Engadget has leaked that Sony is prepping an android phone and online market for a portable gaming system built on top of the next version of android, version 3.0.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/11/e...aming-platfor/

This phone has a proper D-Pad, a 'long touch pad' and buttons, seems to offer a mix of PSX and PSP titles, and potentially offers compatibility to other handsets that meet a minimum spec. New titles for the platform are also rumored to take advantage of phone features (augmented reality).

Do you find this significant or not? What are the implications for Android competitors (ie. Nokia, Microsoft, Apple)?

{:^/~

I find it significant. The form factor is so obvious that it's strange that Nokia's never tried it. N-Gage may have been an embarrassment, but that shouldn't traumatize them so much they'll sit back and let others take the market. I think Nokia is being too careful, especially considering their comments about the "overcrowded" tablet market.

I can't fault the others. Microsoft needs to solve other problems first, and Apple is concentrating on one device. Nokia keeps talking about how one size doesn't fit all, but Android is taking all the risks.

Nokia's problems with fragmentation were caused by fragmented internals, not exteriors. Let's hope they're not overcorrecting, and we might just get N9 with keyboard, N9 without keyboard, and N9 with gamepad. One can always dream...

significant? if it turns out that d-pad slides away to reveal a layer of hardware keyboard aswee then i've just seen my next phone!

Wow, looks like a PSP Go with one of the newer Android phones slapped over it.

It is actually decent for the space restrictions.
Yeah I thought this might happen but they took much longer than I anticipated and I think that paid off (Android has come a long way).
Only if MeeGo project was very awesome and it was released sometime like Nov 09 they would've still had a chance but now it feels like they're too late to make a dint in Android's armour.

Go HERE and vote

I'd say that it's significant as well.

The gaming market is huge, and it seems to be spilling over in the moblie phone market. As I understand it, games represent the largest revenue driver in Apple's App Store. Sony has a distinct opportunity to one-up the competition in terms of sheer volume (PSX + PSP) and quality (eg. chrono cross) of games, especially if these games are made available to other devices. As these titles will likely be emulated, there's no need for developers to change their workflow or tools, and official support means simple access for casual users -- unlike current emulators that require ROM/BIOS downloads. Android would be the premier mobile gaming OS overnight.

It's about time that gaming companies started to take emulators more seriously.

Microsoft is also not sitting back, looking for ways to offer cross-platform development with its popular 3D framework. At the very least, they seem to be taking gaming very seriously for Windows Phone 7.

I'm having a hard time seeing the relevance of Nokia in the high-end smartphone space. They are already behind with the release of MeeGo, and I doubt that they will be able to convince developers to adopt QT en mass for mobile apps and additionally to offer a compelling gaming platform. Lastly when their handsets are beside Android3, iOS4 and WP7 devices on the shelf, it will be hard to take them seriously, though the specs may be comparable.

I'm not going to speculate what Nokia "should do", but I would be surprised if they have a breakthrough product with MeeGo. It seems that the competition is moving faster than their efforts to catch up. As Android begins to leak into the low-cost phone space (v2.x devices), Nokia's position is threatened.

Just to add another thing. Ars is running that Android is now #3 globally in the smartphone market overtaking Apple, and that smartphones are leading sales over all. The numbers:

41.2% symbian (Nokia), 18.2% BBOS (RIM), 17.2% Android (Google)

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/...-no-3-spot.ars

It's impressive that Android is now only 1 percent from the #2 spot, and at the rate at which it has been selling, and with powerful offerings such as the Galaxy S, I suspect it will overtake BlackBerry soon at both RIM and Nokia's expense. However it should be noted that Symbian is in the lead by a WIDE margin.

i dont care! i have an ps3/xbox360 at home, and a 52" full hd monster with dts hd/true hd 7.1 sound system.. why the hell should i 'seriously' play games on my mobile phone? i just want to play some casual games, like brain party or something like that.

serious and great gaming will always happen at home.

Eh I've played great portable games on the DS and the PSP too. IPhone has a few I'd like to play too (but not enough to justify buying an iPhone or iPod Touch).

I feel the lack of physical controls on most of these smartphones that do games holds them back and I would love to see Nintendo and Sony combine their gaming hardware with a Meego or Android phone OS.

I don't think this will fly. You have the size of a qwerty phone, but instead of something useful you put game controls. Why not just embed the game controls in a qwerty keyboard, then you have the best of both worlds.