UPDATE: Sony Ericsson could be on the rocks. Is Sony buying Ericsson out so it can release a PSP phone by itself?
Has PlayStation boss Kaz Hirai just been hired to oversee a PSP phone? It certainly looks that way. Hirai has been promoted to head the new Sony Networked Products and Services division in a Sony reshuffle, putting him in charge of everything from PlayStation to the Walkman brand, Vaio devices and the mysterious “new mobile products”.
PlayStation boss Hirai has been tasked with “expansion of the PlayStation Network service platform” which sounds suspiciously like Sony wants the PSN to be available on other devices, a’la iTunes runs on Mac, PC, Apple TV and iPhone, but even broader. However, that’s not the best bit.
Sony specifically states that Hirai will also be in charge of “new mobile products” . Is Sony prepping a PSP phone? Maybe it’s the new PSP2 instead, but our money really is on a PSP phone. Sony only recently blocked Sony Ericsson from developing one – perhaps it plans to make the PSP phone in house instead.
At the very least, we’re looking at more Sony gadgets connecting up to the PlayStation Network, possibly downloading movies and music rather than games, but is this a sign that a PSP phone is incoming too? Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer has been trying to get the vast company coordinated and working together properly, a scheme he calls Sony United. Perhaps a PSP phone will be the next fruit of this.
What do you reckon? Would you like to see a PSP phone? What would it have in it, and is the PlayStation Network key to it working with all Sony’s other kit? Thoughts below please!
Out TBC | £TBC | Sony
