The funniest thing about the PSPhone is how people think it is a very genious/revolutionary idea that is ahead of its time.
Before any leak I thought the best device was the Samsung EPIC 4G, and that it needed a few tweaks:
+GSM
+Froyo MIUI ROM
+HDMI
+Volume Rocker & Camera buttons on Right-side (shoulder buttons)
+Dual Nubs and Gamepad (instead of keyboard)
= Gaming Smartphone = PSPhone

Well, you're right, from a hardware perspective it's not terribly innovative, but that's only if you look at the innovation from a hardware perspective. Hardware is but one small aspect of a system.

Consider the reach, experience, and relationships that Sony has with developers having released extremely popular gaming systems as part of the equation when comparing the modern smartphone to a PSPhone. Consider the experience they have marketing and the established distribution channels. Lastly, consider the power of the Playstation brand, as well unmistakable relationship with gaming. These are entirely business areas of differentiation and are indeed significant.

One could argue that a PSP is little more than an internet tablet with a closed, static UI and gamepad attached. But the difference in positioning and software guarantee that it will be used very, very differently than an internet tablet.

So I would respectfully say Gaming Smartphone != PSPhone.

Well until the PSP Phone aka Xperia Play was announced, I was very much looking forward to the N9 and the enhancements it was hopefully going to bring to people who own their current 'flagship' phone. I was just thinking today about a) the lack of games b) the lack of turn-by-turn navigation (the only current Nokia phone that doesn't!) c) lack of official MMS support (moot point thanks to fMMS) d) lack of perfectly working videochat d) lack of Maemo's market penetration.

That's not to say I'd rather have another phone at the moment - there is so much more that I love about the N900.

BUT...

Now that the Xperia Play is officially on the scene, and considering that it was the video of the N900 playing Super Mario Bros via video-out, with a Wiimote that hooked me on the phone in the first place, it's pretty clear to me which phone I'm going for next.

And yes I do feel slightly like a traitor - Maemo beats Android imho - but when it comes to technical gratification, them's the rules.

Yeah but the Xperia Play is a big dissapointment.
It could've been the "Nexus S x iPhone4" killer. But instead it became an "Xperia" instead of a "PlayStation" or a "Sony Ericson" instead of "Sony".

The Sony NGP (aka PSP2) looks very very promising though.

In case there are Sony representatives reading these forums:
Sony, here's what you do, take those great cues from the NGP and apply it to the pitiful Xperia Play and what you get is.... The PlayStation Phone!

Have the PSPhone half the screen resolution of the PSP2 (1600x960 instead of 960x544), and thus needing half the processing power (at games), which means more battery life for other things (like phoning, gps etc).

1) Have beefier specs (800x480 screen, (min)1.2GHz Cortex A8, SGX540, 1GB RAM)
2) Replace the multi-touchpad with dual joysticks from the NGP
3) Include a miniHDMI out between the shoulder buttons

4) Have 4 shoulder buttons (where in Android, the two left's act as volume(up + down), then a customizable one, then the far right is dedicated camera button)
5) Include a larger >1799mAh removable battery
6) Make it more squarish for better hand-grip

7) Move the power button to the left and make it larger
8) Have the back panel come out more comfortably (perhaps like the Captivate)
9) Change name to "The Playstation Phone"

10) Sell the damn thing!

How is 1600x960 half the resolution of 960x544?

And if that's half... can I borrow money from you?

This is just an example of what I would say is the correct approach.

PSP2: Quadcore A9 + Best graphics (SGX543MP4) + 2,300mAh battery = min 5hrs usage time.
1600x960 Resolution = great pixel density on 5", plays 720p HD content, can output games at 720/960p.

PSPhone: Dualcore A9 + Beast graphics (SGX540) + 1,800mAh battery = min 7hrs gaming time.
800x480 Resolution = good pixel density on 4", same game from PSP2 can be naturally scaled back (only quarter the resolution) so developers need only to make the game once to target both platforms, allow content played at 720p but not the native games (sluggish response if they're graphic heavy)

Making the PSPhone use less resolution, means less processing power necessary, means less battery drain (and more battery for other tasks like telephone), means smaller battery, means smaller device, means pocket friendly, means a viable solution!

I still question your math.

I have a feeling they have two different goals for the Xperia phone and the NGP. NGP is suppose to continue the line of videogame handhelds and given its specs, probably offer console developers a similar platform as the 360/PS3 to port their games from.

While the Xperia phone is meant for PS1 games, and other Android games that other similarly specced Android phones could probably play. So basically the controls would set it apart from other Android phones.

Who is making this? Sony Japan or SE Sweden?? I think this will be an epic fail... Playstation Gaming has always strickly come directly from Japan. Plus both PS3 and PSP have revolutionary (and exclusive) gaming engine. How can you mix Android with the Playstation brand?! If a true psp-phone should've come out, it should've just been the PSP2. You don't need Android at all, just add your own telephony service to your existing UI and OS and stick with the Playstation Network for the market!

I spit on Sony Ericsson but I bow down to Sony.

Well they could make an Android Smartphone, put in a locked bootloader (like the Motorola Milestone). Then they could make a program that runs natively on the device but not through Android (so they run side-by-side). This program enters the "Playstation" mode where you play games etc, and since it is not related to Android/Dalvik/java/VM/bullshti the games can be played at a great performance.

(lol)