Hey! remember that PSP-phone idea that people have been waiting for for just about ever? Well news of such a device have breached the waves – but this time with a splash of credibility.

According to Engadget’s Ninjas, not only is a hybrid device actively in development at Sony Ericsson – but it could even see release this year. Engadget says that the PlayStation branded phone will be based on the Android 3.0 platform, feature a WVGA (or better!) screen somewhere in the 3.7 to 4.1 inch range, a tentative 5 megapixel camera and a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU.

The device will also sport a PSP-Go like aesthetic. As far as controls are concerned, it’ll have the standard d-pad and face buttons, along with a “long touch pad” for analogue controls. strangely – and stupidly – the device doesn’t seem to be compatible with existing PSP games available on PSN. It really makes no sense for developers to have to port, or design games specifically for the handheld. The Engadget report mentions games like God of War and LittleBigPlanet  as well as a possible mobile Modern Warfare game.

Could a device like this save the floundering PSP platform – or is the iPhone already too strong a device in the handheld market? Is this destined to fail, like Nokia’s ill-fated side-talking taco disaster, the N-Gage – or will this herald a new era of gaming for Android phones which, admittedly, are a bit rubbish on the gaming side of things?

We’re a week away from Gamescom, and a month from TGS; so if the device is real, one of those shows would be the place to reveal it.

Source : Engadget