Sony and BT went ahead and launched the Go! Messenger wireless communications package which they said they’ve been working, on at this week’s Leipzig Games Convention. It is a VoIP enabled messenger package that lets the PlayStation Portable operate as a phone through a wi-fi connection. The system will be commercially available in January and offers video calls, voice calls and instant messaging.
The software for the PSP, which was developed in BT’s research centre, will be available to all new and existing PSPs, downloaded or shared between users.
We said at the time of the PSP launch that it was crazy not to have a VoIP phone on the device and that it was bound to happen, with the only issue being whether or not Sony would allow the device to be open for the creation of new applications, which it isn’t really.
But BT’s ownership of tens of thousands of wi-fi hotspots through its Openzone brand in UK cities proved too tempting for Sony, and we would expect this to be offered globally eventually, with the initial launch confined to the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. The messenger can also allow free calls to a range of existing BT softphone products and paid calls to fixed and mobile phones. A headset will also be marketed and an attachable Go!Cam video camera to allow video calls and video messages.
BT says it will offer the service through WISPS around the world and other device manufacturers. Sony has shipped 24 million PSPs globally since launching the device in December 2004.