PS3-Compatible Phone Coming In October

SpuriousLogic sends along this quote from CVG: 'You may remember reports of Sony's flashy Aino phone earlier this year which can, among other things, connect to a PS3 via Remote Play, giving you full access to your XMB through its tiny screen. Well, Sony's revealed that the Aino is now just weeks away from release in October, and spewed all the details prospective buyers need to know about the device. ... Remote Play with Aino lets you turn your PS3 on and off, browse and control the XMB and access the internet browser from anywhere in the world. Remote Play also lets you control and access the hard drive's media content on the PS3 using the built-in WiFi or 3G connections via Aino. You can also access the PlayStation Store via Remote Play or chat with friends via the PlayStation Network. It is also possible to buy and download a new game from the Store via Aino so it is ready and waiting for you when you get home.'

Comments

Headline could have been phrased better

[joeflies]

such as "Phone with PS3 Remote Control Coming in October". Saying it's PS3-compatible would lead one to think that it runs PS3 software.

Re:Headline could have been phrased better

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

"Compatible" arguably means different things by context.

As you say, "iPhone compatible headphones" does not imply "headphones that can run stuff from the app store". This is because headphones never run applications(pedants may argue that the DSP baked in to high end noise cancellation headphones counts; but not really) and nobody expects them to. By contrast "IBM compatible PC" is (when the vendor wasn't lying) precisely a statement about a device's ability to run a particular class of software; because the context, that of computers, implies that that is what "compatible" means.

Given that the use of phones to run applications enjoys a higher profile than the use of phones as remote controls(and, even in those cases where they are used as remotes, this is generally done through an application), it isn't wildly unreasonable to assume that "compatible" means "software compatible, at least in some sense".

Given history, I suspect that the headline could be more accurately rewritten to say "Sony-Ericcson releases high-end dumbphone defined by a couple of genuinely interesting features and a lot of mediocrity(just like all the other times they've done that), also functions as a bluetooth remote for one specific home theatre device".

Re:Headline could have been phrased better

[iknowcss]

Yes, but the ambiguity instils curiosity, and curiosity brings clicks.

nice marketing

[schnikies79]

it's sounds a little.. whats the word... pointless!

I'd rather have...

[popo]

I'd rather have a phone that plays PS1 games than a phone that talks to my PS3.

You'd think someone would realize that there's an instant bestseller with any handheld version of a past (non-handheld) console ...

A better alternative

[StreetStealth]

This is a feature that could indeed be convenient, but will it sell a phone? There's a vast number of criteria on which to base a phone choice, and a nice-but-not-life-changing feature like this seems like an extremely tough sell by itself.

Here's what I think Sony should have done (and could still do): instead of building a phone with this feature, build a protocol with the feature. License it out to third parties, and watch as various ecosystems pick it up. Build, or license someone to build, something on Symbian, BREW, WinMo, or how about the obvious: an iPhone app?

A protocol would open the doors to a bona-fide advancement in Sony's gaming platform. A single phone is just an interesting sideshow.