PSP2 to rival Xbox 360 power, drop UMD

The rumour pot is boiling over this week. Today it's being reported that the PSP2 will rival Xbox 360 in processing grunt, and ditch the UMD drive.

That's according to Kotaku, who says "sources" have "verified" whispers that the true sequel to PSP will mark the end of the UMD drive, following in the footsteps of the slim and slender PSPgo. One source says that users will be able to store games on memory sticks, while it's also said that Sony is still mulling over its options for media storage.

The PSPgo currently on sale uses a combination of a Memory Stick port and a 16GB internal flash drive for storage, on which several PSP titles can be stored.

But more storage may be needed for PSP2's games because, according to the report, the new portable will be vastly more powerful than the current handheld, capable of rivaling Xbox 360 in processing power.

Although exact specs remain unknown, the report claims Sony's packing 1GB of RAM in the PSP2 - twice that of the Xbox 360, and dwarfing the 64MB of RAM in the current PSP.

Yesterday, 'first pictures' of an actual PSP Phone hit the net - a 1GHz CPU-powered Ericsson with an Android OS and slide-out PSP controls with a central touch-sensitive panel.

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