Sony could extend Vita OS to other devices
Incoming CEO says the software was created to be "expandable", with the potential to bring PlayStation games experience to phones
Published: 13 February, 2012
READ MORE: Sony Corp | OS | Games | Tablet
Less than two years ago, it seemed that every device maker who was not Apple, RIM or Nokia would converge around Android. But while most of the players remain loyal to the Google OS, a rising number of them also feel the need to have a platform under their own control and branding. Amazon has radically altered the Android experience and is rumoured to be eyeing its own OS; Samsung has bada and Tizen; Facebook, Mozilla, Canonical and Baidu are planning browser/OS platforms for mobile gadgets; and now Sony, may push the PlaySation software to a broad range of devices.
Sony is taking full control of Sony Ericsson, which with Motorola has been the most purely Android of the major handset makers, having dumped Symbian and remained aloof from WP7. But just as the Japanese giant is expected to integrate smartphones more closely into its wider family of devices and content platforms, it may also put Vita OS on some of its phones.
In a recent discussion with reporters, Sony's incoming CEO Kazuo Hirai said that the OS on the new PlayStation Vita console was designed to be "expandable", and would be suitable for smartphones and tablets. Vita already blurs the lines with tablets and other wireless enabled Sony gadgets by including embedded 3G and selling partly through carriers like Vodafone. Now, Sony is looking to make its gaming brand a more integral part of its overall media offering, converging the PlayStation Network with other stores and services, and perhaps creating a controlled OS and user experience for multiple gadgets.
Sony has often been accused of failing to capitalize effectively on the PlayStation brand in the mobile world, partly because internal politics with Sony Ericsson delayed the launch of a PSP handset. Last year finally saw the Xperia Play, but the brand was diluted and the games themselves also made available to other Android vendors.
Hirai said, according to CNet: "If you're asking if we've made it in a way that's expandable, so that it's possible to apply to smartphones and tablets on top of achieving the high responsiveness we need for gaming devices, then that is possible. It's been designed with expandability in mind." However, he stressed there were no immediate plans for Vita OS tablets or handsets. The Vita sports a 5-inch OLED touchscreen, high quality graphics close in quality to those of the PlayStation 3, and many preloaded apps such as Facebook and Skype.
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