The PS Vita's success as a games system is far from secure, but Sony has just hinted that it might make tablets and smart phones using the Vita operating system.
Sony's yet-to-be-anointed president and CEO Kazuo Hirai told reporters that the company designed the OS to be expandable to other devices, The Verge reports, quoting AV Watch. Sony's deputy president then said smart phone apps would be coming soon to Vita, via PlayStation Suite.
Hirai told reporters that we shouldn't forget Vita OS as a mobile platform, not just focussed on gaming. Sony Computer Entertainment's senior vice president Yoshio Matsumoto then said: "if you're asking if we've made it [Vita's OS] in a way that's expandable, so that it's possible to apply to smart phones and tablets on top of achieving the high responsiveness we need for gaming devices -- it is possible."
He added: "that doesn't mean that we're applying it to smart phones and tablets at this point in time, but it's been designed with expandability in mind."
But why would Sony design it with "expandability in mind" and then not act on it? Sounds to us like it's only a matter of time until we see a Vita range of smart phones and tablets. The company did just buy out Ericsson from its mobile side, after all, and new boss Hirai, who takes over on 1 April, is from the PlayStation side of things at Sony.
Sony Ericsson incurred losses of £206m last year, so Sony will doubtless want to do everything it can to turn round its ailing phone business.
Would you buy a Vita handset or tablet? And would Sony be right to plough its own furrow, or should it stick with Android? Let us know in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.
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CyberAly 12 February, 2012 14:18
I've heard that the Vita's OS doesn't handle multitasking very well, so I doubt it would make a viable smartphone platform. That MAY have something to do with the Vita's gaming specialised hardware though.
For sure, it would give Sony Phones a very unique selling point, especially with good games compatibility, but if it's not as good as Android for the basic functionality, which is likely, then it would be a bad move.
iam a wp7 12 February, 2012 18:44
O because the xperia play was such a huge success...
anonymous 12 February, 2012 19:42
**** TAKE! I'm buying a vita in a week, if Sony date release it all on phones then Sony can **** off with any future handheld plans!!!! Things like this make me mad!
anonymous 12 February, 2012 23:32
This would be a great move for Sony to take. It should help the company turn around a little. If they were to do this, and it did bump up Sony, they would have to keep going in the right path.
anonymous 13 February, 2012 00:54
GREAT NEWS!!
but "Vita OS" ??? i think it sounds a bit corny. Sony should change the OS's name hehehe.
Mugen13 13 February, 2012 01:00
I doubt it. Sony has been losing too much money to start spending on development... they should stick to android on cellphones and innovate like Samsung and in the other hand make sure they stabilize their PS brand. Cellphones with the capabilities of the vita will run out of juice very quickly and that doesn't bathe well. Let the vita be the start and just make Slim and reliable android phones like u have and it'll be all good. We will casual game on our cells and hardcore our handhelds. Only really nice games like cod and stuff like that will cement the vita in our society, so just get to it!
anonymous 13 February, 2012 02:30
spending time to produce vita os based phone is like killing the PS Vita. If that ever came to reality, people will buy the PS Vita Phone with downgraded specs and expecting PS Vita Title to run exceptionally well on it but just get disappointed. So as a result, consumer lose their faith on Sony PS/Mobile, PS Vita will not sell well and PS Vita Mobile phone will not even come to success after a few bad review(if their hardware is sh*t).