AfterDawn: Tech news

Sony PSP does wireless

Written by Lasse Penttinen @ 29 Jul 2003 8:05 User comments (2)

As the Nokia N-Gage, the portable gaming console with cell phone functionality, is about to be released before the end of this year, Sony has released more information about Playstation Portable.
Not surprisingly, the PSP will also have wireless functions for communicating with other devices and for multiplayer abilities. According to the source, the PSP will utilize WLAN or Bluetooth technology and infra link, which is rather obsolete technology when compared to the first two.
Ken Kutaragi told the meeting of developers and publishers that the device will be able to access the Internet wirelessly through local area networks - suggesting that the system will use either 802.11 wireless networking technology, or possibly Bluetooth.
The Nokia N-Gage utilizes Bluetooth as well as GSM and GPRS cell phone technology and is Interned enabled for email (IMAP, POP, etc.) and WAP. As Sony won’t be the first to market, they need are expected to match or outperform the N-Gage.



The most interesting part in the source article is that Sony PSP might not be just a game console with connectivity, but a multipurpose next generation hand held with also a lot of useful tool-like purposes.
"I want to make it the ultimate mobile device," Kutaragi told the meeting. "I need your support for that." What he seems to be aiming for, however, is a mobile technology equivalent of the Swiss Army knife - a flexible and powerful piece of equipment capable of fulfilling an extraordinarily wide range of roles depending on what software and hardware it's loaded out with.
Making the PSP as a PDA like multi purpose tool would be an interesting move by Sony, that would separate PSP a lot from the old Playstation product line, which are sole gaming and entertainment devices. On the other hand, all this talk about the potential features reveals how much work to do the electronics giant still has before the launch.

Even though the planned feature pack seems delicious, no cell phone functionality has been mentioned, even though Sony would have the resources to implement that too (Sony Ericsson). This would give the N-Gage an edge, since who is willing to carry two devices when you could have all-in-one? I have personally tested the N-Gage and it seems to be serving very well as a cell phone (N-Gage has Symbian Series 60 platform, just like Nokia’s current top of the line products) and the mobile phone giant has managed to pack everything into a pocket fit size.

TheRegister.co.uk

Previous Next  

2 user comments

130.7.2003 05:43

The only bad thing I can see about the PSP is that it's coming out at the end of 2004.... T.T I think that's a bad move by Sony though...

231.7.2003 05:17

They seem to be making a few of them at the mo, The ps3 isnt being released for ages either. More chance for xbox 2 and what ever nintendo can kick up to kick sony little ass.

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Latest news

VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads (16 Mar 2024 4:31)
VLC Media Player, the versatile video-software powerhouse, has achieved a remarkable feat: it has been downloaded over 5 billion times.
1 user comment
Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit (19 Dec 2023 11:09)
Google settled its lawsuit in September 2023, and one of the settlement terms was that the way applications are installed on Android from outside the Google Play Store must become simpler. In the future, installing APK files will be easier.
8 user comments
Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets (06 Jun 2023 9:19)
Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.
Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations (02 May 2023 3:38)
Neato Robotics has ceased its operations. American robot vacuum pioneer founded in 2005 has finally called it quits and company will cease its operations and sales. Only a skeleton crew will remain who will keep the servers running until 2028.
5 user comments
How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp (20 Mar 2023 1:25)
The world's most popular messaging platform, Meta-owned WhatsApp has enabled sending messages to yourself. While at first, this might seem like an odd feature, it can be very useful in a lot of situations. ....
18 user comments

News archive