Sony HUB service to face-off with Xbox Live?

Next Generation is reporting that according to "well-placed industry sources" they have word that Sony is indeed planning an Xbox Live competitor, and maybe a little bit more. The story is that Sony will be dubbing the subscription service "HUB" and that it will serve PSP users along with PS3 owners. Supposedly Howard Stringer also wants "all media content to be available for distribution over PlayStation HUB" which jives with what we were hearing from that PlayStation Magazine article about a service "like the iTunes Music Store." Next Gen claims that Sony will be announcing HUB within the next few weeks, and as a side note mention rumblings of a September 16 launch date in Japan for the PS3, followed by September 21 launch in the US. Hope Sony fills us in soon though, 'cause we're sure how many more PS3 leaks we can take.