Microsoft Pink, Sony tablet – games are key

One of the constant sources of mobile industry speculation is whether certain key players will launch their own-branded phones. Google has obliged with Nexus One, and now Microsoft is, yet again, reported to be readying a handset. Xbox will be a central feature, and in response, Sony could use its own brand rather than its Sony Ericsson joint venture for a PlayStation phone.

The Microsoft rumors center once again on the possibly mythical ‘Project Pink’, which would create a handset design under the software giant’s brand, to spread the presence of new OS Windows Phone 7. This could be made by various partner vendors. An obvious candidate would be HTC, the market leader in Windows Mobile handsets. Others speculate that the hardware vendors behind the Sidekick, from Microsoft’s Danger unit, may be in the running – these are Sharp and Motorola.

The Reuters news agency cited sources who said the first product of Project Pink would appear on the Verizon Wireless network in late spring or early summer. Like many new phones this year, it would target the mass smartphone market and be heavily oriented towards social networking.

And the Zune media player and Xbox games console could also sees their capabilities and even brands included in Pink models, something also hinted at by the specs of Windows Phone 7, which include support for these platforms.

Another vendor whose music and games devices fit logically into its phone line-up is Sony. Its Sony Ericsson (SEMC) venture has thrived by using the Walkman and Cybershot names in handsets, but is now moving away from these to try to create its own brands at the high end. Meanwhile, two years of hopes of a PlayStation phone have been thwarted by struggles over ownership of Sony’s brand.

Now The Wall Street Journal believes the Japanese giant will go ahead with a games handset, but separately from SEMC. It will launch a smartphone heavily geared to PlayStation games, and probably using its name, plus a tablet-style device in the same category as the Apple iPad, reports the WSJ. The latter will combine functionality of a netbook, ereader and PSP, according to the usual "people familiar with the matter".

In a statement, Sony said: "As already announced, Sony and Sony Ericsson have been strengthening their collaboration in the networked mobile space. However, it is not our strategy to discuss future products or business plan before we make a formal announcement. Any media report that suggests details of the product or business is based on speculation."

However, last month Sony’s CFO Nobuyuki Oneda was more forthcoming about touchscreen tablets, telling an investor meeting: "That is a market we are also very interested in. We are confident we have the skills to create a product. Timewise we are a little behind the iPad but it's a space we would like to be an active player in."

Sony is stepping up its challenge to Apple’s integrated device/content model, and later this month will launch a digital download service/store called Qriocity (pronounced ‘curiosity’), to take on iTunes. It could also veer into App Store territory, and as such may create confusion with SEMC’s own media store and PlayNow portal.

Integrating Sony’s various product ranges, from TVs to games consoles, with a single content library and user experience, is a key strategy – one into which SEMC may fit increasingly awkwardly.