Leaked videos show Sony 'PlayStation Phone' in action
Several videos of prototypes of Sony Ericsson's 'PlayStation Phone' have emerged, giving viewers an early look at Sony's answer to the increasing popularity of gaming on the iPhone.
Leaked photos of the 'PlayStation Phone' were published by Engadget in October, but hands-on videos posted to YouTube this week are the best evidence for the phone's existence so far.
The device, which is listed as the "Zeus" model number in the video, has slide-out physical controls similar to the Sony PSP Go handheld gaming device, in addition to a touchscreen, which reportedly measures 4 inches. The slide-out controls appear to have the rumored multi-touch touchpad.
The video also corroborates rumors that the smartphone runs Google's "Gingerbread" Android 2.3. Earlier reports indicated that the phone has a 1GHz Qualcomm chip, 512MB of RAM, a 5 megapixel camera and 1GB of internal storage.
In a second video, the user selects the "PlayStation" icon to verify the smartphone's PlayStation functionality, though the device lacks any "content items" to display.
Further evidence of the Zeus PlayStation phone
Leaked photos of the 'PlayStation Phone' were published by Engadget in October, but hands-on videos posted to YouTube this week are the best evidence for the phone's existence so far.
The device, which is listed as the "Zeus" model number in the video, has slide-out physical controls similar to the Sony PSP Go handheld gaming device, in addition to a touchscreen, which reportedly measures 4 inches. The slide-out controls appear to have the rumored multi-touch touchpad.
The video also corroborates rumors that the smartphone runs Google's "Gingerbread" Android 2.3. Earlier reports indicated that the phone has a 1GHz Qualcomm chip, 512MB of RAM, a 5 megapixel camera and 1GB of internal storage.
In a second video, the user selects the "PlayStation" icon to verify the smartphone's PlayStation functionality, though the device lacks any "content items" to display.
Further evidence of the Zeus PlayStation phone
Comments
They should have seen this coming so many years ago, made their portable gaming devices into great portable media players back in the iPod heyday and been ready for the inevitable combining of cellphones into pocketable devices. Too little, too late I?m afraid.
This is not a bad time.... the controls do allow for more advanced gameplay (in general!) than just a touch screen alone.
i do agree it could have come sooner, and probably should have, but its a fine device )from what i saw)
Hopefully they can slim it down a bit before they show it off officially at CES.
This is not a bad time.... the controls do allow for more advanced gameplay (in general!) than just a touch screen alone.
i do agree it could have come sooner, and probably should have, but its a fine device )from what i saw)
Yeah, physically it does look nice. I wasn?t judging that aspect of it, I just hate when companies get lazy and miss opportunities that open up for them.
I also think Apple should have released gaming APIs for the iOS SDK and a signaling code for physical controller accessory makers. This would allow game designers to include physical controller options in the SW that would be the same across the board, and allow 3rd-party accessory designers to make D-pads and other such accessories, all whilst working independently of each other.
(sorry I'm not excited by this in the least)
Since the PlayStation Network offers games, movies, TV series and a social network, Sony may be going after more than just the gaming market with a PlayStation-branded phone. With access to media through the PSN, the Zeus could pose a serious threat to Apple's dominant iPhone/iTunes combo.
I wouldn't count on Sony posing a serious threat to anybody at this point, much less Apple.
I actually think this could be massive for Sony and for Android. Portable gaming is huge. The iPhone/iPod touch are good, but touch screens are not suitable for many genres of games. You really need buttons.
I'm with you 100%. I think this is the first thing I've seen an Android Device do that differentiates it 100% from the iPhone, rather than just copying what it does and adding some bullet point feature here or there that only the nerds care about. This is a whole new, unique functionality.
4G? Bigger screen? Flash? Better processor and camera specs? A lot of people look at that stuff and say who cares. Its still basically a lot like the Apple model of combining iPod with phone and adding web browsing and apps, only doing a poorer job of it. But when you add in basically a whole new device, like a Playstation or PSP, that's a game changer. Apple should have added game pad API a long time ago, but its not too late just yet.
1GB internal storage? I dont get it
Most phones like these have internal storage as well as SD card support. If SE is betting that 1GB is enough for just your phone apps (not games) then i think its a fairly safe bet to make.
I doubt this is something Sony Ericsson could have made a year or two ago, as the mobile processors for phones werent great, the Snapdragon was around though, but this one is using the one with Adreno 205 apparently. All the while SE was testing the waters this time last year with the PSP-Go digital only distribution...didnt work well, but on a cell phone it could be a different story.
Anyways i'm very excited about this, if it has the full Playstation and PSP catalog and has the same sync capabilities as a PSP to PS3 i just might be sold already, just waiting to see if the Nexus S does indeed have a dual core or not.
This device could be a smash hit for SE, considering the value. For a subsidized price of 199 you'd have a top tier smartphone that does web, apps, music AND a gaming device with some of the best games on the market from the best developers.
If SE could pull numbers like Samsung is with the Galaxy S, i'd say that would be a marvelous boost to the PSP platform and SE's bottom line.
for Sony to switch to Android is a desperate "hail Mary." Nintendo at least is trying to salvage its DSI franchise with new technology - 3D. probably won't work either. but being one more Android "me too" commodity product is certain death for Sony's PSP franchise. "the Zeus could pose a serious threat to Apple's dominant iPhone/iTunes combo"? wow, what you smokin'? no one cares about Sony anymore, dude.
the PSP is going the way of the Walkman.
Sales of the PSP Go were not "disappointing" - they have been a disaster. the Go is a total flop. the old PSP2 outsells it! because it's cheap and the old games work - and you can still find them cheap now too.
for Sony to switch to Android is a desperate "hail Mary." Nintendo at least is trying to salvage its DSI franchise with new technology - 3D. probably won't work either. but being one more Android "me too" commodity product is certain death for Sony's PSP franchise. "the Zeus could pose a serious threat to Apple's dominant iPhone/iTunes combo"? wow, what you smokin'? no one cares about Sony anymore, dude.
the PSP is going the way of the Walkman.
Umm... Last I read, PSP sales in hardware and games are still going strong. iOS and Android are only just recently capable of pushing PSP-level graphics. Because of this, it'll be a while before the game producers for portable gaming systems (PSP, DS) shift over in force to smartphones.
Does anyone know how they implemented the PSP side into the phone? Does this mean that PSP now runs in Dalvik VM or does this mean that PSP OS is launched when you press the button (I know it's not the latter, but still)?
Goodbye battery life.
They should have this phone version, then an almost identical one that is essentially an Android tablet.
Obviously this prototype has space for 2 analog sticks, but they aren't installed (in the middle, the two holes).
If this thing is real, and there's a wifi-only version, it could finally be the perfect Playstation handheld.