Luckily for Sony, soon to be appointed CEO Kaz Hirai formed a User Experience Group and culled all but one of the projects. This lead to the development of Sony’s Tablet S hardware along with its Playstation suite integration.

The company had long had a reputation for creating ‘silos,’ or divisions that operated in isolation from each other. Aside from creating a disunited front, it sometimes led to segments being actively jealous of each other and refusing to collaborate. Walkman and home theater groups, for example, didn’t get the cooperation from Sony’s own music and movie groups to make digital media stores.

Source: WSJ via Electronista

Sony has announced a new 13 megapixel back-illuminated CMOS image sensor, which could one day allow for thinner iPhones that take even higher quality photos and HDR (High Dynamic Range) video.

This image sensor layers the pixel section containing formations of back-illuminated structure pixels onto chips containing the circuit section for signal processing, which is in place of supporting substrates for conventional back-illuminated CMOS image sensors. This structure achieves further enhancement in image quality, superior functionalities and a more compact size that will lead to enhanced camera evolution.

The setup separates the CMOS sensor from the imaging circuits which, along with a bit of optics-magic, results in higher quality images. It also thinner, which means iPhones and iPads, if Apple implements it, could be thinner.

Source: Sony

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Sony is bringing its Music Unlimited service to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch later this year. Music Unlimited is Sony’s subscription based streaming music service and will be available as an app for all iOS devices.

Sony’s decision to offer the service, touted as the Japanese company’s answer to Apple’s iTunes, on iOS devices speaks to Apple’s presence in the all-important smartphone and tablet markets as well as Sony’s willingness to do whatever it takes to expand the reach of its content services.The Music Unlimited service, along with Sony’s video and videogame offerings, functions as the glue holding together the links between the Japanese conglomerate’s entertainment businesses and electronics products.

Source: WSJ

According to the Wall Street Journal, Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer — like most of the rest of the world — thinks Apple is working on a television set.

Stringer declined to provide details about what Sony is developing but said “there’s a tremendous amount of R&D going into a different kind of TV set.” He added that he has “no doubt” Apple’s Steve Jobs also was working on changing the traditional TV set.

No surprise there, since Jobs said as much, and Stringer provides nothing in the way of “they’re sourcing components from Sony” to jazz up the story as he’s done previously for things like higher megapixel iPhone cameras.

Speaking of iPhone, some 5 years later, Stringer claims Sony is working hard to make up ground there as well.

Meanwhile, Stringer said other phone makers will catch up to the iPhone, but their devices need to become “seamless.” “The beauty of the iPhone is it’s really well organized,” he said.

And just FYI, Stringer says he’s also not leaving Sony, despite their lackluster performance under his tenure.

Source: Wall Street Journal (Paywall)

Sony Pictures is reportedly very close to securing a deal for the film rights to the Steve Jobs biography. The deal Sony is tabling is said to be $1 million against $3 million and that Mark Gordon will be in line to produce the film.

The book which will be called simply Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacsson was initially due for release in November. That date has now been pulled forward and it is set to hit shelves real and virtual on Oct. 24.

Sony Pictures has already made successful films from business related books so should be a good fit for the project. It has already had success with Moneyball and of course, Oscar nominated The Social Network.

Source: Deadline

Speaking with IndustryGamers, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello puts the previous Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony-led console market into post-iPad perspective:

Consoles used to be 80% of the industry as recently as 2000. Consoles today are 40% of the game industry, so what do we really have?

We have a new hardware platform and we’re putting out software every 90 days. Our fastest growing platform is the iPad right now and that didn’t exist 18 months ago.

So consoles are down by half, and iPad has come out of basically nowhere to become the hottest thing in gaming? Hard core gamers would argue you can’t play Call of Duty or World Of Warcraft on an iPad, just like hard core geeks would argue you can’t run Xcode/Visual Studio and otherwise use an iPad as a “real computer”.

That’s true. It just turns out the hard core base is much smaller than the mainstream, and Apple — and Angry Birds and a host of other, casual titles — is democratizing the gaming platform just as much as the computer.

And iOS 5 AirPlay mirroring, where you can play your iPad games on the big screen via Apple TV, hasn’t even launched yet.

[IndustryGame]

According to Reuters, a consortium of tech companies, including Apple, BlackBerry maker RIM, Microsoft, EMC, Sony, and Ericsson have won the auction to acquire Nortel’s mammoth $4.5 billion dollar mobile patent portfolio. How much of that will come from Apple is currently unknown, though RIM is on the line for $770 million and Ericsson, $340 million. The companies are expected to pool the patents and use them both to protect against patent lawsuits and, of course, launch lawsuits of their own.

The patents cover “wireless, wireless 4G, data networking, optical, voice, Internet and semiconductor technologies”, with the LTE 4G patents expected to become extremely valuable as networks and devices are upgraded to that standard.

If you noticed one major mobile company conspicuous by their absence, you’re not alone. Google appears not to have been part of the winning bid, which is perplexing since, as a new entrant in mobile, they have one of the weakest existing patent portfolios.

“Google lost an unprecedented opportunity to acquire a major bargaining chip that would strengthen it at the mobile industry’s intellectual property negotiating table.”

“I’m afraid it won’t get a similar opportunity in quantitative and qualitative terms any time soon.”

Android manufacturers are already paying Microsoft licensing fees for Android, and are being sued by Apple. Android developers are being sued by Lodsys and while Apple has filed to intervene in the iOS-related lawsuits, Google is still missing in action.

What that means going forward is hard to say, but manufacturer and developer confidence is part of the currency of any platform and it needs to be invested in and protected.

[Reuters]

The S2 is the interesting model as the form factor is totally different to anything we have seen before. It has two folding 5.5-inch screens that can work together or independently.

Not many more details are available at this stage as Sony say specifications are subject to change. The two models are slated for a release in the fall of this year.

Take a look at the short promo video after the break, then pop back here and let us know what your think of Sony’s tablets in the comments!

[Android Central]

The TiPb forums are naturally a great place to talk, commiserate, celebrate, get help, and offer advice to your fellow iPhone users. In order to create a new thread of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is easy and free so if you haven’t already, head on over and register now!

• iPhone 5 Details: 3.7-inch screen, home button with gesture area, etc… – What are your thoughts on these hardware specs?

• Former Blackberry users switching to iPhones – This is a thread for the many of you coming over to an iPhone from a Blackberry device.

• Sony releases Crackle into App Store – Discuss the new app that allows for some free streaming of a limited selection of movies.

• iOS 4.2.7 update for Verizon iPhone 4 – List bugs or issues you may have encountered.

See you in the forums!

As rumor last week, Sony has released a Crackle app, bringing a ton of free movies and TV shows. Up until this point the content was limited to Flash based streaming to Windows and Mac, PC’s and certain models of Sony TV’s.

Crackle is one of the fastest growing digital entertainment networks, offering quality movies and TV series from Columbia Pictures, Tri-Star, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Classics and more

Some of the movies listed as available are, Ghostbusters, Snatch, The Davinci Code and Sex Lies and Video Tape.  TV series cover S.W.A.T., The Three Stooges, Seinfield, What’s Happening, Samurai X and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Specials and many more.

The app is free to download and is a universal binary so works with the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Streaming of the content is allowed over WiFi and 3G.

If any of our readers pick this one up, let us know how it compares to the online service!

[Free – iTunes Link]

Sony has officially launched it’s own music streaming service called Music Unlimited, powered by Qriocity, and available now in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. Their aim is to challenge Apple’s iTunes dominance by providing a service that is available across a myriad of devices such as Playstation 3, Blu-Ray players, Bravia televisions and computers. They also plan on adding an app for Google’s Android operating system so they can get into the smartphone scene as well. The pricing will start at as low as $3.99 per month and they plan on rolling it out to more countries this year.

Interestingly enough they are said to also be supporting iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad sometime this year as well. The only problem for them in that regard could be the new 30% cut Apple would require based on their new App Store developer guidelines and subscription service.

We also told you last week that Sony was not happy with Apple and had plans of possibly pulling all of their content from iTunes all together. Well Sony Network Entertainment COO (also involved with Music Unlimited service), Shawn Layden says otherwise.

Sony Music as I understand it has no intention of withdrawing from iTunes, they’re one of our biggest partners in the digital domain. I think those words were either taken out of context or the person who spoke them was unclear on the circumstances.

So so you want Music Unlimited on your iOS device or is iTunes the better way for you to have access to music? Tell us your thoughts on Sony’s new service!

[ Bloomberg, Business Insider ]

I think Sony’s lawsuit over hacking the PS3 might have driven iPhone Jailbreaker Geohot over the edge… and right into rap! Can he throw down? Watch the video after the break and let us know if he’s Geohot… or not. (Sorry!)

It appears as if Sony is at war with Apple and is threatening to pull its music from iTunes and their games from the App Store as well. Sony has plans on opening their own version of iTunes, an online streaming service called Music Unlimited, and a service that will bring Playstation titles to mobile platforms starting with Android.

Perhaps Sony is not happy about having their reader app rejected by Apple and is taking their frustration out on the end users? Or perhaps Sony just wants a piece of the enormous pie that is mobile downloadings including music and apps. Sony’s CEO, Michael Ephraim, had the following to say about Apple and iTunes.

If we do [get mass take up] then does Sony Music need to provide content to iTunes? Currently we do. We have to provide it to iTunes as that’s the format right now.

Publishers are being held to ransom by Apple and they are looking for other delivery systems, and we are waiting to see what the next three to five years will hold.

Strong words there. Mr. Ephraim also said their Music Unlimited service right now is planned for Sony’s mobile products and may or may not go to other platforms but we can assume that now we will not see it available for use on any iOS device.

So it appears as if Sony and Apple are starting into some unfriendly times and it will seemingly only hinder the consumer. What are your thoughts on Sony’s threats to pull its stuff from iTunes all together? Does it matter or is there already enough content that you won’t even notice their departure? Sound off below!

[ Digital Life, thanks Anthony! ]

According to the New York Times, Apple has rejected a few apps recently including Sony’s Reader app, based on the way content is purchased for use within the app. Sony’s Reader app is an eBook platform similar to Apple’s own iBooks app and the Amazon Kindle app. Content can be found and purchased outside the app, bypassing Apple’s iTunes Store and therefore bypassing Apples slice of the pie.

According to Steve Haber, president of Sony’s digital reading division, Apple told him that from now on, all future in-app purchases would have to go through Apple and this includes eBooks. Currently the Amazon Kindle bypasses the App Store too; when you select Kindle Store from within the Kindle app, you are taken to a web page where you can select, buy and pay for your book. This happens outside of iTunes and the App Store; Apple does not take any revenue from Kindle book purchases, but that now looks set to change.

Maybe this change is coming with the new magazine subscription service we expect to be implemented in iOS 4.3 and the launch of The Daily newspaper. Either way, this is another blow to the consumer, who will no doubt end up paying more and have less control of their content. What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

[The New York Times]

For those who haven’t been following it, iPhone Jailbreaker George Hotz (Geohot) is being sued by Sony for hacking their PS3. It’s not new for companies to take action against hackers. Every time Apple updates iOS they try to close Jailbreak exploits and they even lobbied the US government to try and make sure Jailbreaking wasn’t granted a DMCA exception (Apple didn’t get their way and jailbreaking was given an exception.

While Apple went after the entire process and asked it be ruled illegal, Sony is going after one person in particular, George Hotz. After recently releasing his 3.55 jailbreak for Playstation 3 users, Sony rewarded his efforts by applying for a TRO (temporary restraining order), which was recently granted. As they continue to go back and forth, Geohot has issued a statement to Sony on his own webpage.

Note to Sony:

It’s apparent you don’t care about your reputation with consumers, and I can almost understand your point there. Few people consider buying a TV or laptop a moral choice, and the consumer base is quite large. But talented developers are in much shorter supply, and take it from one personally, who you choose to code for is much more of a moral choice. The programmers you will one day be looking to hire are the ones reading the tech news sites right now.

And they will remember.

I’m not sure what this means for iOS users at this point. If Sony succeeds in their case against Geohot, it’s unclear what if any precedents will be set in terms of other companies suing Jailbreakers. Also, whether or not Geohot will remain an active part of the jailbreak community is uncertain. Seeing as jailbreaking iOS is not illegal, I can’t image he would abandon both communities. One thing is clear, the case will definitely be interesting to follow. If Sony gets their way, will that lead to Apple starting a fire with our very own jailbreak community again? Or has Apple mellowed and Sony taken the lead in anti-community action? Sound off in the comments!

[Geohot]

Interesting article over at SFGate detailing how Steve Jobs studies early Sony product development culture and Zen-like approach to design:

“It was very nearly fetishistic, in fact — he even had a collection of Sony letterhead and marketing materials,” laughs Deutschman. “Sony was a company that Jobs instinctively admired and saw as model from the very beginning. So it’s been an interesting transformation over time, to see Apple supplant Sony as the center of the consumer technology universe.”

Early Sony would wait, miss first-mover advantage, take their time and only release breakthrough, revolutionary products that could own a category, like Trinitron televisions and the Walkman. That Sony has faded away. (I covered this year’s CES Sony presser for Android Central and… yeah, it wasn’t good). But Apple under Steve Jobs has taken its place:

“I was at a party last night in central Tokyo that happened to have a bunch of twentysomething guests,” [Douglas Krone, CEO of Dynamism and Gizmine] says. “Every time I saw something glowing, it was an iPhone. It was a chilling display of dominance — five years ago, you would have seen 99.9 percent Japanese handsets and 0.1 percent Nokias and MotoRAZRs. Softbank’s flagship stores look almost comical now, with rows and rows of iPhones broken only by the occasional row of iPads, in a space that used to have a wide array of handsets.”

It’s often been said that Apple and Jobs build the products they themselves want to have and that they’re not as concerned with market as they are with “denting the universe”. They’ve had challenges, including the MobileMe launch and the iPhone 4 antenna kerfuffle, but measured against iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes, the resurgence of Mac, and the growth of Apple Retail the successes have been stunning.

The only question is whether or not Apple can keep it up or if they’ll stray the way once-dominant Sony did?

[SFGate via Daring Fireball]

Still surprising if not a surprise, Sony has made the decoupling their PlayStation games from PlayStation hardware — like the new PSP2/NGP — official with the launch of PlayStation Suite. Android is the only other platform targeted right now (which makes sense given Sony Ericsson’s Android phone investment) but could the 160 million install base strong iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad iOS platform come online in the future?

Hey, Verizon is getting the iPhone so anything can happen, right? Still, with Apple maintaining tight control of the App Store they and Sony would probably have to come to a special licensing and development deal to get the same type of PlayStation content onto iOS. It wouldn’t be as easy as Android and likely webOS would. Sony could always develop/port iOS-specific versions of their titles but that would take more effort on their part, even with 160 million reasons to do it.

Sony also announced their next generation portable (NGP), aka the PSP2 and it’s a monster in every sense of the word. If you thought the rumored Apple A5 chip was hot, this thing is on fire with a quad-core ARM Cortex A9 and quad-core PowerVR SGX543 chipset (they claim it’s close to PS3 in terms of power). No word on what kind of battery that will require to deliver significant online gaming life. The 5-inch OLED display is 960×544 (close to iPhone 4′s 960×640 but at a much larger size) and touch sensitive. It’s got at the 3Gs and Wi-Fis, as well as a touch-sensitive area on the back of the device so you can swipe without obscuring the display. Dual cameras, dual analog thumbsticks and the usual PS controls round out the input methods. It’s also got a new interface that they claim is more social but — at least so far — doesn’t look as clean or consistent as the old crossbar. Sony does say it will be ready for a holiday 2011 release which will put it up against iPhone 5, iPod touch 5, and iPad 2 (with iPad 3 on its way).

Both Sony and Nintendo have been losing mobile gaming share to iOS over the least couple years, will hardware like the PSP2 and software like PlayStation suite start turning that tide?

[Android Central, Engadget]

The long rumored Google eBooks service appears to have gone live today… somewhat. The service allows you to not only read books on an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, but on the web or on Android phones, Nook, and Sony devices. The iOS webpage boasts over 8,000 titles already available for download.

The only problem right now is the fact that the native app isn’t currently available for iPhone or iPad yet. (I’m getting the “The item you’ve requested is not currently available in the US Store” error but we’ll update when that’s sorted out.)

Also, Google is using Adobe DRM for their eBooks so while they won’t be compatible with iBooks (FairPlay) or Kindle, they will be compatible with other stores and readers that support Adobe Content Server 4.

If any of you guys have tried out Google eBooks, let us know what you think!

Update: Looks like the app is now available in the US app store under Google Books

[Google eBooks](http://books.google.com/ebooks) via Android Central]

Engadget continues to rake in scoop after scoop on the “PlayStation Phone”, which I deliberately place in quotes because it looks like what should be the PSPhone, the next technological marvel from the company that once brought us Walkman, is actually… an Android app.

No, that’s not a joke. The PSPhone or PlayStation Phone or Zeus or whatever Sony ends up calling what should be their premiere mobile device runs on top of Google’s Android platform. Android 2.3 Gingerbread to be precise.

That’s awesome for a whole lot of reasons. It’s a huge boost for Google and fantastic news for Android enthusiasts who want great gaming on the platform. (At least for those who are willing to use Sony Ericsson’s version of it.) It’s great for Apple iPhone lovers because strong competition breeds a better market for everyone. Who knows, maybe someday they’ll even make a PlayStation app for iOS too. (I don’t think they will but that won’t stop me from dreaming about God of War and Grand Turismo on my iPad…)

It might even be great for Sony in the sense that it avoids them having to write a telephony stack and Smartphone OS from scratch, something they’ve never seriously undertaken on their own (they’ve previously used Android, Windows Mobile, and Symbian). It probably gets them to market faster, especially considering how slow to market they’ve been. (The iPhone was released in 2007, the App Store in 2008, and the PSPhone won’t hit until 2011. That’s positively glacier in modern terms).

It’s bad for them in that it means their iconic PlayStation line, for the first time, is dependent on someone else’s platform. That Android is open source and Sony could always fork it and take it in-house somewhat diminishes the risk. (Unlike RIM who’s mortgaged the soul of their new PlayBook tablet to Adobe for the jumpstart of a Flash/AIR UI and development layer.)

But it’s really bad for SONY. For the consumer electronics powerhouse. Like I said, for the company that made the walkman and the PS2.

For that Sony, the SONY of the 80s and 90s, it’s surrender. It’s the equivalent of releasing the PS3 as a Steam-like Windows program. It’s almost humiliating, or would be for that all-cap SONY of a decade ago. While not identical, I can’t help but think of SEGA who once made the Genesis and DreamCast and is now just one of a multitude of development houses and — much as I love Sonic — not even an industry leading one. (And yes, I owned a SEGA CD, what of it?)

Can you imagine if instead of the iPhone Apple made an iPod app for Windows Mobile? If instead of webOS Palm had simply repackaged their emulator for BlackBerry? With Facebook and Mozilla abdicating mobile OS innovation at the concept stage, Sony was one of the few companies I hoped could be the next Apple, the next Palm. Sure they were content on the PC side to resell Windows but mobile is the next big thing and a chance to start over — just ask HP.

So instead of a PlayStation Phone we get a phone that runs PlayStation. We get an app. And if you’re Sony and one of your highest value brands is reduced to an app on someone else’s platform you’re doing it wrong.

[Engadget via Android Central]

Yesterday during Apple’s annual Special Music Event Steve Jobs announced that the iPod touch was more popular than both Nintendo’s DS and Sony’s PSP… combined. Jobs also said more than 1.5 billion games and entertainment apps have been downloaded by iPod touch devices to date.

However, as every gadget and gaming blog has since pointed out, while iPod touch has sold in the mid tens of millions of units (Apple doesn’t often break them out), Nintendo’s DS series has sold 132 million all on its lonesome, so take this with a “biggest mobile company” type grain of salt.

[Engadget, thanks also to Freaknasty]

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Sony has released a new ad for their PSP gaming system and it takes aim squarely at Apple’s iPhone and iOS gaming.

“That [iPhone] ain’t built for big boy games”, the latest PSP spokeskid, Marcus Rivers, says to a goofy looking guy playing “Lame Castle”. “That’s built for texting your grandma and calling your girl.”

Rivers then shows off a few older, $9.99 catalog titles, and calls the goofy guy to drive home the $9.99 price point before hitting the tag line: “step your game up.”

Obviously this acknowledges the growing competition from iPhone, especially the low price point of iOS games.

And since goofy guy can text grandma, call his girl, and play great new games without having to lug around a second, gigantic device — one that’s still bound to physical media and hasn’t seen a real hardware update since before Marcus was born — it might not be a winning strategy for Sony. (That Android PSP phone, however…)

Video after the break. Does it make any of you want to carry around an iPhone and a PSP?

[Ars Technica]

While iPhone accounts for only 3% of handset market share by unit volume, Finacial Times reveals some Goldman’s numbers that show it’s set to capture a stunning 2X the profit share of Nokia, RIM, and Sony — combined.

And Goldman only showed those numbers by way of saying how enthusiastic they are about iPad doing the same thing to the PC industry. That sounds crazy, but iPad almost equalled Mac sales numbers this quarter and while its margins are less than the Mac’s, they’re higher than the razor-thin netbook and bargain basement PC industry where much of the volume rests.

TiPb’s been saying for a while Apple only cared about market share as much as it meant increased profit share. Looks like that’s working out for them.

[Financial Times via Business Insider Daring Fireball]

According to Game Developers Research, their new study shows the iPhone platform is more popular with game developers than either the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP. Electronista sums up:

Demand for the iPhone has surged to where about 19 percent of all game developers are writing for the iPhone and iPod touch. The figure is more than twice as high as for the DS and PSP and results in three quarters of all mobile game developers writing for Apple’s handhelds.

While no reasons were cited for the level of developer interest in the iPhone and iPod touch, they figure the high visibility of the Apple brand combined with robust developer tools and centralized App Store model makes for a compelling package. 75 million devices on the market probably doesn’t hurt either…

Good news for iPhone, iPod touch, and eventually iPad gamers — with developers come great games.

As part of their iPad keynote today, Apple took the opportunity to say that, with $15.6 billion in revenue last quarter, as $50 billion dollar company primarily focused on mobile devices (iPod, iPhone, MacBook), they were the #1 mobile device company in the world — bigger by revenue than Sony, Samsung, and Nokia‘s mobile devices businesses.

Along with the financial figures Steve Jobs touted 250,000,000 (!) iPods sold, 140,000 iPhone/iPod touch apps, 3 billion downloads, and over 75 million iPhone and iPod touches (yeah, we underestimated!).

Jobs went on to say even he didn’t believe it, and it wasn’t how they think about Apple. But he sure did say it, and that’s a shot across a lot of bows right there.

The PSPgo is Sony’s answer to the iPhone in a post-App Store world, but unfortunately it looks like charging more for poorly ported games is the question. Gizmodo explains the obvious — to everyone but Sony — problem:

You see, PSP Minis can’t have any network or online features. Nor can they support camera peripherals (a major focus of DSiWare innovation) or DLC. Kotaku just reviewed iPhone port Hero of Sparta. On the PSP it costs triple what you’ll pay at the App Store. Their review? “Simplistic controls, muddled graphics and abysmal sounds turn what was a fantastic iPhone game into a oddly disjointed Playstation Portable experience.” Kotaku’s review of Tetris was much better. But you know what? Tetris costs twice as much on the PSP as it does the iPhone.

Just like ATRAC and rootkits (ouch, we know), we’re beginning to wonder if anyone at Sony will ever get this brave, new, post-iPhone world?

According to Times Online, It now seems as if Sony, Warner, Universal and EMI are putting the finishing touches on their new album format, CMX, and are ready to do battle against Apple’s rumored “Cocktail” enhanced album format.

It was just last month we reported about Cocktail, which would feature new interactive booklets, sleeve notes and other features alongside music downloads in an attempt to lure consumers into making more full album purchases. Now, while it looks like “Cocktail” does exist, it seems that none of the record labels had any hand in creating it. According to this story, record labels first approached Apple 18 months ago to see if they wanted in on this new CMX format and Apple politely refused. Apple then created “Cocktail” in order to compete with Sony, Warner, Universal and EMI.

One senior record label insider said: “Apple at first told us that they were not interested, but now they have decided to do their own, in case ours catches on.

While most of us here at TiPb have no major quarrels purchasing our music digitally, there are a lot of people out there who feel when purchasing digital albums over the internet you are not getting the full album experience. Would this new format make purchasing digital albums any less painful for you? And would you rather go with Apple’s “Cocktail” or the music industry’s CMX?

Eurogamer spoke to Johnny Two Shoes (The Heist, Banana Dash), Normalware (Bebot) and Firemint (Flight Control) about how Sony’s new PSPgo platform may compete with the iPhone, and the answers were interesting:

• After an 80% price cut to PSP dev tool charges, bring the price down to $1500) it’s still much more expensive than Apple’s $99.
• Developers can’t target the existing PSP install base of 50 million, PSPgo has only just been released, and Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch have an install base of over 40 million devices.

However, Apple growing the download gaming market and PSP games traditionally being bigger and longer (as opposed to casual iPhone gaming) were seen as positives for Sony.

“In the end,” Maxwell Scott-Slade concludes, “the consumer wins for choice and developers win for a more direct access to their audience.”

[via PS3blog.net]

Oft rumored, is Sony ready to leverage both the struggling Sony Ericsson partnership and the still fairly solid Sony Playstation brand to produce a Playstation Phone? (PSP Phone? PSPhone? PSP Go-Call-Someone?).

Makes sense from a competitive point of view, and something we certainly thought we’d see sooner. If Sony can get passed their historic intra-company integration problems, and avoid doing anything silly like ATRAC DRM or root kits — if they could get a product manager who could cut through the quagmire and drive everything that’s good about Sony into the product — it could be an interesting contender.

For the iPhone, of course:

Nikkei says it will directly compete with the iPhone, and that a project team was set up last July to start working on the console/phone hybrid. So basically, it’s the same rumor we’ve been hearing for years, except this time from a reliable source. Whether it’s got any truth to it remains to be seen. Note: The above image is a mockup. Seems obvious but sometimes you gotta say it out loud.

[Gizmodo via Reuters]

We have covered the iPhone and gaming from top to bottom here at TiPb. The iPhone still has a lot of catching up to do in terms of the quality of the games and you can also toss in the lack of physical controls as a huge negative. All that aside, for the most part we’ve felt that if Apple plays their cards correctly, they could be a major player in the handheld gaming wars alongside the likes of Nintendo and Sony.

Maybe you’ve agreed with us, maybe you haven’t. If you’ve disagreed with our opinions and views that’s fine and dandy but maybe, just maybe, you will listen to Trip Hawkins. Who’s Trip Hawkins you ask? He started a little gaming company called Electronic Arts.

“The iPhone is by far our most effective platform. We make as much money with these games on one device as we do putting a game on 100 different cell phone platforms. Between the iPod touch and the iPhone, I think the platform is freaking out Sony and Nintendo.”

That is a pretty strong statement. It may be a great thing as more and more developers will take the iPhone as a serious contender and produce more and higher quality games, or it may prove to be one of the biggest pitfalls. It may encourage more developers to throw quality and innovation out the window and simply pump out below-average games just to make that quick profit. Up until this point we’ve seen a combination of some high quality games and some pure garbage. In the end, it’s about the almighty dollar and we get that. Hopefully game developers come up with ways to push the platform to the next level.

So where do you see this going in the long run for the iPhone as a gaming platform? Lets hear your thoughts!

[Via theappleblog.com]

According to CNet (via Apple Insider), Apple is in talks with the remaining 3 out of the Big 4 record labels who still refuse to allow iTunes to sell DRM-free music.

Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony BMG currently provide DRM-free music to rival services like Amazon MP3 as a way to promote competition to iTunes, though the lack of availability of these services outside the US, along with iTunes continued (and growing) dominance in digital music, may be causing them to rethink that position.

EMI, of course, has been offering DRM-free music via Apple’s iTunes Plus service since it launched, and at double the bit rate (quality) of the regular music.

Hopefully we’ll soon see the day that big music decides to stop treating their customers as de facto thieves and realizes offering quality goods at fair market prizes is the only real way to stop piracy. Or am I the crazy one?

Back in September, TiPb posted a few articles in regards to Apple becoming a major player in the hand held gaming wars. We faced off the iPhone against Sony’s PSP and Nintendo’s DS.

The main question to be answered is should Sony and Nintendo be worried? I’d say yes, indeed they should be worried. Business Week seems to feel the same way as well. Some of their points are right on key with what we had to say back in September (see the articles linked above). While that is no doubt a coincidence, here is what they had to say:

Now look at Apple’s advantages over competitors. Apple already has more titles for its games than both of the other two combined. And aside from the free ones, games on the App Store sell at prices ranging up to $9.99 and sometimes a little more. Compare that with the $20 to $40 for Nintendo DS games and the $10 to $40 for games on the PSP.

This goes along with exactly what we said, doesn’t it? How about this one?

And with Apple selling via iTunes, there are no costs associated with the distribution of physical media. All games are downloaded directly to the device. And in the event the game is buggy, the developer can easily issue an easy-to-download fix. The developer gets 70% of the sale and Apple keeps 30%, with no one else to get in the middle. Nintendo and Sony partners have to worry about shelf space at stores, shipping, returns, defective merchandise, and even the occasional shoplifter.

Also a good point that we stressed a few months back. With the holiday season fast approaching, it should be mighty interesting to see just how the hand held gaming wars works out.

For more gaming coverage from TiPb be sure to check out these articles.

(Via Business Week)

For the last two weeks we here at TiPb have been taking a deeper look into Apple’s “Game On” push. Can anyone really doubt Steve Jobs is trying to make the iPhone/iPod Touch into the next big portable gaming device? Stop and think about it, he took the idea of a portable MP3 player and made it into a device that has dominated the music business ever since. Now, according to Jobsy, “you could make a pretty good argument [the iPhone is] the best portable device for playing games on.”

Michael Gartenberg, vice president of Mobile Strategy at Jupitermedia’s MobileDevicesToday.com, chimed in:

The not-so-subtle message was, ‘If you’re thinking about buying something like a PSP or a DS, maybe you want to think again because we’ve got this cool device that does all your mobile stuff and, by the way, is a pretty excellent game platform as well’

Steve Palley, Editorial Guru for Vivendi Games Mobile said:

The iPhone is going to make the mobile games industry into everything we always wanted it to be but failed to achieve.

Even Nintendo’s Denise Kaigler, VP of Corporate Affairs spoke out regarding the iPhone:

Any time you have a new company enter an industry, it’s always good for the consumer. It gives them choices and we welcome that. But we have found over the last 20 years, despite all the choices consumers have had, that the Nintendo devices have enjoyed a great deal of success.

I really can not argue with Nintendo’s comment. Nintendo is the king of the hill in the handheld gaming industry. Many have tried to overtake them, all failing. Here’s what I’m thinking, though, Apple may not be the top dog at the moment but by the time the next iPhone is released, Jobsy might just be saying “I told you so!”. Give the App Store a year to grow, software developers time to get the most out of the hardware, etc… And then lets see how things start to shake out. What are you guys and gals thinking?

[Via MSBC.com]

[Ed: We're bringing back the Wait-a-Thon and making it regular again. Sorry we dropped it off there for awhile, folks. With all those 3G and iPhone 2.0 rumors flying about these past couple of weeks, it almost felt like the release was already here. In the meantime, comment on any post tagged "Wait-a-Thon" for your chance to win a $100 iTunes Gift Card!]

This is not a response to Crackberry.com‘s excellent article, Top 10 Reasons Why the iPhone Is NO BlackBerry. Quite frankly, the iPhone doesn’t need a response; it’s the rest of industry that’s so desperately trying to find one to the iPhone.

I don’t know about you, but it’s getting more than a little tiring hearing everyone compare themselves to — and constantly try to rip-off — the iPhone. I can’t surf a website or cruise the main without some claw-handed Crackberry addict, neck-bearded Palm artifact, or frazzle-haired WinMob frustrati glaring and frothing with barely-contained envy at the perfectly balanced, seamlessly integrated, lustfully convergent iPhone held ever-so casually in my grip.

They know the iPhone is beyond cool. Sure, they cling to their once innovative, formerly revolutionary (at least in the case of Palm and RIM) devices, the ones overwhelming nostalgia or massive business infrastructure investment won’t let them slam to the ground and stomp into the call-dropping, web-mangling, constantly crashing oblivion they so richly deserve.

So the comparisons to the iPhone just won’t stop, despite the fact that the iPhone is pretty much incomparable. Don’t believe me? I’ve got ten reasons to back me up. And these aren’t minor feature gripes or personal peccadilloes. In proper Apple fashion, these are just 10 simple little words…

10. Communication

It’s right there in the name: iPhone. Steve Jobs said it himself at Macworld 2007: the killer smartphone app is voice. How ironic, then, that so many other smartphones so often kill voice.

Making and receiving calls without my phone freezing or crashing, as my previous device did almost daily, is huge. Unprecedented simplicity in everything from easily finding my way back if I navigate away from the phone app, to elegantly handling call holding, muting, and multiple output sources like Blue Tooth, to effortlessly setting up conference calls is huger still. I can’t remember how often I got lost, couldn’t get calls off my headset, or accidentally hung up on people with the confusing hackjobs that passed for interfaces on my previous smartphones.

The iPhone also introduced desktop-class HTML email rendering and “just the internet”, AJaX powered, standards compliant web browsing, along with interface innovations for SMS, .MAC gallery transfer for photos, and the ability to email YouTube videos, photos, and web links at the tap of a virtual button.

(The browsing is so good, ironically, everyone from Amazon to Facebook to popular blogging plugin makers are providing iPhone-optimized web pages now, lumping every other device into the substandard “mobile” experience or the abortive hell that is WAP).

While some may grumble that this or that power-user feature, or device-specific protocol is missing, Apple has proven they can deliver updates faster and better than anyone in the industry (going from version 1 to 1.1.4, with 2.0 immanent, in less than a year and adding significant capability in the process).

For the user, the interface is the app, and for Apple, their interfaces are remarkably back-end independent. So, if the iPhone needs to improve SMS, or add IM or MMS for now until the differences between desktop and handset protocols evaporate, well Apple’s already got patents pending for that as well.

In the mean time, as most of the iPhone commercials show, having music or video or web pages fade away when your phone rings only to fade right back when your done — that’s truly killer.

Listen up, communication-centric users, especially those who want the internet in their pocket, are all over the iPhone.

9. Media

The iPod is the king of all mobile media, with an over 70% share of the US market. People love them their iPods and Steve Jobs has repeatedly said the iPhone is the best iPod Apple has ever made.

Just look at the stats: up to 16GB of flash storage, a 3.5”, 160dpi wide screen display, and seamless integration with the #1 music and leading downloadable media store in the US, iTunes.

Apple can also extend iPhone media in ways their competitors can only dream. From high-end Final Cut Pro for Hollywood scale video production, to (Mac) desktop Garage Band podcast and ringtone creation, to Apple TV syncing and streaming the same iTunes content to your big screen TV, Apple literally can create, manage, and deploy iPhone media from end-to-end. They can do it easily, and what’s really scary (for the competition) is that this is something the iPhone merely inherited. (Imagine what they might just be preparing for the future…)

No one else, not desktop monopolists, old media stalwarts, or upstart email monsters, even come close.

For media-centric users who don’t want to fill their pockets with a second device just for voice and data, the iPhone’s barrier of entry is zero.

8. Gaming

Though not to anywhere near the extent of media, Apple has been integrating gaming into the iPod — and into iTunes — for years now, and with the SDK Roadmap event, they’re getting serious about putting it on the iPhone as well.

EA’s Spore and Sega’s Super Monkey Ball (among others, including Apple’s homegrown Touch Fighter) were given the spotlight, taking full advantage of the iPhone’s unique video and audio power, accelerometer, and multi-touch controls. Sega even said they’d so underestimate the iPhone’s potential they had to fly in another developer just to crank up the graphics. Wow.

No other smartphone, even today, can boast the 1 year old iPhone’s raw feature set (chips + sensors + inputs + display). As for gaming handhelds, the Sony PSP can’t fully match it (though their dedicated chipsets and vast software library clearly give them a huge advantage… for now). Only the Nintendo DS, which sports touch and mic, is competitive (massive understatement given they’re the sales leader in mobile gaming).

But here’s the thing: while other smartphone are playing copycat and catchup with 1.0, the iPhone is poised to go to 2.0, and while dedicated gaming kits have undeniable advantages, they can’t make cell phone calls, can’t play iTunes media, and can’t do a host of other things the iPhone delivered on day one.

For anyone who wants to game and doesn’t want to carry around a second, dedicated box to go with their media-savvy phone, June will score for the iPhone as well.

7. Business

Make no mistake, the aforementioned iPhone SDK event didn’t only reach out to gamers, it offered a firm handshake to business as well. Exchange ActiveSync (not to be confused with the confusingly named desktop Windows ActiveSync), 802.1x, Cisco VPN, remote wipe, Enterprise “App Stores”, and a host of other features were released as part of the iPhone 2.0 beta.

What’s more, unlike RIM’s technology, which uses a single Network Operations Center (NOC) to handle all Blackberry data transactions — making the service infamously prone to failures and terrifyingly susceptible to security compromises, state-sponsored and otherwise, ActiveSync offers a direct connection between enterprise server and user client. No Chinese or Singaporean RIM-supplied proxy snoopers, no Indian data disconnections. With ActiveSync, each individual business’ server would have to be individually compromised or blocked, a vastly more difficult task.

For Microsoft users worried about a “premiere” experience, having an Apple client may just redefine their concept of “premiere”. And for open-source advocates, Apple’s been their from the beginning, with full support for standards like IMAP, and community-friendly initiatives like CalDAV.

Bottom line, the iPhone is in a unique position to appeal to almost all business-centric users who don’t want to lug around an second or third device just to watch a movie or play a game on the flight home, or call their loved ones when they land.

6. Convergence

Communication, media, gaming, and business. In one or two of these areas, other devices currently have an edge. That is, if you’re happy with the idea of carrying around a feature phone, iPod Touch, Nintendo DS, and Blackberry all strapped to your utility belt (I’ve been there and it wasn’t pretty!).

Convergence, however, doesn’t begin or end with just the iPhone. As we touched on before, Apple is the first, and so far only company to truly deploy spherical integration across their product line.

Apple designs its own hardware (iPhone handset), engineers its own operating system (OS X) and software (built in apps like MobileSafari Touch and the Google Maps client), creates its own accessories (docks, media cables, headsets, etc.), offers its own ecosystem (from Macs to the Apple TV, from iLife to Leopard Server), sells them all in their own retail Apple Stores (which bested Tiffanies last year in earnings per square foot), handles their own carrier activation via iTunes, provides value-added services (iPhoto books), runs its own cloud services (.Mac) and ties into other cloud service providers (Google search, Yahoo! weather), offers the #1 music marketplace in the US (iTunes), which also provides TV, movies, and a staggering amount of free audio and video podcasts, iTunes University, and other free content, and is about to be joined by the App Store, which may just do for 3rd party App sales what iTunes did for music.

Verizon commercials like to show a virtual network of technicians following its users around everywhere they go. Just imagine that commercial with Apple’s 360 degrees of integration backing up every iPhone user.

When it comes to convergence, nothing else matches the current iPhone’s capabilities, never mind its next-generation potential. Anyone looking for the “one device to rule them all” will find it all elegantly wrapped up in only one package: the iPhone.

5. Development

Okay, numbers 8 and 7 — and thus 6 — are still in beta. Fair enough. But what’s driving that beta is an SDK the likes of which has never been seen before in the mobile space.

Sure, some platforms use Sun’s “Compile once… er… often.. run anywhere” Java language/interpreter, or Microsoft’s Windows-in-name only kit, and others delve deep to the metal on Palm’s sold and bought-back and locked-in-stasis OS.

Apple, much as they miraculously managed to cram a UNIX-based OS, BSD networking, Open GL, and other desktop class systems into the iPhone, also delivered a remarkably mature, surprisingly polished SDK based entirely on their existing Mac Objective C and Cocoa (dubbed Cocoa Touch for the iPhone) architectures.

Far from the afterthought or hurried response partisan pundits paint it, thanks to Steve Jobs’ legacy from NeXTStep, its frameworks, and its processor independence (it’s run on PowerPC, x86, and now Arm), Mac developers instantly gained the ability to dive right into the system, while those familiar with other flavors of C quickly ramped up thanks to powerful tools like X-Code and Interface Builder.

(It was stated repeatedly during the SDK event that demoes were produced in just two weeks, mostly by developers who’d never touched Objective C before in their lives. Amazing.)

A desktop-class OS with desktop-class development tools leads to something no other smartphone maker has ever been able to deliver to consumers before: desktop class mobile Apps.

Even a cursory look at who’s announced development plans for the iPhone reveals an impressive list of real companies making real apps… maybe even Microsoft and RIM.

Combine all this with a serious attitude towards security, ensuring the platform doesn’t become unstable or an easy target for malware, along with an unprecedented delivery system in App Store — which will put every App in front of every iPhone user, including free Apps for free, and numbers 8, 7, and 6 might actually underestimate the iPhone’s ultimate appeal.

Basically, anyone who wants to run anything on the next great platform wants an iPhone.

4. Design

While software may sell systems, when electronics became mainstream consumers began to shop not only with their brains but with their senses and their tastes.

And if there’s one thing Apple has plenty of, it’s taste.

From the translucent berry-colored iMac and clamshell iBook that re-ignited Apple’s consumer push, to the iconic brushed-aluminum, rounded-rectangular slab that all but makes the computer disappear inside the ultra-thin current iMac, MacBook Air, and iPhone, Apple (or more specifically, the team led by perennial design award winner, Jonathan Ive) seems to hold the magic formula to modern, drool-inducing, industrial design.

Indeed, Apple has not only shaped this electronic generation, it’s shaped the design path of many of it’s copiers… er… competitors as well.

Let’s face it, for a long time garish gray or neon paint over chintzy plastic bodies that looked at though they were assembled from old lego parts with build quality straight out of the Soviet salvage committee were all consumers had to choose from. And, as the saying goes, while consumers don’t always notice good design, they sure do notice it’s absence. Apple knows this, just like they know for good design to be great, it has to be functional.

See, it’s not that Apple “just works”, it’s that Apple designs things, from first transistor to final trim, to “just work.”

Why else, at this very moment, would Jonathan Ive be jetting between NASA and Shenzhen finalizing some futuristic, light and yet durable stealth-like composite that will form the outer shell of the next most lusted-after consumer electronic device — the iPhone 3G?

So that when consumers see, touch, and use it, it’ll be just like the first iPhone — what they want.

3. Usability

I have a two-and-half-year old godson who, first time he picked up the iPhone, figured out how to navigate in and between photos, effortlessly type his ABCs and 123s on the soft keyboard, play with his numbers on the calculator, tap to show and hide video controls, use the camera, flick through the weather, and transition between them all with the solitary hard button on the device face. And not only that, he enjoyed it so much he wants to do it again and again (and again!) every time I see him. (If Apple would just add dial-by-photo, I swear he could call me on his own already).

Give him any other smartphone and you know what he could figure out? How to use it as a building block or a projectile (and with my luck, the latter). A quick search of YouTube will show he’s not the only infant interfacing with the iPhone either.

We’ve seen a lot of iClone skins and sku’s, attempts to duplicate the most superficial aspects of the iPhone, but what few competitors understand is that its not the gradients and transparencies, not the special effects and animation that make the iPhone’s software revolutionary — it’s the user experience.

Sure, I could lecture on about how animation hides transition, allows for error recovery, lends analog comfort, taps into intuitive understanding, and makes use of precious space in truly Tog-worthy fashion, but what’s the point?

Apple has made the smartphone so elegant and easy that a two-and-half year old not only can use, but really wants to. And they’ve done the same thing for adult consumers.

2. Brand

The little forbidden fruit with a bite out of it ranks up there with Superman’s S and the Golden McArches as one of the most recognized brands in the world.

Apple brought the first consumer computers to market with the Apple II, the first consumer GUI machines to market with the Mac, the first consumer MP3 (AAC if you want to get technical) players to market with the iPod, the first consumer music download service to market with iTunes. And in so doing, they’ve earned a reputation for cutting-edge, consumer-driven innovation.

Sure, Blackberries have their addicts, but the cult of apple is legendary and, as outlined before, far wider reaching than just the smartphone space. You can’t buy that kind of brand projection, trust, or loyalty (just ask Microsoft).

When Apple negotiates innovative features like Visual Voice-Mail, pressures carryings to lower data rates, gets Starbucks and AT&T to stop gouging and start giving away free WiFi at their hotspots, their brand is leveraged to benefit consumers.

When Apple Care or the Apple Store swaps out a 8GB iPhone with one dead pixel for a 16GB replacement, or instantly commands a managerial intervention for any unsatisfied email response, their brand is being protected to consumer advantage.

Other smartphone makers, who worry less about their lesser brands often abandon you the moment your credit card clears, or dump you to outsourced OEM ping-pong at the first sign of trouble. Is it any wonder the iPhone continually tops user satisfaction surveys?

1. Leadership

Apple is far from the sales leader in the smartphone space, yet they’ve instantly become the de facto market leader. When every other company is racing to copy Apple’s hardware and interface, and all competitive product releases are tripping over each other to proclaim themselves the iPhone (or Apple) Killer, they can’t be doing anything else but following.

Palm almost patented Zen with their original Treo, but then they got comfortable and stayed there, with the original Treo, long after the world — and technology — moved on. Blackberry made mobile email so addictive it’s likened to a drug (and for the record, please don’t drop and drive), but buried their head so far up their email they seemingly forgot about everything else. And Microsoft… well, if Zen has an opposite, it’s Windows Mobile, an OS whose power is matched only by its legacy handicaps and user impenetrability.

So now Palm is raiding Apple talent. RIM either wants to be the iPhone or just on it. And even die-hard Windows Mobile pundits have given up on Microsoft’s ability to deliver on even their most realistic of vaporwares.

That leaves Apple, alone atop innovation mountain. And luckily, that’s just where one Steven P. Jobs likes to meditate.

It’s impossible to discuss Apple’s leadership without discussing its leader. If any one factor encompasses Apple’s (and the iPhone’s) current success, it’s the CEO. Perfectly melding unsurpassed customer savvy with unequalled industry prescience, his singular focus and uncanny aesthetic have not only brought Apple back from the brink, but made it the greatest second act in tech history.

It’s largely due to Steve Jobs that no one else has, or can come close to the iPhone. Who else besides Jobs or Apple could sit on something like the iPhone for close to 3 years without so much as a peak or a peep. Who else could ditch the floppy one generation (iMac) and the optical disk the next (MacBook Air)?

Every great artist (like Johnny Ive’s design team) needs a patron and every benevolent dictatorship (like Apple Inc.) needs its guiding mind. As long as Apple has Steve Jobs, the competition can try to copy iPhone 1.0 all they want. Jobs is already putting the final, tiny touches on 2.0 and has his sites firmly set on 3.0 and 4.0. And that’s fine because Apple — as it proved when it killed the iPod Mini and replaced it with the Nano — is really the only one who can compete with Apple anyway.

Jobs has always said Apple makes the devices they themselves want to use. Well, they make the devices an ever increasing amount of consumers want to use as well.

Conclusion

So, there they are. The top ten reasons that every other smartphone maker on the planet keeps comparing themselves to the incomparable iPhone. Come WWDC in June, the official SDK release, and — dare we guess? — iPhone 3G debut, it’s only going to get worse (and harder!)

What do you think?

[Ed- Digg link...]

Not only did the iPhone serve RIM at the SDK event. But after Apple showcased the demos of Touch Fighter, Spore, and Super Monkey Ball on the iPhone, Nintendo and Sony better watch out as well. Game controls utilized the accelerometer and multi-touch while the graphics were displayed on that crystal clear screen–make no mistake–Apple is ready to revolutionize gaming.

With the early glimpses into the gaming capabilities of the iPhone, we’ve learned that:

1. The possibilities are endless
2. It looks really fun
3. Apple has a potential gaming jackpot in their hands

If we have learned anything from the current console “war” between the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and the Nintendo Wii—consumers are more interested in buying the “fun” games as opposed to those that are graphically superior. At its bare minimum, gaming on the iPhone can be likened to a ridiculously advanced wii-mote. At its maximum potential? Quite possibly the best mobile gaming experience ever.

Earlier today Chad asked about what your favorite gaming experiences on the iPhone might be. But how will Apple deal with the business side of it? How can the iPhone conquer gaming? Find out after the jump.

Present State of Entertainment

As home entertainment becomes busier with multiple types of on-demand entertainment, there is little to no room on people’s TV stands. In a sense, to get a foot into the living room—there would have to be too much investment for such uncertain gain. Hence, the Apple TV has manifested into a ‘hobby’ unit because of the overcrowded entertainment stand. If we can compare this generation’s gaming battle to a war, the living room would be its trenches where little to no room is actually gained.

However, portable gaming as a whole is on an upward rise. Sales of the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP almost always outpace those of their home console counterparts. With total sales of the DS approaching 70 million units worldwide and the PSP with around 25 million units. The global appetite for portable gaming is only beginning to be realized.

Still the portable market has yet to be conquered. People are carrying too many items around—phones, cameras, planners, gaming devices—only because there has yet to be a true all-in-one device. Before the SDK announcement, the iPhone could only realistically cover your phone, planner, and camera (to an extent). But now? If this is entertainment war, the iPhone should be likened to the A(pple)-Bomb.

Portable Gaming Today

Today’s market of portable gaming consists of two titans. The behemoth of fun, the Nintendo DS and the sleek, cool Sony PSP. Comparatively speaking, they come from two different backgrounds. The PSP has a beautiful screen that the DS lacks but makes up for in a touchscreen. The PSP CPU is light-years faster than the DS, but the DS answers back with better games and an easier to learn experience. With these two portable gaming consoles dominating the market, it begs the question–is there room for one more?

Lets take a quick look at the processors and screen quality of all three devices and see where the iPhone stands in the pack.

Nintendo DS

Processor: two ARM CPUs @ 67MHz and 33MHz

Screen Resolution: (2) 256 x 192 pixels

Sony PSP

Processor: MIPS CPU @ 222 or 333MHz

Screen Resolution: 480 x 272 pixels

iPhone

Processor: ARM CPU @ 620MHz

Screen Resolution: 480 x 320 pixels

Using that as a rough barometer of gaming possibilities, we can see that the iPhone is perfectly capable of handling any game that the PSP runs sans ugly UMD and awkward analog stick. In fact, combining the more powerful CPU processor with OpenGL and Core Animation for developers, we truly have the capabilities for great looking games. But again, being more powerful than the next machine doesn’t guarantee victory. What does help however, is having a fun and unique experience.

So taking on the current king, the Nintendo DS, is crucial if Apple wants to walk away victorious. As Nintendo continues to raise the bar in fun gaming experiences, Apple is hot on their heels. Any game that involves touching, the iPhone can match and raise with its accelerometer. In fact, as Nintendo often suggests, touching is good, but as any iPhone users would say multi-touch is much better.

iPhone users really have the best of both worlds in their hands. Not only do they have a machine more powerful than the PSP but they also combine it with a gaming experience on par with the Nintendo DS. The iPhone (and to the same extent, the iPod Touch) certainly has the technological prowess to take the portable gaming market by storm. Include the fact that with Apple’s goal to sell 10 million iPhones by the end of the year and the onset of a 3G iPhone along with more potential carriers across the world, Apple certainly will have enough iPhones in people’s hands to make a dent in the gaming industry.

Where Can The iPhone Fit In?

Looking past the enormous fun-factor in all the games demoed at the SDK roadmap event (and boy, were they fun), we should note something much more important: how quickly the games were developed and how eager the developers are. If developing games for the iPhone was tough, even the most powerful system would squander its potential without the best developers on board. Luckily, the people over at EA and SEGA continually stressed the ease of developing games for the iPhone throughout the entire event. In fact, Sega likened creating games for the iPhone to creating games for any console. The iPhone has THAT much potential.

Using iTunes to promote the games will serve as the perfect billboard for developers. Mobile gaming (and products, for that matter) has never seen an outlet such as iTunes. Gone are the days of searching for fun games on your mobile carrier’s store and scouring versiontracker for the latest build, iTunes is a media outlet that has become near universal. Having your product on the pages of iTunes is on par with being on the shelves at Wal-Mart and Best Buy.

The iPhone’s true soul is being a blank slate—that principle reflects in its design. By building a powerful device from the ground up (that just so happens to be a phone, among other things)—the iPhone has made developers re-think mobile gaming. No longer are they confined to uncomfortably small buttons or screens with horrible resolution—they truly have their blank slate to go wild on.

What Will Apple Do?

But the question remains, does Apple really want to pursue Nintendo and Sony in portable gaming or are they satisfied with being just better than mobile phone gaming? I think the answer lies somewhere closer to challenging the DS and the PSP. They have the technology behind their device, developers already on board, and a cool and fun factor that neither Sony nor Nintendo could match. But if games provide to be too tough to develop (I doubt it) or end up being terrible (Again, I doubt it), Apple can easily back off and claim it never planned for the iPhone to be the next big thing in gaming.

Either way, it is an entirely win-win situation for Apple—portable gaming just adds to the near-perfect resume of the iPhone. Remember folks, the iPhone is already a great phone, the best mobile internet portal, and the best iPod—in one device. Asking it to be the best gaming device, might be a little too much, but that’s how high Apple has set the bar. And I think they just might reach it.