PSP Phone To Compete With iPhone And iPad

Shortly after Sony officially announced the PSP Go at the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo, reports surfaced that the electronics maker was already working on a follow-up to the handheld device. According to a report out of Japanese business newspaper Nikkei in June, Sony began assembling a product-development team tasked with combining the PSP's game-playing functionality with Sony Ericsson's mobile phone technology to better compete against Apple's iPhone.

The PSPGo may shortly no longer be the new kid in town.

Following on from that initial report, the Wall Street Journal claims knowledge that Sony is reading a whole line of new handhelds, including smart phones capable of downloading and playing PSP games. Sources tell the WSJ that Sony is also prepping a multifunctional iPad competitor that combines the capabilities of a netbook, the Sony Reader, and the PSP.

Google Android OS
The gaming-oriented smartphone is reportedly being designed in cooperation with Sony Ericsson, a partnership created to bring Sony technology and expertise to mobile phones.

This company will soon introduce its first model running Google's Android OS, raising the possibility that the PSP-phone could also use this free and open-source operating system.

Whatever its design and specifications turn out to be, Sony's gaming-oriented smartphone and netbook-type device are supposedly going to be released at some point in 2010.