For those following the fast-moving world of smartphones, the Nexus S was recently announced, the first phone to launch with the newest version of search leader Google‘s Android operating system. The PSP phone has also been all but confirmed thanks to some pictures and now video of the device in action. Now, developers have access to certain buttons that seem taken straight from the world of PlayStation…
As MobileCrunch noticed on the Android Developers website, buttons such as L1, L2, R1 and R2 have been referenced in the official API (Application Programming Interface) documentation for use with Android 2.3 (codename “Gingerbread”) SDKs (Software Development Kits). That’s just fancy programming speak meaning developers can now tell when a certain button on your controller is pressed.
So what does this mean? The short answer is that game controllers will definitely be used in the Android world soon. But the inclusion of those specific buttons adds credence to the possibility of the PSP Phone coming sooner rather than later. There are no other PlayStation-esque buttons here, with A, B, C and X, Y, and Z rounding out the usual slew of controller buttons. But with descriptions such as indications of thumb sticks being pressed (presumably, like a button), similar to pressing down on the analog sticks on the PS3 controllers, this could mean the PSP Phone and/or PSP2 will be compatible with the SIXAXIS/DualShock 3, as their older cousin the PSPGo currently is. No one knows for sure, but rest assured PlayStation LifeStyle will be here to let you know more information as it develops.
