14 DAY TRIAL // The rumored PlayStation Phone, developed by Sony Ericsson, is set to be launched next spring, at least according to a report published by a Japanese newspaper.
Sony was rumored to be preparing a PlayStation-branded phone for quite some time now, but only a few months ago did photos of a prototype appear on the web.
The pictures showcased a slider phone, but instead of a classic keyboard located under the screen, the prototype had the regular PlayStation Portable controls, the D-pad and the face buttons, but, instead of the PSP's analog nub, the phone has a touch-sensitive pad.
According to the new report, the PlayStation Phone will be launched by Sony Ericsson, Sony's own mobile phone division, next spring all around the world.
Not a lot of details were revealed by the newspaper except the release date, but the report matches the previous rumors about the launch of the new device.
When asked for official details, Sony declined to comment on the story.
In case you haven't noticed the original prototype leak, besides being based on the sliding mechanism of the PSP Go, the PlayStation Phone won't have things like a UMD drive or a slot for the memory stick.
The PlayStation Phone is set to be based on Google's Android 3.0 mobile operating system, and will also sport a "custom Sony Marketplace which will allow you to purchase and download games designed for the new platform."
The hardware specs are close to what current generation smartphones have, including a 1GHz Qualcomm CPU, 512MB of RAM and 1GB of ROM, while the screen is rumored to be in the range of 3.7 to 4.1 inches, the diagonal of the PSP Go and the regular PSP, respectively.
Besides the PlayStation Phone, Sony is also hard at work at the all but confirmed PSP2, the second iteration of Sony's portable gaming console.