Sony Ericsson were rumoured to be working on a Sony Ericsson PlayStation phone last September, ready for release later this year.

Things went quiet after that, while the company carried on releasing a stream of new Walkman and CyberShot phones.

Now, though, more rumours are starting to emerge - although, it has to be said, without any new information.

I wrote about a possible Sony Ericsson PlayStation phone back in September, when I quoted Sony Computer Entertainment corporate executive Izumi Kawanishi, who, in an interview with IGN, said :

"Could the PSP ever replace your cell phone? There is a possibility, I won't deny it. Personally, I'm interested in it. Of course, it's not the case that you can connect to wireless LAN everywhere, so you can't call it a permanent connection. But cell phones are permanently connected. Cell phones get more interesting as their data transfer rate increases, and I think it would be extremely interesting to try something like that."

Now, Spanish gadget site ClipsNet adds to this rumour by claiming that an "insider" has given them the scoop that Sony Ericsson really are working on a PlayStation phone. Indeed, they're working on a whole new user interface for their high-end mobile phones just to accommodate their enhanced game playing abilities.

According to ClipsNet, the new phones will have a horizontal line of icons with the basic options and other icons arranged vertically (note: I got this from Google's translation of ClipsNet's page, so this may not be entirely accurate! Spanish readers, feel free to put me right!).

ClipsNet speculate from this that a PlayStation phone may be on its way - but then again, it might just be that Sony Ericsson are beefing up the graphics capabilities of their top-end mobile phones, and like Nokia, won't be releasing a gaming phone, just higfh-spec phones with great graphics.

We'll just have to wait and see, but one thing's for sure, Sony Ericsson desperately needs to add something new to their line-up to freshen up its range of endless Walkman and CyberShot phones.

[Source: ClipsNet]