Rumor: Ericsson Working on PSP Phone

***wraggster*** · April 11th, 2007, 22:27

via kotaku

Pocket Gamer does a good job of picking apart the persistent rumor that Ericsson might be working on a Playstation Portable branded phone.

First they run down the rumor which seems to stem from an Ericsson exec saying they were working on something on the gaming front and a Spanish blog reporting that Ericsson plans to start using the PSP and PS3s Xross Media Bar.

When I spoke with the SCEA folks last week about the Playstation Portable I actually asked about the possibilities of a phone. The response: A no comment. But John Koller, senior marketing manager for the PSP. told me that they are always evaluating new technology and listening to what their consumers want. So kind of a mixed message there.

Instead of trying to come to a definitive answer, Pocket Gamer moves straight into a wishlist. If the PSPhone comes they want it to be a slider, include landscape gaming, shoulder buttons, 3D graphics and the ability to link with the PSP and PS3. Finally, they want the phone to have a built in camera.

I don't know. I'm sorta over all of these super multifunctional devices. They never seem to do anyone thing really well. Just look at the N-Gage, heck the Treo is often a pain in my ass

**pt9087** · April 11th, 2007, 22:34

I have an ericsson phone and it is crap! i dont think this will ever come through!

**Cokemusic** · April 11th, 2007, 22:54

I think this idea sucks you know why ?

Look at the PSP it's a hybrid an MP3 Players,MP4 player,Browser,Game device etc, the PSP does all of these things at a decent level, how ever there's other devices that are built with the sole purpose doing one of the PSP's capabilities which means it is likely to do it better.

What this means is that devices such as the I-POD (MP3/MP4) are going to be priority when some one who is for example a hardcore music fan and wants a full on music experience.

A hardcore mobile phone fan isn't going to want a PSP/Phone they're going to want a Nokia or a Samsung and a hardcore gaming fan isn't going to want a PSP/Phone they're going to want a PSP or a DS because they know they'll get a full gaming experience from that device.

When you design devices with hybrid capabilities it's incredibly hard if not impossible to make it great at everything it does , the PSP is a prime example.

**JKKDARK** · April 11th, 2007, 22:59

the next n-gage

**Gene** · April 12th, 2007, 06:52

One more thing people hack onto protable devices, is one more pain and malfunction that will most likely come with it. Built in cameras, for example, are nice and easy to cary with you but the get scratched the living hell out of them by just being used normaly, thus drastically reducing sharpness. Also built in cameras in phones and such are almost always made as cheaply as possible, Usually meaning a plastic camera lens, resulting in cheap looking pictures. So i thing that a built in camera is completely worthless unless it has a shield that you can close and open when you are taking pictures and even then an add on usb camera is a MUCH more efficient way to have a camera on your psp, because the current usb import camera is not cheaply made to the point of uselessness, it is faily easy to keep safe if you use a proper case after you use it, and if there is a malfunction you can replace the single Usb camera unit and not the entire psp unit as opposed to built in cameras.

But i suppose it if fair to be able to pick and chose what you specifically want out of a handheld unit

Oh, and sorry for my hurrendous grammar, and sentence structure.