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By now we've come to terms with the fact that the Sony Ericson Xperia Play is not the PSP Phone that we were all wishing for, but we still think it's worth comparing it against the game-centric Sony NGP, announced just a few short weeks ago.

The Xperia Play is the first PlayStation-certified smartphone on the market, which means it will be capable of downloading content from the PlayStation Store. Its 1Ghz Snapdragon processor promises 60-frames-per-second performance without wiping out the battery.

We're not sure if the Xperia Play can satisfy the gamer who wants the latest and greatest from the portable gaming scene, but the Xperia Play will probably offer the closest approximation to it of any smartphone around. The real question is whether consumers will find the need to own an Xperia Play in addition to a portable system like the NGP or 3DS.

For a head-to-head look at the Xperia Play and NGP, consult our spreadsheet below.

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I bought a PSP Go a year ago. Why? Because I believed the PSP could transform, become something more than it's been. Perhaps, even, achieve the promise I first felt when I held the very first PSP in my hands back in 2005. It was a magical device back then. It drew crowds, turned heads. Waiters and subway riders wanted to know what it was that I was holding, how they could buy one. My parents were fascinated. Friends wanted to hold it. A Sony portable device hasn't achieved that original PSP magic since--certainly not once the iPhone … Read more

This video might just amuse but only because no one was hurt in the making of it.

At least not seriously hurt, as in decapitated.

Here is a 10-year-old Italian boy, deeply engrossed in his PSP game. Here he is wandering along a subway platform in Loreto, Milan.

And there he is not noticing that the platform has a limit, after which it becomes, well, railway track.

According to the Daily Mail, it was an off-duty policeman, Alessandro Micalizzi, who leaped down to rescue the boy before a train ruined his life expectancy.

Micalizzi was quoted in the Mail as … Read more

Last week we rounded up our thoughts and impressions of Nintendo's 3D portable, the 3DS. Not to be outdone, Sony revealed the follow-up to the PSP last week in the form of the NGP (Next Generation Portable). Today we'll wrap up all of the news from last week's announcements and say what we think the NGP will cost.

Before our NGP discussion, we're debuting a cinematic trailer for one of our most-anticipated games of 2011, InFamous 2. Then, we'll get a sneak peek at First Strike, the Xbox 360-exclusive DLC for Call of Duty: Black … Read more

In the 3-plus years we've been recording The 404 Podcast, we've gotten really good at pissing people off, and today I messed with the wrong group: New York pizza snobs. It was probably my fault for admitting my excitement over a new Papa John's opening up in my neighborhood, but the secret's out and I can't hide my love for generic pizza anymore. What can I say--I'm a free-agent pizza guy, and what's wrong with Sbarro, anyway?

Getting into some of today's tech headlines, Sony released some kind of handheld gaming device that nobody cares about. Just kidding. Jeff cares so much he took the day off work yesterday to focus entirely on the Sony Next Generation Portable that Brooke Crothers accurately describes as the Apple iPad on steroids.

Jeff breaks down the impressive updates on the NGP including its ARM processor design with four cores that give it about four times the CPU and GPU performance of the iPhone 4, according to Lineley Group senior analyst Joe Byrne.

Another great feature on the NGP is the dual capacitive touch areas on the front and rear that let gamers interact with the device without their fingers blocking the viewing area on the front screen.

It'll certainly require a semisteep learning curve for first-time users, but at least we finally get a portable device that combines the iPhone's capacitive screen with physical gaming buttons.

Caroline McCarthy writes an insanely popular blog on CNET that's now reserved her a spot on a search marketing firm's infographic that asks "Which Female Tech Influencer Are You?"

We have no idea whether or not she approves of this flowchart that kind of looks like something out of YM Magazine in the '90s, but we're proud nevertheless of Caroline for being included alongside other tech pundits like Google VP Marissa Mayer and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. Take the test and hope for the best!

We also have a few decent voice mails to play today, but the well is running dry, so keep them coming! Give us a call at 1-866-404-CNET or record a video voice mail on YouTube and send the link to the404(at)cnet(dot)com and we'll play it on a future episode! And yes, Wilson looks ridiculous in his skully--LEAVE HIM ALONE!! (haha)

Sony's disclosure of the internals of the Next Generation Portable (NGP) PlayStation at an event in Tokyo today reveals a game engine that might be best described as an Apple iPad on steroids. Lots of steroids.

Like the iPad (and iPhone), Sony will use an ARM processor design. Of course, Sony and Apple aren't the only high-profile device makers using ARM chips. Motorola is using an advanced ARM chip from Nvidia in its Xoom tablet, and RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook tablet will tap a powerful ARM chip from Texas Instruments. Both of those are dual-core ARM designs.

But … Read more

A major difference between the NGP and 3DS lies in the two devices' touch-sensitive technologies. The 3DS will reuse the original DS' resistive touch screen, whereas the NGP will have two capacitive touch areas (front and rear), of the type most tablets and smartphones use today (including the iPhone and iPad).

The 3DS' resistive touch screen requires some depression (hence the stylus), but can also respond to a finger press. The technology offers a nice level of precision (like when handwriting or pecking at small virtual keys), but certainly requires a bit of a learning curve when being used in tandem with a stylus.

With the introduction of the NGP's front and rear touch capabilities, players will essentially have another dimension of interaction at their disposal. At first glance the rear pad might seem silly, but after the insightful video to the right, we're beginning to think it might actually provide a more seamless gaming experience. The video showcases a game called Little Deviants, in which the player drags a finger across the rear panel to manipulate the world onscreen. We're excited to see that for the first time gamers can interact with a portable gaming device without their fingers blocking the screen.… Read more

Excuse the stormy portmanteau, but last night's snowbotomy has left Jeff stranded in New Jersey, so Joseph Kaminski from CNET's Digital City Podcast takes his spot and lugs in a 21-inch Apple iMac to show his dedication to desktop computers, and Wilson ain't complaining.

Oh, and in case you're wondering about today's show title, it's a reference to Joey's nickname "Turbo Thundersnow," which stems from his undisputed breakdancing skills and the winter phenomenon in which precipitation takes the form of snow instead of rain.

At a live event in Tokyo today, Sony revealed its next-generation portable gaming device that many thought would be called the PSP2, but the official name is actually the Sony Next Generation Portable, or NGP. Rolls off the tongue, right? Tongue-twisting names notwithstanding, the portable device features a 5-inch high-resolution OLED display that's four times the resolution of the current model and equivalent to the graphics on the PlayStation 3.

The portable device also has a touch screen, but Sony encourages players to use the rear-mounted touch pad to control gameplay without obstructing the display, although it's going to look weird when you see people fondling their NGPs on the subway.

Sony also unveiled a new platform called the PlayStation Suite that will allow first-gen PlayStation games to run on a variety of Android-enabled smartphones and tablet PCs. Sony hopes this will reinvigorate its portable gaming market, especially in the wake of last week's Nintendo 3DS announcement.

Enough about gaming, check out this Chicago-based start-up called Grubwithus that introduces strangers to the world of "social dining."

The service helps strangers meet potential friends by taking care of all the restaurant busywork: the Grubwithus team makes the reservation, sets the menu, introduces the diners to one another, and even calculates the tip prior to the meeting--Grubbers just have to show up, eat, and socialize.

Grubwithus founders Daishin Sugano and Eddy Lu may have accidentally stumbled upon a new way to meet new partners, based on a new study that claims couples end up in bed quicker as a result of "digital intimacy."

The study interviewed a sample set in which 38 percent of women believe texting, Facebook, and other social networking tools break the awkward communication barrier earlier than meeting IRL, and thus help to quicken the many steps to intimacy.

Joey and I work together in the lab and I've observed his interactions with the gentler sex, so Wilson and I pick his brain for tips on how to segue from an online chat to in-person meetups. It's not as easy as you think!

We've been inundated with a barrage of information regarding Sony's successor to the PSP. The Next Generation Portable, NGP, or PSP2 certainly has an impressive amount of news surrounding it, so we've decided to make this post our central hub for all things NGP. Here you can follow all of CNET's coverage of the new device scheduled to ship this holiday season.