Sony is already a player in the smartphone market, but rather just concentrating on narrowing the gap between it and its biggest competitors it's branching out into something unique: a PlayStation Portable smartphone. Rumours of a PlayStation smartphone have been doing the rounds for several months now and every now and then someone breathes new life into dying speculation with leaked inside info or pictures. This time a leaked video has set tongues wagging. And there's the fact that a couple of anonymous sources have revealed that the phone will be launched at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February. These sources have also revealed that it will only be available to the public in March or April.
According to the rumours, which are supported by information gleaned from the leaked images and video, the smartphone will be based on the PSP Go game console and will come complete with controls for advanced gaming. Combined with the impressive capabilities of the PSP Go, users will also be able to download software, surf the net, watch movies, play music and read books, or more appropriately for the gaming generation, comics.
According to techspot.com, the smartphone is also known as the Zeus Z1, although no one outside of Sony knows the phone's official name. Speculation about the specs has it that the device will have a 1 GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 1GB of ROM, touchpad and PS controls, as well as a slide-out gamepad. It will support microSD cards and run Google's Android 2.3 (also known as Gingerbread).
The video game market has experienced something of a downturn as smartphones become increasingly sophisticated and provide semi-advanced gaming options. A PlayStation smartphone with its specialised gaming features could be just what Sony needs to revive interest in its products and lure customers away from other smartphone manufacturers. Of course this will work best with gaming enthusiasts, who probably still use their consoles anyway, but it does show insight and innovation from a company that has, perhaps, been lacking in both for the past few years.
Another advantage is that the smartphone, or Zeus Z1 if you will, will allow users to access Sony's online media platform to download a range of Sony games. Furthermore, the Android Market and all the apps within will also be ripe for plunder.
To be a real contender, Sony will have to work hard to ensure that the other smartphone features remain top-notch, as it won't be able to rely on the phone's outstanding gaming to keep it competitive in the rapidly evolving market.
According to the rumours, which are supported by information gleaned from the leaked images and video, the smartphone will be based on the PSP Go game console and will come complete with controls for advanced gaming. Combined with the impressive capabilities of the PSP Go, users will also be able to download software, surf the net, watch movies, play music and read books, or more appropriately for the gaming generation, comics.
According to techspot.com, the smartphone is also known as the Zeus Z1, although no one outside of Sony knows the phone's official name. Speculation about the specs has it that the device will have a 1 GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 1GB of ROM, touchpad and PS controls, as well as a slide-out gamepad. It will support microSD cards and run Google's Android 2.3 (also known as Gingerbread).
The video game market has experienced something of a downturn as smartphones become increasingly sophisticated and provide semi-advanced gaming options. A PlayStation smartphone with its specialised gaming features could be just what Sony needs to revive interest in its products and lure customers away from other smartphone manufacturers. Of course this will work best with gaming enthusiasts, who probably still use their consoles anyway, but it does show insight and innovation from a company that has, perhaps, been lacking in both for the past few years.
Another advantage is that the smartphone, or Zeus Z1 if you will, will allow users to access Sony's online media platform to download a range of Sony games. Furthermore, the Android Market and all the apps within will also be ripe for plunder.
To be a real contender, Sony will have to work hard to ensure that the other smartphone features remain top-notch, as it won't be able to rely on the phone's outstanding gaming to keep it competitive in the rapidly evolving market.
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