PlayStation Phone Looks to be Real

[Rob Williams]

The prospective "PlayStation Phone" has been a popular topic in recent months, but thanks to a couple of videos released over the past weekend, the "rumor" tag can rightfully turned into "fact". I'm not sure of the source of these videos, as they were uploaded to YouTube under a moniker, but that's not what matters... what does, is that this thing has potential

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Read the rest of our post and then discuss it here!

 

[Tharic-Nar]

Solid idea ruined by DRM from the PSP Go? We'll see... Sony could get this right, but under its current strategy of feature deprecation, i wonder how many of this phones features will still exist in a years time... if it's android based, i'm wondering if Sony will try and block android games from running on it unless purchased through PSN... (could so easily see that happening...)

 

[DarkStarr]

Too bad that 6 months after its release it wont be able to be used as a phone since you could use the cellular network to access something possibly similar to jailbreakme.com soon after no wifi or removable memory XD

 

[RobbyBob]

Solid idea ruined by DRM from the PSP Go? We'll see... Sony could get this right, but under its current strategy of feature deprecation...if it's android based, i'm wondering if Sony will try and block android games from running on it unless purchased through PSN... (could so easily see that happening...)

Oh god, I hope not. If such a thing happens, I'll be one of the first to start breaking the protection open. I might even hard-mod the thing, if they start hacking away at the features.

I think Sony might have learned from the PSP and PS3 ( read: linux debacle ). They stated somewhere that they were planning to embrace the homebrew community ( sorry, I can't remember where I read that tid-bit ), so maybe they've gained some sanity from the whole thing.

 

[Greg King]

There is too short of a shelf life for mobile phones for this device to be successful I am afraid. Unless they are invested in upgrading the hardware at a pace in line with handset manufacturers, not not console manufactures, I don't see this getting much success at all. That said, its about damned time that someone try and put some controls on a phone. I love the iPhone and I play games on it all the time but there are many times where I just want to use a set of physical controls.

 

[Doomsday]

epic fail!!

 

[Optix]

I don't think that I will -ever- understand the world's fascination with cell phones. A phone is a phone. Why do you need to be able to access Facebook while you are out? I can understand the need for a frequent traveler. They could find a restaurant, a movie, directions to a meeting, access email while on the go. For the average user it just seems like a lot of wasted time and money.

My wife and I have a $50 pay as you go phone with nothing on it and it works just fine. Then again we both aren't on Facebook (with the exception of hardware contests) and don't feel the need for the world to know what kind of sammich we ate or whether we have to poo.

Goofy.

 

[Greg King]

It's not that the world is fascinated with cell phones, it's that they are fascinated with convenience.

I use my phone primarily for email. I have a job that demands high availability. High availability from our servers and high availability from ourselves. Having a smart phone allows me to receive and send emails when needed regardless of where I am located. I have an app that lets me control my torrents on my NAS box when connected to my home network and another app that lets me play music through my Squeezebox. I can bring up a graphing calculator when needed in class and catch up on the news when I'm sitting somewhere waiting. I can check restaurant recommendations when I'm out with the girlfriend and map out the best possible way to get to wherever we choose to go. I also play a shit load of games and waste time on Facebook when I feel the need.

People don't have to have a smartphone to get the convenience of an actual phone. My parents both have regular clam shell phones and are happy with them. I respect the simplicity of those phones but couldn't use them on a daily basis. My lifestyle has changed because of what's available on phones today.

Can't agree with you more on the silly facebook updates. I just block 95% of my facebook "friends" so I don't have to hear about their medical conditions, eating habits and weekend plans.