Report: Sony considers adding phone to PSP
The newest version of Sony's PlayStation Portable isn't even on sale yet, but the company is already looking ahead to what's next, according to Reuters.
The electronics giant is looking into making a combination gadget that would meld its PSP gaming system with the cell phones made by Sony Ericsson, its joint venture Swedish electronics maker Ericsson, according to Reuters, which cited the Nikkei business daily.
Sony reportedly plans to put together a team as early as July to begin development of the new gadget. Sony no doubt has its eye on Apple's iPhone, which is already popular with consumers and is now getting more serious attention from game developers as a platform for their games.
This isn't the first time rumors of this nature have circulated. In 2007, Sony raised eyebrows with a patent filing that appeared to show a PSP-like device with phone capabilities, and British Telecom said it was working with the company to bring voice and video chat to the PSP.
In the meantime, Sony continues to work on its portable gaming device. The PSP Go, which was unveiled at the E3 gaming conference, is smaller than its predecessors and has a slide-up screen. It will go on sale in North America on October 1 for $249.
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But I think this would be a really smart idea,
The capability's of the psp are really high, the hardware in it overdoes almost all portable devices and phones from these days..
If they can make it work, and "co-operate" with each other, it would be a great product..
Me: Hence why Sony phone sales are in the toilet. I've bought soo many Sony phone but can't do it any longer. Sony is stagnant and they wont fix long standing issues. Any phone that is over a year old (from first production date) they refuse to issue patches... etc.
The Z10i had some badd flaws.
1) Flaw 1. Randomly the phone will stop logging all calls thus, if someone called you and say this flaw kicked-in,, if you didn't answer the phone call (and you knew it rang but didn't answer) you'll see nothing in the call log. Nothing indicating a missed call took place. Likewise if you make a call during this flaw it wont show that in the call log either. Very annoying but Sony refuses to fix it. People all over the net on various message boards have trashed Sony out for this flaw but they don't care.
2) Flaw 2. If you send a txt msg. to 1 person and you have txt message receipt turned-on it will randomly say that your text message went to other additional people in your address book.
3) Flaw 3. There is a software flaw where randomly just be shutting the lid your phone may shut off. (No matter how full the battery even. is)
There is a fourth flaw too but I can't remember it.
The W760a has some flaws too and other annoyances. One annoyance is not being able to turn MP3s into ringtones!!! You can play them on the phone but can't set any MP3s as ringtones. The option to turn an MP3 into a ringtone is grayed out. Hopefully one day Sony Ericsson will one day allow MP3 support.
It's true that there aren't as many AAA titles yet, or established franchises, but they're starting to come as well. This is a desperation move on Sony's part, not some grand strategy.
I see parents buying phones for their very young kids more and more today, I'm sure this type of device will really be appealing to them. Never mine everyone else that just loves to "play" with the phones.
But the biggest problem with most all smart-phones, is battery life, and any application that keep the device active is going to reduce they amount of call time available.
So a device that is going to really promote gaming, is going to really need a good battery.
Works great!
If you only knew the options and choices that await jailbreakers (and now its a very easy process). Who needs the app store when you have Cydia/installer/Icy with much better apps (and utilities) to enhance the iphone experience?
Since PSP is a gaming brand, there would be a lot of online games available right ? With service like PlayStation Home on the device, taking advantage of that phone connection.
PS3 games is a bit of a stretch, and it would make the handheld many times more expensive than it is now. (plus, where do the games go? )
The PSP Go is not long off from launching, a phone add-on would work perfectly with this.
And it could also be used with PSP original too.
All it would need is some firmware updates to enable support.
The major problem with this is the absence of touch-screen, or any keypad. (unless there is one, i haven't been following anything else since E3)
If they ever do get around to coming up with a keypad, then it might be a workable idea.
A touch-screen on PSP Go it would make it so worth buying, XMB is the perfect interface for touch-screen.
Then there wouldn't need to be a physical keyboard. (except from the minority who like a tangible input)
Still not forgiven them for skipping out on a 2nd stick.
It would have fit in there perfectly and there could be a new hardware setting for software to enable the 2nd stick, JUST like on PS1 when the original analog controller appeared.
The space above the stick and select/start just seems so wasted...
Wrong on so many levels. I know WAY more people who prefer buttons over a touchscreen for typing, myself included. Don't make assumptions on only what you know. Because most stats are made up on the spot, which is a well proven fact.
You also made the same assumption, that everyone you know = everyone. :)
Larger keyboards are simple for those who can touch-type.
To those not so good, large keyboards are pretty daunting to them, and is one of the major reasons that people are pushed away from computers. (yes, this one IS a fact, computer accessibility is one of the major things that can push people away)
A smaller keyboard is less daunting to those people because they can find the key they want really quickly.
Touch-screens offer that kind of system. And the plus is it also comes with instant feedback, since the input field is within the view of the keyboard. (unless they have severe eye problems)
If you have ever seen a person typing a key and looking up to see they typed it, you can see why.
Add 2 and 2 together and you end up with 4.
It is simple psychology and facts. This wasn't just "a shot in the wind", it was an educated guess.
"If you just added a physical to the phone, yes, it might work, but it adds unnecessary weight to the handheld as well as raising prices to incorporate it into the design."
This was meant to be at the end of the 2nd paragraph.
As for the keypad typists, true, but it also wastes a around half (or more) the space that could be used for a screen.
I guess you could always have a little pop-out keyboard, kinda like how memory sticks pop out from the slots, but this is fixed to the hardware.
Again, incorporating it would increase costs. Touch-screens are just simpler.
One design i would love to see is something similar to the iPhone, but keys down the sides, best of both worlds.
I agree. I know more people that prefer a real keyboard for typing. My smartphone has a slidout keyboard and no touch screen at all. I did get used to a touch screen on an HP Jordana, but always longed for a real keyboard.
I much prefer my current smartphone. Even though it has a slightly smaller screen, the slidout keyboard makes it much easier to use, and much easier to enter a lot of data, or message a lot when it's needed.
@Hunnter2k3
Keyboards have a limit on how small you can get them and still have them usable. This limit is about the same for touch screen keyboards as well as physical keyboards (unless you're using a stylus, in which case a touchscreen keyboard is slower than a hardware keyboard or a slightly larger software keyboard). The keyboards on a Blackberry or a HTC smartphone are also small and situated so close to the display you can see the display and keyboard at the same time.
Also, I am certainly no touch typist, but I don't have to look at the screen every time I type a key. Only people who are barely computer literate would have that bad of a typing ability. Considering typing classes are taught in schools now, I doubt any young people have that problem either. It's really funny that you consider "large keyboards" to be pushing people away from computers "a fact". That's pretty ridiculous. Young people are taught computers in school, they grow up using keyboards. They are far better with them than older people are. I don't think your reasoning is a "fact" at all. Maybe an incorrect fact. As I said, I'm no touch typist, but I don't find large keyboards "daunting". If you want to to a LOT of typing, accurately and fast, there is no better input device than a computer keyboard.
My guess is that they would look very carefully at Apple's strategy with the iPhone and initially deploy the PSP-phone on GSM. At least here in the U.S., that would mean AT&T or T-Mobile USA.
and to just think the psp could have been what the iphone is today...
Is this a case of the U.S. patent office striking again? Just what is patentable in a device combining a phone and game machine? Just about any phone, and especially smart phones, can play games. Sony wouldn't be coming up with anything new at all, surly nothing worth a patent? The only thing different about it would be the ability (probably) to play PSP games on it. Yawn...
If I may ask, where is everyone coming up with the cash for all this wireless stuff? Ringtones, skins, games , video, TV. All on their wireless device. Isn't this making you go broke? Who can afford all this content? How does a kid that's not a spoiled rich brat get devices and content like this?
Forgive me if I say, enough is enough. My salary doesn't go up every time someone comes up with an idea to charge me more.
What's next from Sony, a Walkman that makes phonecalls?
But seriously, do I need every device in my possession to also be a phone, and a computer, and a clock, and a calculator? No. I need my microwave oven to be just that. But, for a couple of decades, they've had clocks on them too. Now my toaster has a clock. In fact, every device I own has a clock on it.
Why not put a phone in my flashlight (or a flashlight in my phone)? And a phone/clock/calculator in my remote control? Now there's a good idea.
Sony isn't currently competing in the smartphone arena. Analyzing the runaway hit of the iPhone (probably 30 million units at the end of this quarter) combined with the phone-less iPod touch (probably close to 20 million units), it makes sense to consider adding cellphone functionality to the PSP.
After all, the iPhone was initially an iPod with cellphone capabilities. Before the debut of the App Store, both the iPhone and iPod touch had limited functionality beyond music playing, web browsing, and e-mail reading.
Didn't they learn with the Playstation that simply tacking something on does not a complete or improved experience?
Sony should steal a chapter from Apple, and develop a ground-up approach, and stop being cheap or lazy in their development approach.
- by dnm July 2, 2009 12:10 PM PDT
- Well, they should have shipped it two years ago, before iphone. When this thing ships it will have to be really compelling featurewise...
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