Sony PSP: the portable machine for games and more?

The Sony PSP portable game console is on a roll. It just out-shipped rival Nintendo DS in Japan and it should launch in Europe and the U.S in March.

Sony has big plans for the device: Music download, wireless TV, audio/video playing capabilities. It is even rumored that Sony would like to see movie rentals for its UMD optical disc format found in the PSP.

One thing that I have to say about the PSP is: “the console is in the screen”. That’s the single biggest differentiator that makes it an uber-gizmo. I’m confident that the console is technically capable of what Sony wants, but in the end, I think that it will mainly be used as a gaming device first and that it cannot kill Mp3 players or cellphones just because it is too big and consumes too much power.