The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sony’s gearing up to take on Apple this year, with the long-awaited PSP smartphone and a portable device to compete with the iPad. But will it be too little too late?
There aren’t extensive details available yet – including any info about pricing and specs – but we can expect to see the both the PSP phone and the PSPad sometime this year. The Sony Ericsson PSP phone, in particular, has been in the works since at least 2007, but has met with various delays since then.
As for the multifunction iPad competitor, it’s not clear exactly what form that will take. Both devices, though, will leverage the media platform Sonys launching later this month. The Sony Online Service – a temporary name – is going to provide similar media content as iTunes, but will supplement its offerings with its extensive (and exclusive) catalogue of PlayStation games. Mostly older games are expected to be available on the mobile devices.
The project is apparently being speared by Kunimasa Suzuki, who has an oversight role in both Sony’s Vaio and PlayStation businesses. Getting previously disparate corporate divisions to work together has been a major part of CEO Howard Stringer’s turnaround plan, making the PSPad an incredibly important sign of if that labour has born any fruit. Is this the Sony renaissance we’ve been longing for? Or will it be another in a long line of proprietary format failures? We’ll find out soon, either way.
Nick T
Friday, March 5, 2010 at 9:41 AMPersonally, I don’t think Apple have anything to worry about! Sony come up with some good ideas, and they promise all sorts of wonderful features, but in the end, they let it all down with delays, proprietary formats, limitations, broken promises and badly developed software.
The PlayTV was a huge joke for Sony. They touted all sorts of great features, and when the product arrived after years of delays, the final product is just a big let down (IMO). I can’t even get a complete TV Guide?!
Same with the PSP.. it was meant to be THE portable entertainment device, but it was let down by some very dodgy software. The browser? Please!
The PSP-2000 was meant to offer video-out features whereby you could connect it to the TV… except, here in Australia, the AV cable wasn’t available until a couple of months after the PSP was released. The PSP-3000 is just a rip-off.
And don’t get me started on the PS3!! I have one, but only as a Blu Ray player. Sony need to take a page from Microsofts’s book (I can’t believe I just said that). When a patch is released for a game, it installs in seconds on the Xbox. I’ve waited AGES just to install a patch on the PS3. I just can’t bring myself to play games on it anymore. The PS store is also badly designed. Why, Sony, oh why do I have to download a demo, only to download the full game all over again if I like it? Never had to do that with the Xbox360. One of the biggest problems with the PS3 is it’s biggest attraction, it does too much.
Oh, and they falsely advertise products! I purchased a product a few years ago based on a feature mentioned in their brochure, only to find out it wasn’t accurate at all. Even the salesman confirmed it (he obviously only reads the brochures too).
When I was looking for new stereos/tv’s etc, I would always look at Sony first. Nowadays, I usually turn away from the Sony equipment.
hmm, can you tell I’m not a big Sony fan anymore? :^)
Gregory Opera
Sunday, March 7, 2010 at 12:32 PM“Personally, I don’t think Apple have anything to worry about! Sony come up with some good ideas, and they promise all sorts of wonderful features, but in the end, they let it all down with delays, proprietary formats, limitations, broken promises and badly developed software.”
Can’t agree with you more here – whist I think that SOME of Sony’s software hasn’t been too bad and FIRMLY believe their formats are (usually) superior, in most cases poorly-written software and proprietary formats have done more harm than good… As for the delays, well Sony is in my opinion, one of the worst for this!
“The PlayTV was a huge joke for Sony. They touted all sorts of great features, and when the product arrived after years of delays, the final product is just a big let down (IMO). I can’t even get a complete TV Guide?!”
Yeah, not sure what’s going on here, but I think PlayTV’s fantastic!
Yes it was delayed, but in the end, the version WE ended-up with is superior to that originally offered and/or that still offered in certain countries… All of the features promised by Sony were delivered, and I have no problems with the TV guide.
My ONLY real complaint is that PlayTV doesn’t have a pass-through connection, meaning that certain other products or services (such as subscription television) can’t be used at the same time…
“Same with the PSP.. it was meant to be THE portable entertainment device, but it was let down by some very dodgy software. The browser? Please!”
The PSP (PlayStation Portable)/PSP Go offers “DVD-like” video playback, PlayStation 1-quality gaming (though some games come pretty close to PlayStation 2-quality!), digital comics with some BIG-name publishers offering content and a BIG, BIG list of games?
How in the world can ANY other portable gaming system compare to THIS?
Yes, the browser sucks MASSIVELY and is a COMPLETE waste of time, but have you actually used the browser on Nintendo’s “DS” line of products? It’s rubbish, in fact it’s just as bad (if not worse!) than that offer on the PSP (PlayStation Portable)/PSP Go!
Then there’s the PSP Go – it’s a fantastic product, but it’s pricing is a joke, it has been poorly marketed, Sony have offered very little incentive to existing PSP (PlayStation Portable) owners to upgrade and many “key” games are not available for the PSP Go (ie. in “download” format).
With the obvious issues relating to the PSP Go outlined above, the PSP (PlayStation Portable)’s pricing always has been and likely always will be the biggest problem – the pricing is (in my opinion) reasonable (excluding the PSP Go), however it is a LOT more than most people are prepared to spend on a PORTABLE gaming system (especially if they’re buying for their kids)!
Sony need to bring the price of the PSP (PlayStation Portable) DOWN to match that of the Nintendo DSi, and either increase the amount of storage in the PSP Go to 32GB+ or bring the price down significantly… That WON’T make the PSP (PlayStation Portable)/PSP Go take off overnight, but it would be a BIG step in the right direction!
By the, what do you mean by “but it was let down by some very dodgy software”?
The XMB (XrossMediaBar) has won dozens of awards and has been implemented in televisions, Sony Ericsson cell phones and countless other devices for this very reason!
“And don’t get me started on the PS3!! I have one, but only as a Blu Ray player. Sony need to take a page from Microsofts’s book (I can’t believe I just said that). When a patch is released for a game, it installs in seconds on the Xbox. I’ve waited AGES just to install a patch on the PS3.”
Most patches on MY PlayStation 3 install in seconds – it was only when we first bought the PlayStation 3 and dozens of games/accessories that we had to wait AGES for patches to install… Once we got these initial patches on though, we only have to wait a minute or so for new patches to install.
And with a 60% failure rate (a figure even Microsoft have admitted!), the Xbox 360 is probably the worst comparison you could have picked, especially when the PlayStation 3′s failure rate is less than 10%!
“The PS store is also badly designed.”
Millions would disagree with you, but if you say so…
“Oh, and they falsely advertise products! I purchased a product a few years ago based on a feature mentioned in their brochure, only to find out it wasn’t accurate at all. Even the salesman confirmed it (he obviously only reads the brochures too).”
Technically, a LOT of companies false advertise, though most don’t do it deliberately – Sony doesn’t really go out of their way to do this, but many of their advertisements are confusing about the availability of products and/or services available, particularly with regards to the countries in which those products/services are available in… The “PlayStation Home” service is a good example of this.
I’m not saying that Sony is a raging success, they’re not and they will need a LOT of work to get back on top, but if you’re gonna pick-on Sony, at least stick to VALID points!
The proprietary formats that have turned many people away from Sony, the high price tags, the piss-poor marketing… Things like that.
Tom
Friday, March 5, 2010 at 2:14 PMok fair enough.
But Dude the xbox has it’s faults too.
Last time i checked patches for games (for example MW2) took forever to come out on the xbox, while the ps3 had them days before.
I’m not saying any one company is perfect.
But sony are the only ones who provide a remote play service – which i love and use all the time.
So I give thumbs up to the PSP & PS3.
g30vani123
Friday, March 5, 2010 at 3:33 PM@ nickT
ok so you bought a $300 dollar system and are using it just for blu-ray? do you know how stupid that sounds?
so you have a system sitting there that has the capability to plat games like uncharted/heavy rain/metal gear4/Mlb 10 the show/god of war3…march release and all your using it is for the blu-ray player? sure im going to believe that.
ok soo PLAYTV is a joke? NPD reported over 4 million units of playtv have been purchased..im assuming your one of those 4mill…
i come home from a long day of work ..turn my ps3 on and watch the shows i missed while heading home.
are you trying to set up the device to record shows that premier on a Friday but its still Sunday? that the only way your TV guide would not be complete..
[The PSP-2000 was meant to offer video-out features whereby you could connect it to the TV… except, here in Australia, the AV cable wasn't available until a couple of months after the PSP was released. The PSP-3000 is just a rip-off.]
ok .are you talking about the psp3000 or 2000? because the video-out features are there..sony doesn’t have to include the wire..i think that people get wrong all the time..
the psp is a great device for keeping you entertained..i was in Hawaii on vacation..(i live in new york) i was bored sitting at the hotel waiting for my girl so i clicked remote play ..i was able to enjoy my movies/photos/music and chat with friends with my psp..if you don’t like the psp get a DS
and last but not last..the download on both systems are basically only as fast as the network your on..i have my 360 from launch and it downloads updates fine..i have my ps3 and it downloads updates fine..again the fact that you waited AGES to download an update is directly a result of your Internet..wich must suck.
last but not least im not sure how your ps3 works but when i download a demo on my ps3 it gives me the option to buy the full game..all i have to do is buy the normalizer (a piece of data that makes demo’s into a full game) which varies from kbs to mbs.and in less than 7 seconds my demos a full game..
if your gong to being your fanboyism to this topic do your homework
Nick T
Friday, March 5, 2010 at 6:14 PMThat wasn’t intended as fanboyism, but just my opinion of Sony. Of course I’m going to compare it with the 360, because I have it sitting side by side.
Yes, I use it as a blu ray player. Why, because it was the best Blu Ray player on the market when I bought it.
Sorry, but none of the games on your list interest me, except Uncharted 2, which I bought and played.
With regards to PlayTV, are you in the city? Maybe the guides are better for you there. IceTV couldn’t handle regional areas. TiVo works perfectly for TV guide, but for some reason, PlayTV can’t get a full guide for me. I tried to set the timer to record a show, and the first few minutes of the show were all jumpy and unwatchable. Also, SC10 is barely watchable for me. And I know for a fact I’m not the only one with this problem. Yet it works perfectly on TiVo.
No, I meant the PSP2000. I didn’t say I expected it to be bundled, I just expected it to be available to BUY at the same time. I worked in the industry, and I couldn’t order one in from any of my suppliers.
As for my network connection, it’s just fine thanks. But tell me, how can updates to Pain come in at 300MB? There have been many others that have been similar. Having said that, I haven’t played anything on it, except Uncharted 2, in a long time. So (and this applies to the demos too) they may have improved since then. Game updates have never been an issue at all, but they have on the PS3. This isn’t bad connection, this is the size of the updates and the design of the software, maybe it was just early development and they’ve improved things since.
Regardless, they were just my experiences. It wasn’t fanboyism at all. I was in the industry, and I have (or had) all the devices and speak from experience.
Yes, Remote Play is a nice feature… but again, it was something else that didn’t work for me. I last tried it a couple of years ago, so they may have improved that too.