Sony to take on iPod with PSP

At this week’s UBS Media Week Conference in New York, Andrew House, executive vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, said he plans to take on Apple’s iPod by getting the Playstation Portable (PSP) in the hands of consumers as a gaming device and then use it to market music and video. The handheld gadget, which is expected to make its US debut in Spring 2005, uses a proprietary Sony storage disc format that can store about 2GB worth of content. “In the portable space, there are devices that are a necessity, like a cell phone, and there are devices that are indulgences,” House said. “The iPod fits very much into the indulgence and status category and that is where we are going to go head-to-head with PSP.”