Is the PSP Phone a Eureka Moment For Microsoft?

Pictures of the upcoming Sony Ericsson Zeus smartphone leave little doubt that Sony has a good shot at attracting an influential group of young customers that should have gone to Microsoft. It may be time for Microsoft to go back to the drawing board already and rethink what Windows Phone 7 really is.

[jack who]

this is dumb wat kid/parent would buy their kid a phone with 80$/mo to play games?

[ZombieAssassin]

Really? Yes they are dumb for buying their kids such expensive phones with bigger than most phone bills but that's how it works.

[jack who]

ya but how many of those can u sell and make any money when theres new and better phone coming out very month

[deadreckoning666]

The PSPPhone will be EXTREMELY successful....on N4G.

@nycredude- Yep, we know that. In fact, I owned a Sony Ericsson phone for 5 years. Loved it. But this PSP integration makes no sense at all. Theres not a big enough audience for a device like this.

The PSP is 6 year old tech and Sony Ericsson as a brand has been lagging behind Apple for the past couple of years. How in the world could anyone believe that the two combined would be successful?

Oh and this isn't mentioning the fact that the 3DS is coming out in about 3 months, which is going to dominate the portable market EASILY.
Also, the people would actually buy this "Frankensteinish" PSP Phone will be the HARDCORE PSP fans.

But heres the kicker, if your a HARDCORE PSP fan...wouldn't you already have a PSP? Also, assuming your over the age of 18, wouldn't you already have a cell phone? Furthermore, wouldn't a hardcore PSP fan be saving his or her cash on the PSP2 which is rumored to be coming out soon?

Now, I'm not saying that there won't be SOME people that can take enjoyment from such as device. All I'm arguing is that, commercially, it'll be a fail.

[nycredude]

You guys o know this is a SOny Ericson phone, and that Sony Ericson has ben making phones for a while now right?

[Christopher]

I actually agree with deadreckoning666 on this one.

I'm a PSP fan, and I already own a PSP with most of the games I'd likely play on that phone. But, I don't see how that phone will do anything better for me other than increasing the size of the phone I have to carry around with me. It would also force me to rebuy a lot of the stuff I already have on my iPhone just to be able to keep using them on an Android phone.

I see absolutely no reason to own the PSP phone. Now, a full-fledged PSP2 is a different story.

[HolyOrangeCows]

"They are tools, rather than entertainment devices, designed to "get you in and out" of your communication tasks as quickly as possible. It's for all those who consider communication on a phone a distraction.

Could there be a more boring way to promote a new gadget?"

Whoever directs these commercial needs to be fired. Seriously. The Kin Commercials looked at NEGATIVES of communication in some of the commercials (And it doesn't help that the basis of the phone is getting people to join a social network that WASN'T Facebook).

[xAlmostPro]

@deadreckoning & @cgoodno you guys keep mentioning the PSP.. its not a PSP or meant to be..

it could be called however(& probably will be nicknamed) the playstation phone, but actually its a new sony erricson phone with gaming controls.. when it comes out it will probably state that as a feature.

"with playstation gaming controls, for the best mobile gaming yet" "also compatible with playstation titles and mini's" or something like that..

PSP/this phone = 2 different things..

[Christopher]

***@deadreckoning & @cgoodno you guys keep mentioning the PSP.. its not a PSP or meant to be..***

It's a limited PSP, actually. There really isn't anything else to compare it to, so the closest is to the PSP. I know it's not the exact same thing (no comic book store and no UMD games; which likely will be going the way of the dodo once PSP2 is released anyway), but it's the best comparison out there.

Regardless, the games that are available on the PS Phone are the exact same games I already own or will be able to get on my PSP. There's absolutely no reason for me to buy a second device when I already have one that provides more utility.

As deadreckoning said,, if you're a PSP fan, don't you already own a PSP? And, if you're not, why would you be interested in a device that provides very limited access to PSP games/Minis when most of the games are available already (and for less) on other devices?

[Ju]

I am not sure what you are going on about the phone not being a PSP.

Its not meant to be. It is meant to be a (the best?) gaming phone using a recognized brand name (that is PlayStation). Nothing else.

I would love to upgrade (!) my GalaxyS to this phone.

It will render some gaming only handhelds useless (this includes the DS/3DS and the PSP and also the PSP2).

I sure need a phone. Sometimes I prefer playing some games on my mobile (currently I am hooked to GRaveDefence on the Galaxy) and for me, this will possibly mean, it is competition to the PSP(2), because I don't want to carry around two devices.

If, however, the PSP2 can blow away current phones spec wise, well, then I won't have a choice. Otherwise, phones will take over, no doubt about that.

[ComboBreaker]

If I were to buy an Android Phone, I would choose the PSP Phone.

And like the article said, Windows 7 Phone is pretty much failing to capture an audience.

[gta_manic]

It being shiny is enough for most people.

[TheLastGuardian]

It having Playstation buttons is enough for me to want it.

As long as I can one with a 2 year contract with AT&T or Verison for $300, I'm good.

[scar20]

@jack who Parents who spoil thier brats that's who.

[UltimateIdiot911]

Sadly, too many parents get their kids a smartphone with those overprice data plans and unlimited texts. Too many spoiled brats these days.

[SilverSlug]

unlimited text is pretty cheap, since it applies to all lines on the phones, data doesn't sadly.

They should have family data plans, make life easier.

[SilverSlug]

Family plans will come out to basically $35 a month, 40 depending on your service provider. AT&T has it $10 per line for family plus $25 for data plan. You don't need to keep the data plan for the 2 year contract, since it will have wifi you will be able to keep it with just a talk plan.

Depends if you like 3G data.

[Anon1974]

Um, who said anything about kids? Since when are children the market for smartphones? Remember, the average age of gamers is 35. Now, as for people saying they'd have to rebuy all their Iphone stuff for Android - well that's true of any Android phone.

And to those saying "PSP fans already have PSP's," Well, yeah, but wouldn't it be great to have your PSP and your phone combined in one device? I know I would. And secondly, who said it's just going to be a PSP built into a phone? No one said that. Who knows what it's going to offer on top of being a fully functional Android.

I really can't see what's not to like about this. All I'm hearing is "Ugh! Why would I buy an Android phone that also plays PSP games? Terrible idea."

And I've got to ask, why the hell wouldn't you. If you have two phones in front of you, one runs Android Gingerbread, one runs Android Gingerbread and plays PSP games, come on! Since when is added functionality bad? If I had two phones that did the same things, but one fed my cat and was roughly the same price - sure it might not be the most practical feature but I'm going to pick the phone that also feeds my cat?

Am I alone in being puzzled why people are questioning this?

[silvacrest]

"as for people saying they'd have to rebuy all their Iphone stuff for Android - well that's true of any Android phone"

well, that depends on what you have, alot of stuff on android is free, not everyone has a iphone (like me) so this isn't a huge issue anyway

"if you have two phones in front of you, one runs Android Gingerbread, one runs Android Gingerbread and plays PSP games"

thats a fair point but to make things worse some manufacturers dont upgrade the OS at all on older android phones and the lucky few get a upgrade months after

take the motorola milestone for example, motorola are close to putting android 2.2 OS on it while google have just released 2.3...

[IHateYouFanboys]

the PS Phone, from the leaked video, is just too big IMO. its so bulky that i wouldnt buy one. then theres the fact that the biggest drawback with most smartphones is battery life - lots of people i know struggle to get 1 day out of their iphones/android phones with moderate use. using it to play full on PSP style games would kill it in a few hours - so that instantly rules that out for me.

when my contract is up im going to get a win phone 7, as i love the interface and the whole 'people instead of contacts' thing, where it integrates everything you know about that person into the one place. i also like the fact that if i do buy any games, i get achievements that go directly to my xbox live profile.

i dont want a PSP combined with a phone. i want a phone, and a separate portable playstation that has 2 analogue sticks, 4 shoulder buttons, and maybe a small touch pad. if all this PS phone turns out to be is an android phone with PS style buttons, i dont really see the point in it. if it turns out to be an android phone that also plays PSP games, again, i dont see the point in it since we know theyre bringing out a PSP2.

[Parapraxis]

bulky?
Check your vision.

[IHateYouFanboys]

yes, bulky. watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

at about 45 seconds, look how freaking thick that phone is. its gotta be at least twice as thick as all the other smartphones out there atm.

[silvacrest]

who really cares....

if your the type of guy who wares tight skinny genes all the time then yeah,, this would be a problem, but for most people the features out weigh the bulk

[xAlmostPro]

its not that bulky knowing sony erricson phones are usually quite thick but always great quality..

i remember the (i think it was) the 8megapixel one, when that was 1st released was pretty thick but packed a monsterous camera and felt like you were holding something of great quality..

this is probably the same, i mean how thin do you want it when it has playstation controls and a camera with flash? lol

[Soldierone]

The only issue is a lot of technology advancements are being made to smartphones in general this next year. Most companies are getting 4G so they have to step a lot of hardware up.

For starters new batteries are hitting the market, some of these new batteries will even be availible for current Smartphones. They allow ten times more battery life, and better usage, so 4G doesn't kill them in a heart beat. I believe Sony will most likely be using one of these batteries.

The processing power in smartphones are being stepped up. Also Sony should have a new cell architecture like they do with most new playstation systems. This architecture will probably be separate from the core of the phone and only turn on when playing the PSP portion of the game.

and the "i dont want them both in one" is fine. I dont want a PSP phone either and will be buying a PSP2 by itself too. However the ease of use for PSP/phone is just like Iphone and all Android phones offering the thousands of things in one device.

[silvacrest]

it does not need to be at the bleeding edge of technology to be good or successful, look at the 5 year old psp, its running a out dated CPU, GPU, RAM, yet it still sells

as for the "i dont want them both in one" well, i do and im sure alot of other people do

im not hating on the PSP2 but it will need to be more then just powerful to be successful

[Soldierone]

I gave up on the Windows phone the second they gave up on the Zune HD. I mean we spend 300 bucks on the device, and its a nice device don't get me wrong, but the app selection was at a mere 8 apps for like two years. Then suddenly the phone comes out and there are 16 apps! And they expect us to believe this "support" will carry onto the phone.....

Fact of the matter is, if they dont get sales that beat out other smart phones and compete with Iphones then they wont support it and give up. Thats how Microsofts handheld department is.Nice devices poor support. You cant win a handheld battle with top of the line hardware anymore when there is so much more to offer. It sucks so bad to see something like Zune HD go to waste. With a little marketing and support it would of been godly, its such a pretty device that I love even with the lack of apps.

[DiRtY]

I think the fact that Sony Ericsson offers Windows Mobile 7 soon speaks a clear language.

Let's just see how it performs on the market. I think it looks great and I would love to get one.

[hoops]

I think the phone looks sweet. Lets see how the phone performs when it is released.

[HOSe]

this is a brilliant idea because its a psp phone. then they come out with a psp2 - offer all over the phone titles on the psn obviously and make disk games on the psp2, wait...

HAHAHAHAHAHAH
HAHAHAHAHAHHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAH

i hope the psp has accepts bluray blue ray disks,

maybe even gamecube sized bluray disks...

now thatd be sick