We all knew that one day it was going to happen. Rumors have been floating around the internet about a possible Sony Ericsson PSP phone because of a patent application that Sony made for one. A few days ago another Sony patent application arose for the "orientation based multiple mode mechanically vibrated touchscreen display."
Sony has been working on these multifuntional ideas with full touchscreen at the same time Apple did. Sony Ericsson patent application was filed on August 30, 2006. Several months before the iPhone was introduced, and a week before the main iPhone patent application became public.
It could feature a full touch screen display, accelerometer or other orientation sensor, and a haptics feedback set-up, that can be reconfigured through software between PSP and phone functionality:
In PSP mode this Sony Ericsson phone (pictured above) is:
"… set out to mimic the look and feel of the popular Sony.TM. Playstation Portable (PSP.TM.) gaming device. The area designated by reference number 300 is reserved for game action. It is essentially the display within the display. The dashed box referred to by reference number 305 represents the buttons that appear on the right hand side of the PSP.TM.. The dashed box referred to by reference number 310 represents the buttons that appear on the bottom of the PSP.TM.. Lastly, the dashed box referred to by reference number 315 represents the buttons that appear on the left hand side of the PSP.TM.. The buttons represented by reference numbers 305, 310, and 315 are graphical renditions on the mechanically vibrated touchscreen display 150 of the portable mobile communications device 100. The mechanically vibrated touchscreen display is configurable and re-configurable to suit the mode or application desired by the user. In this example, when the user presses an area of the mechanically vibrated touchscreen display that corresponds to one of the buttons that is associated with the PSP.TM. interface, a tactile sensation is returned to the user that indicates a button was pressed. The exact type of tactile sensation emitted by the mechanically vibrated touchscreen display and experienced by the user can vary according to parameters set out in the display configuration associated with that mode. Thus, some buttons may have different feels than other buttons."
But when you think about all of these features that the phone has built in, it can ultimately be used for a slew of other things such as an MP3 player, digital camera, mobile internet browsing device all using a touchscreen. Sounds familiar? It seems the iPhone sports all of these features and will be used for gaming as well. But we can’t say that Sony copied Apple.
Unfortunately, people who might be excited about the phone/PSP mash-up will have to wait another 18 months for it to be complete and operational for public distribution. In the mean time howerver, Sony Ericsson is planning on releasing their answer to the Apple iPhone (sans the PSP feature) in their new P5i coming out in the beginning of summer.
