Sony Ericsson’s Playstation Phone Packs Amazing Display

The Playstation phone from Sony Ericsson

One great thing about strings of rumors regarding certain mobile phones is that they build up excitement. Once we hear them all, we can’t wait to see the product itself and find out whether all we know about it will prove true. We’ve heard plenty about Sony’s Playstation phone and we’re definitely interested to find out more. Thankfully, a lot of people are trying to come up with fresh details and they’re posting them on the web.

We saw the first photos of a Sony Ericsson Playstation phone prototype leak on the web about a month ago. Now it’s time to add a couple of details to the equation, provided by multiple sources. For instance, one of Mobile Crunch’s sources who according to them is “much-trusted” has discovered that the phone is definitely real and going to happen and the screen on it is definitely “mind-blowing” and great competition for the iPhone 4’s retina display. Reportedly some of Sony’s Bravia technology was used and Sony Ericsson is seriously considering branding the phone Bravia (we’ve heard of the possibility of it being branded Bravia before so there likely is a lot of truth involved here).

Moreover, Sony Ericsson has currently set an off-contract price at around $500 and the device should come with 5 free games once you buy it. You’ll be able to purchase more games at a later time and most of them will have prices around the value of current mobile phones, so under $10, instead of being priced higher like the ones available for the Playstation Portable.

Because PSP games will probably not run on this handset, the phone won’t be branded Playstation so that customers don’t start confusing brands. That’s one main reason why most people believe the phone will come out named Xperia. The “Z-System” name that we’ve heard of before still stands and the anonymous tipster claims that Sony Ericsson reps frequently use it to describe the gaming platform and the distribution center. As for game distribution, while no one is a hundred percent sure how it will work at this point in time, one scenario involves a standalone application or app offering through the Android market. The same tipster was also told that Google is currently working closely with Sony Ericsson and is aiming to create a section of the Android market exclusively for this type of device.

Finally, don’t expect this handset to land in the near future (aka in time for the holiday season). The device is apparently nowhere near ready and the launch day should be in February next year. Mobile Crunch mentions that a launch around Mobile World Congress is almost a sure thing.  If you’re interested in the gaming experience this device can offer more than in what name it might have, the same tipster described the device as delivering the best gaming (experience) he/she has ever had on a mobile device. Aside from the Playstation phone, the tipster also discovered that follow-ups for the Xperia X8 and X10 are also in the works. The latter we already know about (through rumors, anyway). It’s currently known as the Anzu and it’s said to feature the same high quality display with Bravia technology.

Next stop GSM Arena that’s reporting somewhat different information. According to them Sony Ericsson France is holding a special event on December 9 where they are expected to make an announcement regarding mobile phones and gaming. The phone site does mention the same high-resolution touch screen display that compares to the retina one on Apple’s latest smartphone and also lists a 1Ghz processor, 512MB Ram and Android 2.3 Gingerbread as an operating system. I personally was a bit skeptical to believe that SE France could actually release a phone which will be sold worldwide.

That makes little to no sense for me until point. But that was until I discovered the photo included above. The announcement promises to deliver the most exciting presentation in the past 10 years. The first icon on the invite depicts a phone while the rest are the usual Playstation key logos. As far as I can remember, it was a SE exec from France who mentioned that Windows Phone 7 handsets are unlikely to happen (at least in the near future, I guess), but he didn’t mention anything about the Playstation phone, probably because he knew it was getting closer to a release.

So what we can take for granted out of all this rumors is: the Playstation phone exists but we’re not sure what name it will have, it will sport a pretty nice display and offer an impressive gaming experience. The rest of the details could change at any moment and we’ll probably find out more about the phone’s release date once it nears. Despite that, it’ll still be interesting to see what Sony Ericsson France has in store for its customers. Maybe it’s the PSP phone after all.11