Sony comments on PlayStation phone rumours

You're nobody these days in the world of technology unless you're releasing a smartphone. Google's done it (and is rumoured to be doing it again), and Facebook has been accused of it. And most recently, last week Sony was linked with smartphone rumours, in the form of a PlayStation phone.

Leaked photos emerged on Engadget last week allegedly showing the device, which is rumoured to run on Gingerbread (the upcoming new version of Android) - and include a 'Sony Marketplace' feature allowing users to download games. Engadget speculated that the handset could be announced at Mobile World Congress in February next year.

Last week Sony refused to comment, but over the weekend Sony&'s Chief Financial Officer Masura Kato did have something to say about the rumours. Speaking through an interpreter, he said "there is a gaming market based on cellphones, and there are many changes that are being seen with Nintendo, as well as ourselves, in the field of the product for the gamers. And there are smartphones and others or even cellphones gaming markets are very popular here in Japan. So the market itself is very... expanding."

He then went on to talk about tablet computers, adding: "We are trying to figure out what we can do as Sony in this market. I think this is as far as I can tell you regarding these products at market."

It's been suggested that the company is feeling threatened by Apple's iPhone, and the amount of games being developed for that platform by a lot of the major games studios. With iPhones and other Apple touchscreen devices now competing for a similar market as Sony's handheld gaming platforms, the company could have a lot to gain by closing the gap with a PlayStation phone.

However, anyone with an eye on the gaming world will know that this is not the first time a gaming platform/phone hybrid has been mooted. The first rumours of a PSP phone appeared in 2007, while in January last year Sony was reported to have refused Sony Ericsson the right to use the PlayStation brand. And since Kato's comments aren't really conclusive, we'll just have to wait and see.