Sony Ericsson Prez Seeding Rumors of a PSP Phone

Truth be told I’ve never come across a PlayStation Portable (PSP) rumor that I didn’t like, and in recent months there have been plenty of those, or at least one reoccurring one regarding the impending release of the UMDless PSP 2. The latest on this that we’ll be seeing/hearing something about this next month at E3 in LA. Oh, I want one, but I’ll believe it when I see it; and then I’ll buy it. But there is another long-lived PSP related rumor that is gaining more momentum and making the rounds, that of a PSP phone.

Actually, it is probably stepping over the line to call this a rumor. It is really the seeding of a rumor, and in this case it started from the dubious source of Sony Ericsson President Hideki Komiyama. Although many PSP users, myself included, would line up to put in a pre-order for a PSP that had cellular functionality, this has yet to happen, and drawing on the Financial Times article that quoted Komiyama, that makes sense since apparently Sony Ericsson has produced only a handful of smart phones and not a single one with the functionality to compare with the iPhone. Sound like a desperate situation? With regards to this Komiyama told the Financial Times,

“If we do not adapt to this new technology or new market environment, we’re going to lose.”

I concur. So, this of course led to he later being quoted as saying,

“a PlayStation mobile, building on the Walkman and Cybershot phones, “could happen”.”

Could happen Komiyama-san? The way things sound it would seem to me that this had better happen, especially if it could coincide with the release of a PSP 2 model with enhanced functionality and the space-saving dumping of the UMD drive. Again, if it was a good, affordable product with compromised gaming functionality and decent support from wireless carriers it would be money in the back. And by the look of things over at Sony Ericsson, that would be a good thing indeed.

–Tom Milnes