Sony Ericsson is to release the PlayStation Phone which will hit stores in March 2011, reports ITProPortal quoting an anonymous source in the company. So far, no other source has confirmed this information.
Sony Ericsson’s new development, under a code name of Zeus Z1, is a hybrid of Sony Ericsson’s Android based smartphone and a the portable game console PSP Go. It is expected that the official presentation of the PlayStation Phone will take place in February 2011 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The telephone will be designed as a slider; a four way navigation button will appear under the top sensor panel in place of a QWERTY keyboard. The smartphone’s back panel will have shift-buttons characteristic of all Sony’s game devices.

As reported previously, the device is likely to have a 3,7-inch screen, ARM-processor, with a clock speed of 1 GHz, 512 megabytes of RAM and a 5-megapixel camera. Digital versions of PSP-games will be able to be can be downloaded by means of a special PlayStation app.

The rumors of Sony Ericsson preparing a hybrid of a portable PSP console and a telephone appeared in spring 2008. Any further developments remained secret until the appearance on the Internet of numerous photos and video clips featuring the “new” device. Sony Ericsson hasn’t yet officially confirmed the development of the smartphone.

Apple has released the update for the iOS 4.2 (which runs on the iPhone and iPad), having significantly increased the iPad’s functionality, reports the company’s website.

The new system adds those functions which are already available for the users of the iPhone and iPhone Touch, namely multitasking, grouping programs in folders, Game Center application (allows gamers to have contests with friends, keep a table of records, etc.)

Up to now, iOS 3.2.2 has been a stable iPad’s OS, which was released in August this year.

Among new functions of iOS 4.2 is AirPlay which allow users of this device to broadcast music,video and pictures on Apple TV through the Wi-Fi channel. The music stored on a gadget can also be broadcast on AirPort Express, a wireless hotspot, connected with speakers (wireless AirPlay compatible acoustic systems are soon to hit the market).

AirPrint is another new technology available in iOS 4.2. This function makes it possible to print out texts and photographs on printers supporting this function (HP Photosmart, HP LaserJetPro and HP Officejet) without drivers, transmitting data from the tablet smartphone  through Wi-Fi.

Moreover, Apple made the Find My iPhone function free of charge. This function was previously available only to the users of MobileMe service. The function which is now freely available for the users of iPhone 4, iPad and iPhone Touch of the 4^th generation, allows pin-pointing on a map  the approximate location of the mobile device which was either stolen orlost. Additionally, the user can command that  that all data on the device be deleted.

The iOS 4.2 can be installed on the iPad, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3 GS, iPhone 4, and all models of the iPod Touch except for 1^st generation devices.

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Google demonstrated the Android-based communicator, still not presented officially, at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco (California, USA).

Eric Schmidt, Google’s General Director, demonstrated the device. According to numerous web sources, the device in question is the Nexus S model which was already mentioned  on the Internet on several occasions.

According to Mr. Schmidt, the smartphone operates on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) Platform which is to be announced in several weeks. The device will receive the embedded NFC (Near Field Communication) chip, owing to which customers will be able to pay for purchases and services by means of contactless operations, receive accompanying information, etc.

In other words, the communicator can substitute conventional payment cards, such as credit and debit cards. .

Nexus S is currently known to have 2 cameras and will be developed by Samsung.

It hasn’t been reported yet when Nexus S will hit the market and how much it will cost. It is quite possible that the device will be officially announced at CES 2011 exhibition which is to take place in Las Vegas  from  the 6^th to the 9^th of January.

NVIDIA’s president Jen-Hsun Huang foresees the emergence of a new class of mobile phones, so-called superphones.

Mr. Huang explains that ‘superphones’ will occupy the intermediary position between traditional phones used purely for communication and minicomputers. These gadgets will be bigger than the Apple iPhone but smaller than ordinary tablet computers.

Mr. Huang says that ‘superphones’ will be able to carry out basic internet functions with a highly developed multimedia functionality. Google Android OS will serve as the platform for these devices.

Mr. Huang didn’t talk about the type of hardware that will be used.. He only noted that ARM-based processors are likely to become the “heart” of the new device. (NVIDIA’s president may have meant not a very successful platform Tegra. – I don’t understand what you mean?)

Superphones may appear on the market over the coming year, concluded Jen-Hsun Huang.