This Is Engadget's Mock-Up Of The Device.

PlayStation Phone rumours have been on the cards since the PSP's inception — but these suggestions would play into a report posted by the Wall Street Journal earlier in the year.

According to Engadget's sources, the device is supposed to have a "landscape slider" similarly to the PSP. Instead of revealing a QWERTY handset, however, the slider will reveal typical PlayStation face buttons, with a long slide-pad replacing the analogue nub.

Even more interestingly, Engadget report that the device will run Android 3.0, further strengthening that "special relationship" between Sony and Google. Apparently, PlayStation games such as LittleBigPlanet, God Of War and Modern Warfare (though this is cited in the report, we're unaware of any PSP version of Activision's blockbuster shooter franchise) will be available from the Android marketplace. Even more interestingly, the report notes that games meeting certain requirements may end up running on other Android handsets.

Most unrealistically, Engadget report that the device may hit as soon as October. If that's the case, expect an imminent announcement, but we're not sure there source is correct on that.

Nor are we sure about any of the story to be honest. Last night, we rather enthusiastically Tweeted about this being the future direction for the PSP2, but at worst this all sounds a bit fanciful. It sounds almost too good to be true. And it doesn't sound like a successor to the PSP at all — merely another alternative SKU. Which would be the wrong move in our book. If they want to go the "gaming smartphone" direction with the PSP2, then they should absolutely be teaming up with Google. So this bodes well if that's the direction they want to take. We're just not sure what kind of impact a PSP with phone features tacked on could make. Particularly when the iPhone market is as tough to crack as the Nintendo DS market.

What are your thoughts on this?