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Sony's PlayStation Phone finally gets Xperia, PlayStation logos
We've heard of the mysterious, still-totally-unofficial PlayStation Phone running Android 2.2 in the past, but we'd also heard it could run 3.0 -- thing is, that was back before we knew Gingerbread would be 2.3, so it's possible that those 3.0 rumors ended up materializing as 2.3. Capiche? Anyhow, this is the first time we're seeing the Xperia Play (or Zeus Z1, or whatever it'll end up being called) running 2.3 in the wild, doing its thing next to a white Xperia X10 to give you an idea of scale. The lucky poster actually has two of the phones available, so they seem to be leaking out of factories in sufficient quantities now to suggest that it'll likely be announced soon -- or so we hope, anyway. CES? MWC? We'll know soon enough. Follow the break for the 2.3 evidence up close. Also notable: these appear to be new hardware builds that feature refined touch surfaces -- notice the engraved circles -- along with PlayStation-themed and Xperia logos at the bottom (notice the telltale square, triangle, X, and circle shapes). The screen shots call out a model number of R800i, which has previously been associated with the Zeus... so this is definitely lining up nicely. [Thanks, Sze] %Gallery-112492%
Japanese paper pegs PlayStation Phone for spring launch
In case you needed any more evidence that Sony is ramping up to launch a gaming system on a phone in the next few months, here you go: Japanese rag Asahi Shimbun says that the PlayStation Phone -- which could be known as the Zeus Z1, Xperia Play, or something else altogether by the time it's on store shelves -- is expected in the spring of 2011 for a North American and European release. That lines up with virtually everything we've been hearing lately, and it's also fortuitous timing considering that both CES and MWC are right around the corner; we don't know what Sony Ericsson might have on tap for CES, but we definitely know they're planning some new Xperia-branded models for MWC. There are many questions left unanswered -- how (and if) any of this ties into the standalone PSP2, how gaming titles will be purchased, and how many models will be available that support the platform, just to name a few -- but hopefully Sony can clear all that up here within the next few weeks.
Sony's Kaz Hirai talks up virtues of touch controls, weighs in on PlayStation phone
The PlayStation phone keeps popping up time and again, and still no one at Sony is going to flat-out admit anything -- but that hasn't stopped playful speculation. Even SCE chief Kaz Hirai is joining in the fun. "We don't want gamers to be asking, what's the difference between that [a PS phone] and a PSP... we have to come up with a message that users will understand," he told The New York Times. "It would have to be a product that keeps the PlayStation's strengths intact." So that's the issue, then, differentiating a new PSP and a variant with phone capabilities -- nothing a good marketing campaign can't fix, if you ask us. But enough about the phone, what of the PlayStation's portable brand in general? Hirai seems to fancy touch controls, actually. "Depending on the game, there are ones where you can play perfectly well with a touch panel," he said, adding that "immersive games" -- the ones he think are Sony's focus, vs. the more casual fare offered by Apple and Android -- do well with physical buttons, and that some games work well with the two. We can't help but notice he said touch panel and not touch screen, which reminds us of the touchpad we saw on the PS phone leaks, but we wouldn't want to harp too much.
Exclusive: PlayStation Phone 'Zeus Z1' prototype benchmarked on video
We can't get enough of Sony Ericsson's PlayStation Phone (also known as Zeus Z1), and we're guessing neither can you. We were just sent a new video of the device in action, only now it's running Qualcomm's Neocore benchmark app. As you can see, the device managed 24.4 frames per second on average. That doesn't seem like much -- our Nexus S, for example, just pulled off 55.6fps -- but bear in mind, this isn't the final software (or hardware probably), so there's no conclusions at all to draw from this benchmark right now. Just think of it as another nice view of the phone as we inch closer to a finish line we still can't make out over the horizon. Sorry, no slide-out gamepad, but you saw that last week -- don't be greedy. Video after the break.
Android 2.3 definitely supports game controls, may (or may not) be PlayStation-related
Google's really been big today on emphasizing that Gingerbread is better than ever for game development, and that's already bearing itself out thanks to a page culled from the Android 2.3 SDK where we see a handful of new keycodes in the system clearly targeted for gaming: L1, L2, R1, R2, Select, Start, and so on. Does it have anything to do with the Sony Ericsson Zeus Z1 and all the PlayStation phone noise, though? We imagine it lays some of the groundwork, but all told, it's hard to say -- after all, PlayStation famously uses shapes for its primary controls, and we wouldn't be surprised if Sony were working on a separate development environment of some sort for PlayStation-branded titles rather than letting it all flow through the official Android SDK proper. We also don't yet know whether Sony Ericsson's gaming efforts are coming in the Gingerbread or the Honeycomb timeframe (though we're definitely expecting news next February at MWC), but one way or another, game devs should find it a little easier now to map the controls they need.
PlayStation Phone 'Zeus Z1' caught on video again, this time you can actually see it (update)
Wow guys, we just spotted a new video of the PlayStation Phone, codenamed Zeus Z1, and this time we get a long, loving look at the entire device -- a refreshing contrast to last time's blurry tease. In addition to appreciating just how fat this phone is, and just how real it is, you can clearly see a "PlayStation" icon, which should hopefully put to rest any doubts that this phone will actually play PlayStation games. Check out a close-up of the icon after the break. Oh, and by the way, there's no audio on the video, your computer is not broken. [Thanks, Sha] Update: There's another video! Check out a brief look at the PlayStation app after the break...
