Will we see a phone feature appear on the PSP soon? Tom Keating of the VoIP and Gadgets blog seems to think it will. In fact, he considers this more an inevitability than mere speculation. He also suggests that companies like Google are in line to come up with some sort of VoIP service for PSP considering that intergration of IM applications like Google Talk are already headed for handheld devices. And since Google Talk, like the even more widely used Yahoo! Instant Messenger, already has voice built in, it's only natural to expect that a microphone peripheral (say the SOCOM headset) will take advantage of that avenue and allow for phone-like capabilities on Sony's prized portable.

Having a phone attachment on the PSP, especially a free one, is such a neat idea it makes me feel like donating to charity. Of course, several issues need to be addressed. One, the phone attachment needs to be reasonably sized so as not to make the PSP unmanageable. Two, power usage needs to be improved since the PSP's WiFi feature is notorious for its energy suckage. Also, if this development gets pushed back a a year or two, there's always the chance that Sony will do a redesign and integrate these enhancements. Come what may, we're just oh-so-happy that even if Sony isn't maxing out the PSP's abilities, other people are at least trying to on their own.

[photo via iceteks.com]