You know who knows everything? People familiar with the matter. In particular, they know everything when "the matter" happens to be Sony's handheld strategy for 2010, which is said to finally include an honest-to-goodness
PSP with phone capabilities -- something the world's been demanding
for as long as they've wanted a Zunephone. According to the
WSJ, the device is apparently part of a larger push by Sony to create an iTunes-like Utopian ecosystem of products this year that connect to
Sony Online Service, an ecosystem that would also include a hybrid portable of some sort that "blurs distinctions among a netbook, an e-reader and a PlayStation Portable." Details aren't offered on this particular monster -- but turning our attention back to the phone for a second, it's claimed that Sony's working with it in conjunction with the folks at Sony Ericsson under the direction of Kunimasa Suzuki, an exec largely responsible for the
VAIO line who's also involved with the PlayStation team. Of course, SE's already taken some baby steps toward corporate harmony by bundling
Remote Play support with the
Aino, but everyone knows that PSP compatibility is the panacea; Microsoft finally buckled on the Zunephone thing with the introduction of
Windows Phone 7 Series, and there's no reason why Sony shouldn't follow suit.
posted March 4th 2010 2:16PM
@n8equalsd
ya but considering that the ps3 competes with the 360 and we are talkin a gaming market here it doesnt make sense for either party. becasue w7ps already has live putting any kind of psn on it would be dumb for microsoft, and considering they are gona be controling the divices its not gona happen
Looks very interesting. Might be a little easier to use if it was a clam shell (think Nintendo DS) style. Dual screens would be a nice touch too. Have the controls in a unibody macbook pro type keyboard layout so that the controls are flush with the second screen (the screen would be on the open side facing you, not on the control dock). And have a multi-touch screen (at least 3.7" oled) on the front. Now that would be my ideal PSP gaming phone. Oh and throw in at least 32gb flash or 64gb would be nice for games, music, video, whatever!
Isn't this diagram from 2007?
A PSP with an added phone would appeal to certain people if it is done right.They'll probably copy Apple and go with a capacitive multi-touch screen like the rest of the industry seems to be doing.
@rotarydialz
Patents, patents, and more patents.
That's nice - but it'd be great if Sony could get working on the next big thing, rather than the last big thing.
I'd be happy if someone could put the smackdown on !@()*#@(# touchscreen 'gaming'.
Darn, I was about to get the W995. Seriously speaking, Sony should make this the PSP2 with fancy graphics and sound, dual analogs, a good walkman-video player, gps and a cybershot camera with a xenon flash as well as smartphone capablities. They should bite the bullet as we have already seen convergence with the cell phone being a camera, pmp, gps, Internet browser with Flash and smarthphone. It should finally just make an all in one device that has little compromise in capability. Yes, I know that it would be expensive, however, why should I compromise? I only spend money on cellphones as they do everything but there is always that either-or. The SE W995 has great media capabilities but a mezzo-mezzo camera. The C905 has a great camera but a mezzo-mezzo media player. We all know that it could be done. Sony worries about cannibalizing? Someone else will do it and eat Sony's breakfast, lunch and dinner. What if Apple makes the iPhone 4g with a real xenon flash? Then it will be able to do most things good. We don't want to carry four or more gadgets. I don't. I love my SE800i, 3.2 megapixels and indestructable (Most of the time I drop it on purpose to show how good it is made) but the media player is lousy. One gadget to rule them all. That to me is the holy grail.
@lnm4444 The w995 and c905 are almost identical in features, and i personally own the w995 and find the media AND camera capabilities superb, although laggy but what do you expect from the software (it being sony of coarse) .
@lnm4444
get the W995 - it's amazing, and the camera is very good too
@DariaMorgendorffer and keanu096,
I will get the w995.
I don't like the idea of a phone+game system anymore. I tried this with the iphone and (besides missing buttons) it sucks to run out of battery when phone/sms can be really critical. I'm on a droid now and stay away from installing any games lest I find myself playing one while waiting to meet up with a friend until it dies and he can't call me. Keep the game system internet ready and yes allow apps besides games.
Sony via the PSN and all their content can create a real alternative to iTunes and more importantly have an ecosystem of great hardware to leverage.
My only qualm with this phone would be the ever so elusive battery life problem. Maybe they can include some sort of lithium battery back up for support. From what it seems, this phone is meant for heavy usage at all times and providing a power source powerful enough to support it's intended uses is of paramount importance.
Careful Sony, I think Apple just took out a patent on "a thing that makes calls and stuff."
That image looks like a huge fail. a 9-key phone paired with a gaming device? No one bought it the first time when it was called the N-Gage. Microsoft has a much better approach to bringing games to WP7 with the XBox tie-in. People are after a smartphone first, and by the pics, this isn't gonna cut it. Maybe in 2001 this would have been great.
@trainwrecka
The almost near (maybe absolutely) perfect concept of the PSPhone.
http://ludoslegio.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/psp-phone-2.jpg
PSP touchscreen, cyber-shot (12mp) and android (double boot) AND it beat's EVERYTHING!
does it have to be a phone? i would hate the idea of getting a handheld games console on a contract...
theres already a psp phone (sort of)
every psp after the fat one has had built in skype and ever psp after the 2000 model has had a built in mic so you dont need any dum headphones
if you had one of them portable hot spots you can technically make calls from the psp anywhere :P
Make it similar to this and I'll put down my money.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/22/moblic-e7-stuffs-wimax-qwerty-a-gamepad-and-all-our-dreams-an/
i wonder how many GHz it has to have to play ps2 games?
@sonyforlife
Well apparently my PC needs more than 3.
Let the hackings begin!!!
I think Sony's formula for market dominance is much more simple than we might think. And I guess they're starting to realize it now. They should centralize ALL their media in one area or market place like itunes. PSP/PS1/PS2 Games, ebooks, music, movies. AND enable ALL of their devices to access said content. Think of it: MP3 players, ebook readers, cellphones and laptops that ALL access content from ONE DEDICATED source? Can you say "bigger than itunes"? And oh yeah, one device that can access ALL of that content AND make calls? Hmmm...Sounds like a true iphone competitor to me.
I will go to whichever carrier that has this phone. done deal!
Anybody else find it ironic that the acronym for Sony Online Service is S.O.S?
God, this is going to fail so hard that the universe will invert on itself.
Anything!!!! and I mean anything Sony makes now better have 2 Fu@kin joy sticks on it now. I don't give a SH&T if they start making key chains and toilet paper, it better have 2 damn joy sticks or I I'm buying it!!! lol or capacitive touchscreen to hell with resistive.
I think that the reason Sony Ericsson has dropped off the radar, as far as phones are concerned, is build quality - exactly why Sony is so popular!
SE may well have done the same trick that Motorola did, for the opposite reason. Instead of great product design/poor interface, they have managed great interface/shonky product quality - most people I know in mobile say SE has "the best user interface, the shoddiest build".
I know so many people who watched their w880 disintegrate with great sadness... and will never go back.
If there's a PSP phone, it will need to take advantage of the Sony build quality, otherwise it will just sink another nail into SE.
@benscottrobinson Funny you should say that. My SE800i has survived my hip flask falling on it, it fell on some rocks on a beach, it fell on a concrete floor and marble floors as well. That were the accidental falls. Most of the time I drop it myself from an arms height to any surface to show how darn robust it is (about 40-50 times in it's life). I've seen SE phones take punishment and shrug it off. However, my father's se770 has broken it's screen after one fall and he had to get another one. I'm going to get a w995 and not be so cavalier with the robustness. 99% it will have an accident, I am clumsy unfortunately but if it does stat disintegrating or breaks after one fall, I will take my business elsewhere. That is why I left Nokia, as their phones need to be handled like eggs and were delicate (and the darn thing ate my memory).
The only way to make this work, and not turn out like the pspgo is make it out as a completely new device and not simply a PSP 3000 with a mobile antenna bolted to the back. Bring on the PSP2, make the SDK publicly availiable and relatively cheap like the iPhones, introduce to up to date hardware (that snapdragon looks nice, eh, sony?). Perhaps we could be onto a winner
It would cost too much money and would be too difficult. Marketing/servers/contracts and universal hardware/onboard developers/consumer trust is too hard too obtain. You can't just throw money at a good idea and find it successful.