Sony is planning to launch a PlayStation-branded phone, calling into question its partnership with Swedish mobile company Ericsson.

The proposed PSP phone will incorporate elements of the PlayStation Portable (PSP). It is hope that new phone will hit the market by the end of next year.

Sony Ericsson currently uses Sony sub-brands Walkman and Cyber-Shot camera as key features of its phones. According to reports from Korea and Japan, Sony is working on “converting” the current PSP model into a phone. The current PSP can be used as a VoIP phone via its Wi-Fi connectivity but does not currently contain the technology to use cellular networks. It is believed that the new device would be a PSP with full mobile connectivity, rather than a branded handset, like the just-launched F305.

There are also reports that relationship between Sony and Sony Ericsson has become “frosty”. Rumours are that Sony would “never” give its PlayStation branding to the Sony Ericsson joint venture. Sony Ericsson launched its F305 gaming phone to a mixed reception recently.

Sony Ericsson was formed in 2001, and reported a 47percent fall in profits for the first three months of the year. It is in fifth place in the handset market behind LG Electronics and Nokia, which is the market leader.

Sony Corporation is currently in a joint venture with the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to make mobile phones. Recently it had launched its F305 gaming phone, which some analysts thought would sport elements of the Playstation branding or the PSP design.

There are also reports that Sony Ericsson had filed a patent for what is described as a portable mobile communications device that is ’set out to mimic the look and feel of the popular Sony Playstation Portable.

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