PSP Becomes a Phone Via UK Deal With BT

marcellizot writes "PSP owners might want to sit down for this one: Sony has just signed a four-year deal with BT to turn the PSP into a phone. The partnership will add wireless broadband communication functions, including high quality video calls, voice calls and messaging. The partnership will initially integrate the PSP with BT Broadband's video and voice softphone VoIP software, meaning that calls will be free, with the customer only having to pay for the BT broadband subscription. This means that initially the service will only enable the PSP to communicate with products that run the softphone software. BT has already confirmed however that in the months following the service's debut, additional features will be launched to enable calls and messages to PCs, fixed lines and mobiles."

It's actually sold over 20 million...

[Anonymous Coward]

In fact, 21 million PSPs have been sold worldwide, and it's still selling. It's as popular as the Xbox or Gamecube, vastly more than the Dreamcast or Ngage. It's also sold more than twice as many systems as the 360, although that did launch later.

The actual hardware is pretty poor IMO (analog nub in particular) but you can't really knock its popularity.

Re:Dumb questions . . .

[poot_rootbeer]

How do you dial a PSP? No touch screen, no keypad.

A few possibilities:
1) Push the analog nub around like a rotary phone's dial.
2) Map the D-pad, face buttons, Select, and Start to 0-9, *, and #. Impress your friends by instructing them to call you by entering the Konami Code.
3) Seriously, who even uses a keypad for dialing anymore? I select a name from a contact list when I need to make a call. A lot of automated phone systems even support voice activation instead now.