Sony Ericsson may bring PS3 app to X10, Sony plans store

Sony Ericsson is coming late into the Android race, since its Xperia X10 will not be in our hands until after Christmas. But it is throwing real efforts at its first ‘Google phone’, including the promise of a PlayStation Portable app, similar to the one currently only available on its Aino or U10i ‘entertainment phone’.

And when the X10 ships in February, it may not be confined to Sony Ericsson’s usual territories in Europe and perhaps India, but could get a rare US carrier deal, at AT&T. This would give it the kind of US launch profile that Motorola gained from Verizon’s high profile launch of its Droid smartphone – since the X10 would likely be the first Android model from AT&T, which has been hesitant about the operating system. This would be an important breakthrough for the handset maker, which has very small US market share and few carrier deals.

Talk of an AT&T deal is based on the spec sheets for the X10, which eagle eyed reviewers noticed included AT&T’s bands (but not T-Mobile USA’s). It supports GSM 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS/HSPA 800/850/900/1700/1900/2100 (but not HSPA 900/1700 for the Americas).

Meanwhile, the X10 could come with the PS3 app – the closest we have got to a real PSP handset, which could have been Sony Ericsson’s killer weapon, but has so far floundered on arguments about ownership of Sony’s crown jewel brand. "It makes a lot of sense for it to be on other handsets,” said Christopher David, head of developer and partner engagement at Sony Ericsson told Pocket-Lint. “It should be expected". So far, the PS3 app runs on the Aino’s Nexus UX platform, allowing users to access the PS3 from the phone and stream content to their handset from anywhere in the world. The X10 already sports the same DLNA and wireless connectivity as the Aino, plus has a fast 1GHz Snapdragon processor and four-inch screen – all well suited to gamers.

But Sony may be muddying the waters for its handset venture again, by planning a mobile store of its own that could conflict with Sony Ericsson PlayNow. It aims to resurrect the failed Sony Connect, under the name Sony Online Service, initially to follow the iTunes model and sell Sony-owned content and applications. As with the iPhone/iPod/iTunes combination, these would be heavily integrated and optimized, but Sony hinted it would follow up with an app store that would be open to third party developers. Some of the work has been headed up by former Apple executive Tim Schaaf, whom Sony poached three years ago to rejuvenate software efforts.

Sony aims to differentiate its new offering by tapping into social networking and user generated content trends, for instance by allowing users to upload personal content in the same way as Google YouTube. Of course, Sony’s other point of difference is that it has home-produced content to offer, from its movie studios, music units and other divisions. Kazuo Hirai, EVP for networked products and services, said: "That I think is where our core competence lies, and that's a differentiator for Sony."

Sony Online will learn some lessons from the successful PlayStation Network, a free service that has captured 33m registered users who download movies, access social networks, and buy games. This will be integrated into the new offering, but there was no such clarity on whether users of the Sony Ericsson PlayNow services would also be able to access the new system from their existing accounts and devices.