do. Pandora is overkill IMO.

[cb88 @ Nov 26th 2008 11:24PM]

hopefully some awesome open source developers come alone and prove you wrong :-P LOL

[wootman @ Nov 27th 2008 1:50AM]

@joey
Correct me if im wrong, but the psp has a lower resolution, lacking n64 emulation, non touch screen, missing controls, no ability to run as a traditional os/computer, memory stick pro duo rather than 2 SDHC slots, a soft keyboard, much less than 10 hour battery life, and a web browser hardly comparable to firefox. 3.
also the processor is said to be easily overclockable to 1ghz, the 600 figure is mainly to reach the 10 hour point.
The psp2 will obviously succeed in playing psp2 games, but based on what we got on this generation, i think im alright with that.

[loosely_coupled @ Nov 27th 2008 5:06PM]

Pandora has nice hardware, but it doesn't really matter because it's primary use will be emulation, which takes a huge amount of resources to simulate old school hardware. It won't even be able to emulate the Nintendo64, which has incredibly basic 3d graphics...

The PSP on the other hand will have a high-end SGX GPU and possibly an ARM cortext-8 processor, and the games will be programmed in native C/OpenGL so will be able to take full advantage of the hardware...

[Fusion Fuzo 05 - Mr Professional @ Nov 26th 2008 8:15PM]

NICE

[Peter @ Nov 26th 2008 8:20PM]

*They should dump...

[XIYL @ Nov 28th 2008 11:34AM]

The only thing I have to counter that hasn't already been countered is the 8 hour battery life. I have the extended life battery in my 2000 and I get almost 12 with overclocking. The only real issue is the bulge on the one side but I don't even notice it. In my opinion the pros far outweigh the cons.

[Dan Derksen @ Nov 26th 2008 8:29PM]

PSP2 should include this:

Dual thumbsticks
Internal SSD: 8 GB or more
Flash memory
OLED display
Rumble
UMD media reader attachment - to pop all your old UMD's in and transfer the data to your flash memory. ie, no UMD built into the PSP2
3G
Slide out keyboard
Touchscreen....MAYBE....
better shoulder buttons...maybe even an R2, L2
Battery that lasts more than 8 hours
Speakers on the front
Microphone built in
PSP Eye toy built in for video chat
Bluetooth
If it has ALL the buttons...should be able to wirelessly connect to PS3 to use as extra controller
NON GLOSSY SCREEN, if its meant to be portable chances are your gonna use it outside

[Rai @ Nov 26th 2008 8:36PM]

you forgot to add...

200Hr gameplay time

quadband cellular connectivity, since you got 3G, might as well go that far out...

oh, and since all those built in HDD and crap... might as well raise the white flag on the war on pirating...
-> make it open platform to allow custom firmware
-> write a blank check to the R&D, and watch the PSP sell like hotcakes and yet no one buys games...

[Dave Chappelle @ Nov 26th 2008 9:13PM]

Rai he actually forgot to add that he wants one of those foldy OLED's.

he also forgot to add 'kthxbye'

[Extinction @ Nov 26th 2008 9:47PM]

"Internal SSD: 8 GB or more + Flash memory + flash memory. ie, no UMD built into the PSP2"

SSD = Flash memory = Memory stick, which PSP uses
Why'd you list it 3 times? PSP damn well better have an INTERNAL UMD drive.

"better shoulder buttons...maybe even an R2, L2"

PSPs shoulder buttons rule

"Speakers on the front, Microphone built in"

PSP 2000 has speakers on the front, 3000 has a microphone

"should be able to wirelessly connect to PS3 to use as extra controller"

IT does that already

[TopaZ @ Nov 26th 2008 10:33PM]

Why is this lowly ranked? All these technologies are completely commonplace today and would be more than welcome on the next iteration of this console.

Heck, some netbooks have 90% of the things you mentioned.

[Adam Zey @ Nov 26th 2008 11:12PM]

Most of what he lists is perfectly reasonable. But I'd counter:

- Internal SSD: 8 GB or more -- Not needed, use a memory stick or SD slot
- Flash memory -- This is SSD
- OLED display -- Probably too expensive/short lifespan by the time the PSP2 needs to be on market
- 3G -- Not needed, this isn't a cellphone.
- Slide out keyboard -- Not needed, this isn't a PDA. This would consume way too much space in the chassis
- Battery that lasts more than 8 hours -- Unreasonable considering current battery technology.
- NON GLOSSY SCREEN, if its meant to be portable chances are your gonna use it outside -- Not sure this would really help. Going OLED would help more, but that'd be expensive and would suffer from lifespan issues.

[LiQuiD_FuSioN @ Nov 27th 2008 12:07AM]

I think he's referring to SSD as in a high capacity device that emulates a hard drive built inside. Probably around 64GB to 128GB.

Not sure why no one else sees that. Regular memory cards don't offer that much space yet.

[El Taco @ Nov 27th 2008 12:22AM]

@TopaZ

do you want your PSP to be as big as a netbook? cuz with all those features it probably would be close.

[sam @ Nov 27th 2008 6:14AM]

@LiquidFusion

SSDs are basically made of lots of regular memory cards duct-taped together. That's why they are larger than a single SD or CF card, and that's why they still cost quite a lot for large capacities. There isn't a fundamental difference in the technology as far as I'm aware. (I mean the controllers are probably different, but same basic stuff.)

[Orbital @ Nov 27th 2008 7:41AM]

What the hell.

For cryin' out loud, it's a portable game system, not a notebook.

[1234321 @ Nov 26th 2008 8:29PM]

unless the only thing I'm sure is gonna be on this PSP2 will be a touchscreen, with the success of both the DS and iPhone, I think Sony will go ahead and add that. Still they can make more powerful than the successor to the DS and iPhone, similar to how the PSP is more powerful now, and core gamers will be more satisfied so long as there are good games

there still is the possibility of dual nubs, consider how the PSP is popularly used as a PS1 emulator now, the Sony would miss a real jackpot having the PSP2 do the same for the hundreds of PS2 games so if PSP2 also turns out to have few really good games, they can fall back on the vast PS2 library

[kilerscn @ Nov 27th 2008 1:56PM]

Errrr, NO, i can proclaim that if sony goes down the "we are going over the top funky but totally ridiclous and short lifespanned, irritating to hold just to survive" Nintendo route i will most certainly NOT be buying a PSP2, just as I have NOT purchased an iphone, a DS a Wii or any other system that wants to pretend to be a good system.

Touch Screen = Fail.

[Smoke_Dawg_187 @ Nov 26th 2008 8:52PM]

Why not use the Cell processor? I thought they were going to try to get that thing in mobile devices.

[cb88 @ Nov 26th 2008 10:58PM]

PS3 = CELL = VERY TOASTY :-)

seriously though the CELL Is power architecture based at its core (a mediocre PPC CPU + additional processing units that add uhmph) which wasn't designed for low power situations like the MIPS processor in the PSP or the ARM processors in most cell phones (and the Pandora :-) )

even with a reduced size fab process i doubt it could beat the proformance per watt of an ARM cortex also don't forget the upcoming Arm cortex A9 processor IS multicore so that is going to be really cool to see how that works out in handhelds

[BJ is Gooder @ Nov 26th 2008 9:08PM]

Is it a crazy y idea for them to make it a phone also?
Just sayin'...what's to hold them back from turning the psp into an actual iPhone competitor?

[Dunhill @ Nov 26th 2008 9:25PM]

Maybe cause its Sony Ericcson's job.

[1234321 @ Nov 26th 2008 11:17PM]

i would love an Ericsson Playstation phone
in fact, why not add Cybershot in there, my last phone was an Ericsson Cybershot, and the quality of everything was superb, and the camera was outstanding, and since the PSP mp3 player isn't so hot, better throw the Walkman guys in there too
an Ericsson Playstation Cybershot Walkman phone, I'll pay the premium for that

[Omair @ Mar 18th 2009 3:01PM]

yea?
then i'd say, its screen is not soo amazing, why not make it a BRAVIA?
and since all this adds upto d new PSP being close to a computer why not make it a VAIO as well?
there u have ur, Sony Ericsson Playstation Cybershot Walkman Bravia Vaio!!! how amazing is that?
i'd too pay a premium for it!!

[CiZiN @ Nov 26th 2008 10:56PM]

@ Everyone complaining about the speakers/mic

I have a first gen PSP and i use my iPhone headphones. They work perfectly. Perfect sound and a perfect microphone. I recommend you get a pair.

[lorddshadow2 @ Nov 26th 2008 11:07PM]

you're not serious right? apple's box-in headphones are horrible. get something better. ANYTHING. just not those.

[cb88 @ Nov 26th 2008 11:22PM]

@Lordshaw2 you do have a point there but... the Pandora will not ship with Ubuntu by defualt (It will be available probably by downloading a disk image and coping it to SD or somehting along those lines)

The default pandora distro will be Angstrom Linux which is highly optimized for small devices such as the sharp zarus also it will not be running the bloated desktop version of X11 but the faster Kdrive version which uses less ram and does about the same thing... so yes ram usage on the device by default should be minimal

The also have a package format standard so all the functionality will work whatever UI you choose the idea is to make it really well integrated for new Linux users to easily get use out of it without haveing to know the ins and outs (although that option is still there)

Also note the pandora already has commercial interest for ports from the dreamcast and other commercial games unlike the GP32 and GP2X commercial games will be there perhaps not in the quantity of the PSP but for instance i have nearly 150 free games installed on my Debian Linux box didn't pay for any of them and they are all legal of course I don't like all of them but there are plenty to keep me busy

also there are some more advanced Linux games comming out like Spring Glest and TORCS and so on Linux can be and is a pretty good gaming platform I have 2 nearly identical PCs same video card in each one is a P4 with XPsp3 the other a similarly powered sempron Debian 5.0rc1 Linux 2.6.25 I have the same version of several games installed on each (FoFix a fretsonfire mod that looks decent, quake3, saurbraten flightgear TORCS) and the FPS and responsiveness is nearly always higher on Linux

[ace587 @ Nov 26th 2008 11:43PM]

give me my PSP Phone Sony Ericsson!!!!

[Shinigami @ Nov 27th 2008 5:21AM]

Why? If you want to carry a bulky phone with you at all times, get N95/N96, it will actually have more functions than PSP2

[Jesus Frias @ Nov 27th 2008 3:07AM]

it would be amazing if sony makes this the first device to push the PSN above Xbox Live... they cane dump the UMD drive (like everybody is begging for already) and go with flash cards and SSD combination and bring the future of gaming to the present with full digital distribution for their device...it would be challenging at the beginning knowing that some people STILL have no access to the internet but this change would be amazing for the gaming industry (not including GAMESTOP)

[tekdroid @ Nov 27th 2008 7:26AM]

Imagination Technologies,
Congratulations on having one of the most unimaginative company logos I've seen.

Regards,
Joe Consumer
(reading your press releases while chomping on salted snacks)

[Anand Patel @ Nov 27th 2008 9:29AM]

How about 100% digital delivery..? Games downloaded via PSN.. And for those without internet ?, they can just walk into the local game store where the game can be transferred via a "wireless pod". This way, all the high street stores can stay in business and will also reduce game piracy.

[kilerscn @ Nov 27th 2008 1:59PM]

Look what happened to the N-Gage...

[michaela @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:03PM]

Half of what you guys are saying makes no sense to me lol. I need to get more tech savy I guess...hmm..my camera is bulky but I don't complain...then again I plan to be a pro photographer...I agree I would'nt want a phone/psp togeather...nope...I don't even have a cell phone...cell phones are crappy alot of the time...there's always something new out...I'd rather wait a long time..than get something that I'm not even going to like...or something better is going to come out later...why waste my money when I could spend it s/t more sweeet later for the same price...or at least wait till the price goes down,..hehe..if only battery power tech would advance more things would be easier hehe...