Sony Designing Mobile Phone/PSP Hybrid to Better Compete Against iPhone?

[bruinsrme]

it seems the Sony phone will target a much different audience.

If sony can make a decent platform it will attract a much younger audience and parents might be more willing to buy this to reduce the number of items their child has to maintain.

for all the Apple loyalists, the Sony will not be for you because the iPhone will always be good enough but with more and more people wanting to enjoy their games to a fullest extent, the Sony platform may draw some attention.

Imagine syncing to a PS3 or computer. Downloading game saves and bring them to a friends to play.

 

[bruinsrme]

Ok i see where you're going with this, but that point is a little silly IMO. Do you want the iPhone to be *longer* than it is now? Or do you want them to shave off the sides and make it more skinny, just so you can say it has a 16:9 screen? What about movies that are wider than 16:9? Apple is "*****ing" its customers because they call the iPhone widescreen? They've been calling their laptops and displays "widescreen" for about a decade now, and none of them has ever been 16:9.

There are a tn of movies that are larger than 16:9..

2.35 to 1 aspect is wider than 16:9

 

[windywoo]

Stop spreading bullsh*t. There's no such thing as a 8GB iPhone 3GS and the most expensive is the 32GB one on payg which is £538.30....

It really pisses me off when people spread misinformation.

M.

He may have got the storage wrong, but add up the cost of the monthly contracts and you may find a figure close to what he quoted.

 

[elppa]

They can just use Android or Windows Mobile.

And Sony Ericsson have used both in the past, although their Windows Mobile experiment seemed to begin and end with one phone.

 

[macjonny1]

After Sony's rootkit fiasco I will never buy a product from them again.

 

[andiwm2003]

I don't think it's a question of whether or not the iPhone is a better gaming unit than the PSP... but it's probably "good enough" to the point that people will think twice about buying a dedicated portable gaming device when their iPhone or iPod Touch does a good enough job.

arn

this is especially true when you project the iPhone's gaming capabilities into the future. Will developers continue to support the PSP when the Iphone 4G and 5G will have he same power as the PSP today and when there will be 200 million iPhones out there?

 

[andiwm2003]

With products like the Palm Pre, Apple has to take care it does not just make the iphone for "fanboys" rich enough to own one. Nokia Sony RIM etc. can do "me to" products that do everything that the iphone will and more, for less. In the end features will sell the handset, rather that the ergonomics, ease of use, surprise and delight that are only discoverable in everyday use. When did you last see an iphone for demo in-store? Apple needs to think about its phone line up if it wants to sell outside it happy band of evangelists.
What i am really saying is
DROP THE PRICE!

I think you're wrong there. For the vast majority its not features (all the main features are there already) but the easy of use that makes them buy the iphone. I agree that a few people want features more than style and ease of use. But as the sales numbers show most people go for style.

And at $99 + contract the price seems to be low enough. The monthly costs of a phone are $70 or more so the actual price of the phone is less important.

 

[mambodancer]

Know to what you speak of...

Ok i see where you're going with this, but that point is a little silly IMO. Do you want the iPhone to be *longer* than it is now? Or do you want them to shave off the sides and make it more skinny, just so you can say it has a 16:9 screen? What about movies that are wider than 16:9? Apple is "*****ing" its customers because they call the iPhone widescreen? They've been calling their laptops and displays "widescreen" for about a decade now, and none of them has ever been 16:9.

16:9 is only ONE widescreen format proportion of many, thus the variable size of black bars when watching movies in different widescreen formats.

Please see the Wikipedia link for more information before you make such a misinformed statement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widescreen

 

[adamcz]

I don't think it's a question of whether or not the iPhone is a better gaming unit than the PSP... but it's probably "good enough" to the point that people will think twice about buying a dedicated portable gaming device when their iPhone or iPod Touch does a good enough job.

arn

I fall into this category. iPhone games are kind of lame, but they're something to pass a minute or two of free time here and there. I'm not going to spend extra money and more importantly carry an extra device just to get slightly more entertainment out of five minutes free time.

 

[soapsuds]

16:9 is only ONE widescreen format proportion of many, thus the variable size of black bars when watching movies in different widescreen formats.

Please see the Wikipedia link for more information before you make such a misinformed statement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widescreen

I think you're missing blackcrayon's point, which is that the OP complaining about the iPhone not having "true" widescreen doesn't make sense given that movies are often wider than 16:9 and "widescreen" computer monitors are typically 16:10. Unless you were replying to the original post but quoted the wrong post.

 

[Xibalba]

too little too late to compete with iphone, but another gaming device may do well in this market. and sony does have more pull overall in the teen to early 20s gaming market since their PS2 has done so well.

however i will be curious to see how sony can make this product fit into one's pocket - just take a look at the PSP and PS3...

 

[Pika]

They can just use Android or Windows Mobile.

If SONY fall into one of these smartphone operating systems, then we can conclude that the iPhone is the clear winner (in terms of features):

If not... then they have a long way to create an operating system as good as those smartphone operating systems.

 

[M!K]

Sony always copies on everything company around them (e.g. Microsoft, Nintendo and Apple). that is just annoying!

 

[iceman1234]

from sony's history they have always been att/gsm. If they want to reach all the people that want an iphone but hate att/gsm they have to branch out and to veriozon/cdma. That way they are reaching different buyers than iphone buyers.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Hi

Think Windows XP. Even when Mac OX X runs rings around Windows, people still pick XP because it is less expensive and "good enough". Apple is using the Microsoft approach this time when it comes to gaming.

LMAO! "Less expensive". That's awesome. Far from it chum. Many choose it because they are afraid minorities like the Mac OS are too risky in compatibility, support, ... Which, as we know, for the most part is wrong. Quick example... Apple knows Snow Leopard isn't a huge release but it certainly brings plenty 'to the table'. Vista to 7 is about the same ( less in my opinion ). Leopard to Snow Leopard = $20. Vista to 7 = $50 - 100 ( pre- order pricing ). The fact is that Microsoft knows the'll get tons of sales despite and that they need the income generated by these high priced OS ( and Officr ) sales to cover the losses from other departments.

 

[neiltc13]

Stop spreading bullsh*t. There's no such thing as a 8GB iPhone 3GS and the most expensive is the 32GB one on payg which is £538.30....

It really pisses me off when people spread misinformation.

M.

Sorry I meant 16GB, no need to get so angry. Apple's current line is unnecessarily confusing. I didn't hurt you or your family!

Anyway, the prices of iPhone 3G and 3GS are ridiculous in the UK. I quoted the Pay as You Go model prices because I think they're more relevant to consumers who are interested in the device for gaming as well.

The prices are:

8GB iPhone 3G = £342.50
16GB iPhone 3GS = £440.40
32GB iPhone 3GS = £538.30

In comparison, a PSP Go with 16GB internal storage is going to be no more than £250 (hopefully less if Sony realise the pricing is still a little high). This is for a device which is better at movies and better at gaming than iPhone.

The software on PSP is very good - it's reliable and I've never seen it crash. If they can expand this to include telephone support as well then I think they'd be on to a winner.

from sony's history they have always been att/gsm. If they want to reach all the people that want an iphone but hate att/gsm they have to branch out and to veriozon/cdma. That way they are reaching different buyers than iphone buyers.

Please can we stop discussing this as if the US market is somehow the deciding factor in the success of Sony's products? There's a whole world out there buying phones.

i will be curious to see how sony can make this product fit into one's pocket - just take a look at the PSP and PS3...

 

[blackcrayon]

16:9 is only ONE widescreen format proportion of many, thus the variable size of black bars when watching movies in different widescreen formats.

Please see the Wikipedia link for more information before you make such a misinformed statement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widescreen

Yes, my point exactly. That "widescreen" can mean several things and that even if the iPhone were 16:9 you would still get black bars with anything that didn't fit *that* exactly. Check the post I was replying to originally. The poster was saying that Apple was somehow cheating its customers by calling the iPhone widescreen. I was saying that Apple (and every other computer manufacturer) has already established widescreen to include plenty of other ratios than 16:9 (usually being around 16:10).

 

[MacCheetah3]

I fall into this category. iPhone games are kind of lame, but they're something to pass a minute or two of free time here and there. I'm not going to spend extra money and more importantly carry an extra device just to get slightly more entertainment out of five minutes free time.

Exactly! That's the point. You don't typically play hours on a portable ( though sometimes one can lose track of the time ). That's what a 'full size' gaming console is for. IMHO, the iPhone / iPod touch games generally reflect this. They are a few moment, simple, mini-type games. As busy as our lives are, we always seem to find one or two minutes to just do something that isn't a project. Products like the iPhone cannot only fill the small functions of our daily 'work' but also those couple minutes.

 

[0098386]

I wouldn't bother with it. I like my PSP (when it's moddable, and not for piracy) and I like the iPhone. The PSP has all the games I want and not cheap knockoffs like some of the iPhone games, but the iPhone is probably the best phone on the market... Well for my needs it is the best phone on the market.

Thing is their competative products don't seem to fare well. The DS is outselling the PSP, the iPod is outselling the Walkman, the Wii and 360 are outselling the PS3. I'd rather see them focus on making something unique and great than see them copy.

In comparison, a PSP Go with 16GB internal storage is going to be no more than £250 (hopefully less if Sony realise the pricing is still a little high). This is for a device which is better at movies and better at gaming than iPhone.

No it's not. I used to use my PSP for watching TV shows, then I went back to the iPod Classic, now I'm on the iPod Touch. The display on the iPod is just generations better, stores much more, better sound through headphones. And not so much a big deal if you leave it plugged in but the battery life is much worse on the PSP.

The software on PSP is very good - it's reliable and I've never seen it crash. If they can expand this to include telephone support as well then I think they'd be on to a winner.

Really? The music portion of the software is horrendous to use, wifi reception isn't as good, there's no organisation allowance for stored games, video requirements are sketchy (at least in iTunes it tells you if the video will play on an Apple device... Rather than leave you to test it out on the PSP itself).

I've also had a fair few crashes. Occasionally when it brings the keyboard up and the frequent one that doesn't let me turn off the device (even with hacks), and that's the same on my brother and friends PSP-2000.

 

[grosslyclever]

So y is making a Phone combined with a PSP? WHAT?

I'm laughing out loud!

 

[Bubba Satori]

It is said that certain predators can smell fear.

 

[Colrath]

Yeah good luck with that Sony, we all know they put the crappiest hardware parts inside all of their products.

... What are you talking about?

 

[neiltc13]

Yes, my point exactly. That "widescreen" can mean several things and that even if the iPhone were 16:9 you would still get black bars with anything that didn't fit *that* exactly. Check the post I was replying to originally. The poster was saying that Apple was somehow cheating its customers by calling the iPhone widescreen. I was saying that Apple (and every other computer manufacturer) has already established widescreen to include plenty of other ratios than 16:9 (usually being around 16:10).

Sorry let's be clear here - most (if not all) of the movie and TV show content Apple sells on its own store is 16:9. Pretty much every TV show I watch is 16:9.

If iPhone was WIDER than this then I wouldn't be bothered by their widescreen marketing. But to most users, the term "widescreen" means 16:9 - I don't think anyone can possibly consider 3:2 "widescreen".

 

[NoSmokingBandit]

Sony always copies on everything company around them (e.g. Microsoft, Nintendo and Apple). that is just annoying!

Examples?

 

[Pika]

The PSP is more of a toy for teenage gamers then a professional business device like the iPhone.

It is build only to play games.

I'd LOL to see a business person using a PSP as a communication device.