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[jackissocool]

I think the key to the future of Sony handhelds - of which I am a hardcore fan - is two pronged. They need a dedicated handheld with badass motherfucker specs, like the Vita was at launch. Then they need a phone with basically the same specs, perhaps a different form factor, and PlayStation controls. They may also want to consider phone controllers. Sony easily stands the best change at making dedicated gaming+phone hardware successful because no one makes better gaming hardware, they're pretty damn good at phones, and the PlayStation brand is strong.

 

[RaikuHebi]

In terms of the actual unit, that wouldn't be too difficult. Take the existing 3G Vita and add a phone and contacts app. And expand the current texting system. Don't worry about anything else that other smartphones have. It all would work under the existing Vita OS. Phone calls handled by headphones with a built in mic.

The main problem as I said earlier is the marketing and sale of this crazy hybrid unit.

Marketing wouldn't be a problem. It's a damn sexy looking device.

I think the key to the future of Sony handhelds - of which I am a hardcore fan - is two pronged. They need a dedicated handheld with badass motherfucker specs, like the Vita was at launch. Then they need a phone with basically the same specs, perhaps a different form factor, and PlayStation controls. They may also want to consider phone controllers. Sony easily stands the best change at making dedicated gaming+phone hardware successful because no one makes better gaming hardware, they're pretty damn good at phones, and the PlayStation brand is strong.

All of this is why it's crazy they haven't done it sooner, like back in the pre-iPhone days where they could've been the ones revolutionising the market.

 

[LouisaFerre]

I really don't see it happening. If by fully supported, you mean something that plays PSVita games, that's not going to be that viable. To avoid fragmentation, Sony would have to give keep similar hardware to the Vita in that device, for years to come. Considering smartphones are already beyond it in some ways and have yearly refreshes, such a device would not be able to keep up at all. It wouldn't be able to capture consumers looking for a high end smartphone, and the convenience of combining the two devices is small enough that people in the market for a handheld gaming system probably wouldn't pick it up over a dedicated device, unless the PlayStation Phone replaced Sony's dedicated handhelds completely.

 

[billsmugs]

PlayStation Mobile would be the answer.

PlayStation Mobile currently supports the Xperia Play which means you don't get anywhere near PSP level performance, let alone Vita levels. Even if they released a special Vita Phone target for PSM apps (and that would go against their current ideas: you can't release a Vita only PSM game for example), it would never offer the performance you need from a dedicated console.

Do people with that massive Samsung phone look like idiots? The Vita (and PSP before it) were sexy devices. Nothing idiotic about sticking them to your ear imo.

They don't have analogue sticks and buttons poking out of them though. I think the Vita looks lovely, but it does look slightly odd if you hold it to your ear like it's a phone. You'd also need to account for the speaker positioning and which way up the console would need to be held in phone mode.

In terms of the actual unit, that wouldn't be too difficult. Take the existing 3G Vita and add a phone and contacts app. And expand the current texting system. Don't worry about anything else that other smartphones have. It all would work under the existing Vita OS. Phone calls handled by headphones with a built in mic.

The main problem as I said earlier is the marketing and sale of this crazy hybrid unit.

They could add those features (and I'm not sure why they haven't really, at least a texting app, since it can receive them already), but that wouldn't make it a viable alternative to a smartphone running Android or iOS. People want all the apps their friends and family have on those ecosystems, and they expect Angry Birds to be free, not £40 or however much it costs on PSN. A Vita phone, while clearly superior to an iPhone from a gamer's perspective, would have about as much mass market appeal as the Vita has at the moment. They might sell a few more units, but I think most people would get a "normal" smartphone anyway, if they wanted one.

 

[Senor Kami]

PS Phone already happened.

If they released a PS Vita with 4G for like $100 more than it currently costs... and moved to micro sd, I'd buy that. Hell, if the 3G Vita could take and make phone calls I'd own one.

 

[satam55]

PlayStation Mobile currently supports the Xperia Play which means you don't get anywhere near PSP level performance, let alone Vita levels. Even if they released a special Vita Phone target for PSM apps (and that would go against their current ideas: you can't release a Vita only PSM game for example), it would never offer the performance you need from a dedicated console.

You do realize the Xperia Play has WAY better specs than the PSP, right??!!! You can play PSP games via roms on the Xperia Play with a PSP emulator app.

 

[LAA]

People want the Vita..to be a phone?
What the hell is this? Ignore this Sony, think of the games, not a phone...

I bet these people are getting X1's just for TV/Skype too, cause phone's offer much more value, useless otherwise huh?

 

[satam55]

People want the Vita..to be a phone?
What the hell is this? Ignore this Sony, think of the games, not a phone...

I bet these people are getting X1's just for TV/Skype too, cause phone's offer much more value, useless otherwise huh?

The Vita would fly off shelves if Sony could get it to double as a mid-range android phone.

 

[LAA]

The Vita would fly off shelves if Sony could get it to double as a mid-android phone.

I don't care, thats not the point.
If people were buying the Vita because it was a phone, it wouldn't be because of the games, at that point, no point of making it games dedicated or powerful if people only care about it being able to communicate with someone.

Think of the audience too. 3DS is doing fine, (more than fine even), as a dedicated portable gaming device, which offers even less services than the vita. All the Vita needs is games...not a phone... what craziness is this. May increase the fanbase, but the wrong kind of fans are being added, at which point, no point in calling it "Playstation" anymore.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

Bluetooth headset + Vita + Skype = ?

 

[knitoe]

It's too late. Another dumb Sony move. Should have launched a Vita phone with regular Vita at launched, ala iphone / itouch. Imagine how much larger the Vita market share would have been now if Sony did. Instead, they continue with obviously going to fail Xperia / Playstation mobile. Maybe, they will be smart next time...

 

[billsmugs]

You do realize the Xperia Play has WAY better spec than the PSP, right??!!! You can play PSP games via roms on the Xperia Play with a PSP emulator app.

Sorry, I didn't realise that, I just assumed from comments that Xperia Play support was dragging PSM performance down. Either way, I think you'd have trouble getting higher-end PSP games to work using PlayStation Mobile in its current form (especially on Vita where performance is a little lower). It looks like I was rather overestimating the PSP specs though!

One thing's for sure though, and that is that PlayStation Mobile isn't a solution for development of Vita quality retail titles like Tearaway or Killzone or Gravity Rush and so isn't a solution to the OS issue for a Vita smartphone. Especially not in it's current form with 96MB of memory and no real specific hardware access. You can't even use the touchscreen and the buttons at the same time due to how the virtual control overlay works on phones and tablets (unless you provide your own on screen controls I suppose).