The Wall Street Journal cites a close source that claims Sony is plotting to take a big bite out of Apple’s iPhone and iPad. Supposedly, a PSP Phone and an iPad-like e-reader/tablet are in development.

Sony’s PSPgo has been a failure. There is speculation that the handheld will be relaunched later this year, but what if Sony is thinking bigger with the PSP? I can readily picture a touchscreen PSP Phone designed by Ericsson. The mock-up photo above looks rather fetching, but Sony is not just competing against Apple –almost every computer manufacturer has a tablet coming out. The PSP Phone would have to eek out market share against well established Android, RIM, Symbian, and the impending Windows Phone 7. Historically, it is impossible to fault Sony for not being ambitious though.

As for the Sony iPad that is also supposedly in the works, we all knew that this was coming. To me, the PSP Phone would be far more interesting. Let us hope that Sony does not screw it up somehow…like adding yet more closed, proprietary formats.

Source: WSJ