The PlayStation Phone is still real

By now you’ve seen our photos of the PlayStation Phone, and likely you’ve also heard the scattered reports of debunkings and cries of “fake!” — it wouldn’t be a scoop without it. Only here’s the thing: the PlayStation Phone in the photos we ran last night, and the device reported on back in August is most definitely real. We’re not saying that because we want to believe or because we’re gingerly trying to nab pageviews: we’re saying it because we know it to be true. This is a device which has been confirmed through multiple, trusted sources. And we’re not just talking good tipsters — some of our information comes from people much more closely connected to the project. Even since last night we’ve received more info about the phone — learning that its codename is “Zeus,” and it was last seen running Android 2.X (not 3.0, which we suspect will be the shipping version). It should be obvious by comparison of our original mockup to the real photos we’ve just uncovered that the handset we described in August is the same handset now fully revealed. Prior to last night, we had never seen an actual image of the phone. It should also be obvious that the device pictured in those photos is a prototype running early software (which would explain the A / B button mention in the photo above) with hardware that was likely hand-built, or at the very least created in a very small batch.

Based on what we’ve heard about the secrecy of this plan, it makes sense that even Sony’s own employees wouldn’t be privy to information on the phone, the marketplace, and the collaboration with Google. The alleged Sony response to the device makes that somewhat clear — reports state that an employee originally told a publication that the images were fake, only to backtrack and deliver the standard corporate line that the company “doesn’t respond to rumor and speculation.” It’s possible that whomever was originally questioned either didn’t know of the device’s existence, was lying about its existence, or simply had their response taken out of context. And that brings us to our point — while there will be plenty of speculation on whether or not what we’ve shown you is real, we would never run the images or the information without a healthy sense that we were bringing you fact, and not fiction. We don’t like to boast, but as the guys and girls who brought you the first pictures and review of the Nexus One, the first details and images of the Dell Venue Pro (aka Lightning), the first pictures of the new MacBook Air, the first photos of the iPad, and the first photos of the iPhone 4, we feel pretty confident in our abilities to deliver the goods. Of course, this story is just beginning — so hold on tight.


The PlayStation Phone is still real originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leaked Photo: Is This the Sony Ericsson PlayStation Phone?

Engadget has photos of what it says is a prototype Sony Ericsson slide-out phone with PlayStation-PSP–style gaming controls. The phone has a multitouch trackpad (it’s hard to slide analog sticks beneath a screen) and purportedly will appear sometime next year running Android 3.0, aka Gingerbread.

Rumors of an Android 3 PlayStation Phone first emerged in August. But we’ve been down this road many times before, with devices reported to be imminent, then killed off.

According to Engadget, the phone’s screen is “in the range of 3.7 to 4.1 inches” — they have photos, but not a copy of the phone itself, so there’s some guesswork involved. The phone is also reported to have a 1-GHz Qualcomm processor, 512 MB of RAM and 1 GB of ROM.

That’s not much storage if the phone’s going to store games, pictures, video, books, apps or other media. Apparently the phone takes microSD cards but not memory sticks or UMD. That’s one way to solve the storage problem, albeit a cumbersome one.

Engadget also claims there will be a special Sony Marketplace offering Android apps for the device. Custom Android app stores for custom Android devices seem to be the thing to do: Barnes & Noble is getting ready to do just that for its new Nook Color.

Kotaku reported earlier this week that Sony executives were showing off a slide-out widescreen gaming device that the company was calling the PSP2. The Wall Street Journal reported this summer that Sony was working on adding 3G networking to its gaming devices, and on handheld devices offering wireless communication, gaming and e-reading.

NowGamer reports that Sony’s European division stated that the leaked photos are fakes, but then changed its official response to “no comment.” NowGamer points to details suggesting that the photos are fake, including “a large amount of dirt collecting around the screen, as well as mention of ‘A’ and ‘B’ buttons on the interface.”

Assuming all of these projects are active, they could be complementary devices, offering slightly different features and price points, or it could be a single convergent device offering everything. I guess we’ll find out sometime in 2011.

See Also:


HTC Desire HD review

Did you know that the word “jumbo” originated from the name of an African elephant famed for being the largest of his kind? HTC will be well familiar with that tag having already rattled off the HD2, EVO 4G, and HD7 in a smartphone-dwarfing 4.3-inch form factor. And while that may not be the largest screen you can have your Android confectionery on today, it’s arguably the upper limit of what we might consider a pocketable device. The HTC Desire HD follows, and seeks to improve upon, its laudable predecessors with an aluminum unibody construction, WVGA (800 x 480) display, 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash plus 720p video, and a modern 1GHz CPU. That hardware is put at the service of Android’s latest Froyo offering, complemented with an updated Sense that includes a web interface for controlling and discovering your phone remotely. It’s a rich spec sheet, that much is unquestionable, but you’re not just here for tenuous wildlife-related metaphors, you want to know if the whole is equal to, or perhaps even more than, the sum of its parts. Join us after the break for a deeper look at the Desire HD.

Continue reading HTC Desire HD review

HTC Desire HD review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab hitting T-Mobile USA on November 10th, $400 on contract

America’s number four carrier just landed a launch date for Samsung’s Froyo-based Galaxy Tab, and sure enough, it’ll be trotting out into the spotlight a full 24 hours before Verizon Wireless and four whole days prior to Sprint. Trouble is, T-Mob’s not being kind enough to dole out a price tag, so there’s no reasonable way for you to compare its offering against the competition. But hey, being first out of the gate, they can’t hold out on us too much longer, eh?

Update: T-Mobile USA’s official Galaxy Tab portal just went live, and guess what? You’ll be shelling out $399.99 for this bad boy… on a two-year data contract. You’ll also be responsible for a $35 activation fee and a $200 early termination charge should you soon realize just what you’ve gotten yourself into.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab hitting T-Mobile USA on November 10th, $400 on contract

Samsung Galaxy Tab hitting T-Mobile USA on November 10th, $400 on contract originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 09:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Huawei S7 gets Best Buy listing for $299.99, not shipping until November 7th

Huawei‘s Ideos S7. We loved it in June (resistive touchscreen notwithstanding), Expansys picked it up a few weeks later, and now Best Buy is also joining in on the phone. The 7-inch Android tablet — with kickstand — is now but a listing on the US retailer’s website, “coming soon” for $299.99. Store pickup is coming soon, but shipping availability is November 7th… no matter how expedited you make the order. If it’s any consolation, that’s still before the Galaxy Tab.

Huawei S7 gets Best Buy listing for $299.99, not shipping until November 7th originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 08:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer tablet PC line launching on November 23rd, priced from $299 to $699

Not much more to tell you that you didn’t already pick up from the headline. Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci told Dow Jones Newswire that it will be launching its first line of tablet PCs in New York City on November 23rd, priced from $299 to $699 each. That’s all the man said, leaving us to speculate on the OS (though Android’s been heavily rumored) and whether we’re looking at the launch of an Acer 5-, 7-, or 10-inch tablet (or all of the above) priced with or without carrier subsidies. Still, with Android Gingerbread already on the lawn of the house that Google built we can expect to see a whole slew of Google sanctioned tablets launch before CES 2011 gets underway in January.

Acer tablet PC line launching on November 23rd, priced from $299 to $699 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 07:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Navigon MobileNavigator finally hits American Androids, includes augmented reality POI view

Navigon MobileNavigator finally hits American Androids, includes augmented reality POI view

We got our first taste of Navigon‘s MobileNavigator for Android way back at CES last January, and since then Googlephone users across Europe have been merrily navigating around using the thing. Finally, Americans get our chance, with Navigon announcing a North American release. This version includes maps of the good ‘ol US of A, downloaded to the storage card (1.5GB worth) to enable full offline navigation, though you’ll need a connection to get traffic updates. There’s an improved Reality View Pro mode, which shows “photo realistic 3D views” of street signs and, the cream of this frothy app, a new Reality Scanner mode. This Layar-like view overlays nav and POI information over a real-time stream of the world from the phone’s camera, letting you spot that Stuckey’s from afar. The app hits the Android Market today for $39, but that’s one of those limited time deals. After two weeks it jumps up to $59, so don’t be slow with the clicking.

Continue reading Navigon MobileNavigator finally hits American Androids, includes augmented reality POI view

Navigon MobileNavigator finally hits American Androids, includes augmented reality POI view originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 06:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The PlayStation Phone

It’s hard to believe that what we’re looking at is real — but we assure you, the picture above is in fact the PlayStation Phone you’ve long been waiting for. As we reported back in August, the device you see is headed into the market soon, likely boasting Android 3.0 (aka Gingerbread), along with a custom Sony Marketplace which will allow you to purchase and download games designed for the new platform. The device snapped up top (and in our gallery below) is sporting a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 (a chip similar to the one found in the G2, but 200MHz faster), 512MB of RAM, 1GB of ROM, and the screen is in the range of 3.7 to 4.1 inches. Looking almost identical to the mockup we hit you with this summer, the handset does indeed have a long touchpad in the center which is apparently multitouch, and you can see in the photos that it’s still bearing those familiar PlayStation shoulder buttons. For Sony buffs, you’ll be interested to know that there’s no Memory Stick slot here, but there is support for microSD cards.

The particular model in these shots is still in prototyping mode. As such, the unit doesn’t have a custom skin (not even SE’s Timescape design seen on the Xperia devices), and is said to be rather buggy. We’re digging into more facts as we speak, but it’s likely that much of what we reported earlier is still accurate, and though the device could still be headed for a 2010 release, 2011 is looking much more realistic. Still, there’s a lot of time between now and the holidays… so keep your fingers crossed!


The PlayStation Phone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nook Color: Barnes & Noble’s Full-Color Tablet With Apps, Mags and Books for $250 [Video]

Barnes & Noble’s touchscreen Nook Color—a reading-centric, 7-inch Android tablet with full color books, magazines, newspapers and apps is well, surprisingly good. It might be the best Android tablet yet, even. Update: Video! More »

Vodafone Australia creates giant Android mascot, sets it free on the streets of Sydney

Vodafone Australia creates giant Android mascot, sets it free on the streets of Sydney

In the States it’s almost voting time and the posturing has certainly come to a fever pitch. If someone hasn’t come a knocking on your door yet, promising to fix whatever ails you, they surely soon will. So, it’s nice to see a representative going door-to-door without an ulterior motive… well, without a political one, anyway. Meet Andy, the full-scale Android mascot who can be found wandering the streets of Sydney in an attempt by Vodafone to get people more familiar with the little OS that could (and is). We’re thinking he’s more likely to scare small children than create converts out of competing smartphone users, but maybe our pollsters are reading this one wrong.

[Thanks, Geoff]

Vodafone Australia creates giant Android mascot, sets it free on the streets of Sydney originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Oct 2010 10:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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