There have been a few rumoured devices over the years that have got the minds and mouths of the technology community working overtime. The iPhone and the Wii are two such examples.
The Sony PlayStation Portable was introduced to similar fanfare in December 2004, and although its popularity has been average worldwide, that hasn’t stopped legions of fans longing for the day when the PSP phone finally lands on the shelves.
So what’s been said so far, what patents have been filed, what concept art has been produced and above all, how much of it is tosh and gubbins?
The patent
The first movement that really kicked off the PSP phone rumours was the filing of a patent, back in June 2007.
The design featured a rotating screen with a set of keys not dissimilar to those found on the PSP itself, for ’sophisticated mobile game-playing’.
Then, two weeks later, Sony Ericsson spokesperson Merran Wrigley did not rule out the possibility of a PSP equipped phone device. "We’re continually evaluating other propositions but they have to be credible propositions," she said.
However, Sony Ericsson stated that it was "not interested in sticking parts on phones that destroy the brand equity that’s been built up by Sony ".
So far, so confusing, right?
Games boss speaks
Fast forward two months, and Sony Ericsson games boss Peter Ahnegard says the company has recently decided to move forward with plans to launch a PlayStation-branded mobile phone.
"Up until today we haven’t felt we could launch a PlayStation phone because it wouldn’t be recognized as a true continuation of that brand of products", he said.
"To explain our position I need to look at the brands we’ve developed so far, in particular the Cyber-shot and Walkman phones. When we looked at all the assets we could muster for music and imaging - the services, downloads and overall proposition - we felt that we could create something that really lived up to the values of the brand and filled all the required boxes.
"We’re not launching a brand of handset simply because we can, but because we can lead [sic] up to the expectations of the consumer."
"It’s an area of possible future activity," Maurice Flint, the then outgoing president of Sony Ericsson, also told the Financial Times.
Via : http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/the-psp-phone-the-story-so-far-419784
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