Here we go again. Now that Sony's officially revealed the PlayStation phone and PSP 2, of course the rumour mill finds something else to grind its way through, and this time it's a PlayStation tablet.
Codenamed 'S1', it'll apparently be an Android 3.0-powered device with a 9.4 inch capacitive touch screen panel at 1,280 x 800 pixels.
The site says the device will be PlayStation certified - like the 'Xperia Play' Playstation Phone - meaning access to the PlayStation Suite and all its gaming offerings. It'll also be able to play PSone games and will come with one PSone title pre-installed. This comes in addition to compatibility to Sony's Qriosity and video on demand services, Sony Music and ebook offerings.
The tablet also apparently has a somewhat strange design, ditching the typically flat shape for a bulging curvature on one side of the machine, which is said to resemble "an open paperback stuffed into the back pocket, or a magazine folded backward upon itself such that only a single page is visible to read".
This bulge will house the battery, which shifts the weight to one side of the unit where users will hold it, apparently making it easier to hold than an iPad.
Front and rear-facing cameras are included, a Tegra 2 processor for those of you who knows what that is, and a USB port for memory sticks and whatnot.
All that's said to be coming for a price of $599, and is targeting a September release. We'll see. More info through the link.
Comments
17 comments so far...
infernoxXx on 16 Feb '11 said:
well if they can put so much into the PSP 2, im expecting this tablet to actually be on the same level as the ps3 and have a 720p screen aswell. the current ipad resolution is pretty close to 720p.
Jackmeo on 16 Feb '11 said:
Wonder how many PlayStation-certified devices there'll be out there in a few years time.
Will be interesting to compare to NGP on its own, to see just how much this strategy adds to a pure handheld approach. And also, since everyone says iOS and Nintendo are competing, I guess we can compare these numbers to the number of 3DS systems sold?
This will be less powerful than NGP. It's not meant to play NGP style games. PlayStation Suite is for low-end, $1-$5 games. Typical Android/iOS style games.
This isn't first-and-foremost a gaming device, just like the Xperia Play isn't really. It's a Android tablet, like Play is a Android phone, that happens to be PlayStation certified i.e. ready for PlayStation Suite content, as a bonus. This tablet won't even have physical controls, it'll probably use the virtual button layout Sony showed at their January NGP reveal.
ChrisIW on 16 Feb '11 said:
If this is true then I think Sony are spreading themselves far too thin with so much hardware on the market. They'd almost be creating competition for themselves in terms of game sales across all their handheld formats. They really need to pull out all the stops with PSP2 this time, and starting hardware wars on all fronts is just the sort of distraction that will see it flop like the original PSP.
Jeez I think I could be the new Pachter...
phate666 on 16 Feb '11 said:
Cant quite see the logic in releasing so many hand held devices so close together. But then im not an international businessman on international business
Imaduck on 16 Feb '11 said:
What the hell for?! Agree with Chris.
Jackmeo on 16 Feb '11 said:
Companies like Sony makes lots of different types of device. It's not unusual, they're a huge company. Look at Samsung and all the phones and tablets it is putting out.
These devices are using one common platform, not different platforms each. That platform is aimed at a totally different market than PSP2 - cheap mobile games. So they can coexist perfectly well. It won't take much resources from Sony to run that platform either, the technical environment is just nicked from Android, they already have Playstation Store infrastructure and so on. It's a low-cost venture but the rewards are potentially high if they can carve a slice of the mobile phone games market that is kind of booming at the moment.
Sony would be making these devices anyway, whether they were Playstation certified or not. Why not push out and start a platform that allows them to sell games content on all these devices in one foul swoop? Lots of people want to play games incidentally on their mobile devices, but not buy dedicated machines. Look how many people will play games on a iPhone or Android but who would never buy a PSP or DS. If Sony doesn't do something like this they'll miss those customers entirely. And in order to reach those customers, for Sony, the more devices they have with Playstation certification, the better. The mobile market is all about huge variety, and there being a constantly refreshed range of devices in different form factors, and like I say, Sony would be making them anyway, whether they were portals to Playstation content or not.
Fr33Kye on 17 Feb '11 said:
What this guy said. They are not really playstation products, they are sony products that allows them to sell playstation content. If they can get people who only game on their phones, familiar with the brand, it is a great thing. The NGP is not in competition with xperia play or with the new tablet.
stealth on 17 Feb '11 said:
the ngp/psp2 is the real gaming portable which can play everything thats available to the ps suite
the xperia/ and this rumored tablet arent competing nor are they as powerful.
KMakawa on 17 Feb '11 said:
If it doesnt have thumbsticks, or a mouse and keyboard -- It's not a game.
Tablets are good for casual things, but it isnt for gaming -- not yet.
boskersrevenge on 17 Feb '11 said:
Yeah, I'd go along with that... while phone/tablet games are games, they don't have the dedicated and reliable control factor to really give us what we need from video entertainment.
Dunno about the tablet. Android and the Playstation suite? It could be a good combination but really, tablets currently are only gadgety toys and many people won't adopt because we already have many things which do whatever a tablet can do. Only more portable.
RustySpoon80 on 17 Feb '11 said:
Who bets we dont get a PS4 anytime soon rather a PS Certified Bravia TV in a few years?
Padua on 17 Feb '11 said:
I think it is a great idea - hoping they go for a dual core processor this time. and have a HDMI out included.
I also have played lots of core games without a mouse, keyboard or thumb sticks.
Just because they are different doesn't make them not games...
Also, if a tablet supports blue tooth what excludes the optional use of a mouse, keyboard or even a controller?
altitude2k on 17 Feb '11 said:
Really?
boskersrevenge on 17 Feb '11 said:
Back away slowly, do not break eye contact.
Goffee on 17 Feb '11 said:
No, no, no, no - dumbest idea ever! And Sony were 2 out of 2 on cunning plans so far this year!
No market, death through RSI, uncomfortable, damages the brand - wrong on so many levels. http://bit.ly/h0j7a2
Wozzakl on 17 Feb '11 said:
Great plan for losing money.
JuiKuen on 17 Feb '11 said:
YAWN!