If the test we performed during Podcast 37 was any indication, the Skype feature which was recently made available to PSPs, while neat, probably doesn't cut it when it comes to your main form of mobile communication. However, we can't be expected to carry around our cell phones and our PSPs. We only have one pair of multi-pocketed cargo pants, and, well, they really don't do much for our figure.

We might be in luck -- a recent issue of Sony Magazine has stoked the fires of a finely aged rumor that a PSP phone is currently in the works, possibly under Sony Ericsson. One article briefly mentions that a "PSP-style phone is apparently in development," and that the device could hit retail "as early as February." While it wouldn't be the first time Sony released a handheld upon an unsuspecting public with little to no fanfare, we would think we'd hear about something like this more than a month before it hits store shelves. We mean -- part gaming device, part mobile phone? The world's never seen anything like this before!

Though the phone company has previously stated that it's "obviously" looking into the production of a PlayStation-branded gaming phone, a new online report suggests that Sony Ericsson's future offerings may arrive sans the letters "PSP." Previously, SE's Peter Ahnegard stated that a PlayStation-branded phone would only be considered if it was "recognised as a true continuation of that brand of products."

Mobile news site, Mobile Entertainment, asserts that a phone equipped with a "games-oriented user interface" and motion-sensing technology is due to be unveiled by Sony Ericsson in February. It "will not be PSP branded," it explicitly notes. While Sony's intention to move into a market notably occupied by talkative tacos has hardly been conspicuous, details of possible configurations have been (and still are) the source of much speculation. Adding a motion-sensitive mechanic to phony games would certainly help resolve some of the perceived control issues, but would inevitably result in one too many of those tilting "get the ball into the hole" titles. And if this pans out, expect plenty of golf games too.

Stuffing an electronic device in your pocket simply isn't worth enduring the oddly shaped bulge if it can't play some decent games, right? Sony Ericsson seemingly agrees in an interview with Pocket Gamer, with the phone company's Peter Ahnegard (touché!) discussing the possibility of releasing a PlayStation-branded phone. Ahnegard explains that sticking the PlayStation name on a phone is easier said than done, as consumers have certain expectations from such a prominent label.

"We're not launching a brand of handset simply because we can, but because we can lead up to the expectations of the consumer," he said. "Up until today we haven't felt we could launch a PlayStation phone because it wouldn't be recognised as a true continuation of that brand of products." When further prodded, Ahnegard admits that a PlayStation phone is "obviously something that we're looking at" and expects it to materialize in some form before Christmas... "but exactly which Christmas I can't confirm!" Well, that narrows it down.