Rumours that Sony is planning to launch a PlayStation Portable phone have been doing the rounds for years. But now it has emerged that the firm may indeed be about take on the Apple iPhone with a hybrid gaming-cum-phone device.

Respected Japanese website Nikkei has said that Sony plans to create a project team that will develop a new gadget combining the features of its PSP with those of Sony Ericsson’s mobile phones.

Who'll be in the device's design team could be finalised by as early as next month, the Japanese report added. Once that's done, they have to come together and get on with the job of designing the device, so its launch is clearly going to be some way off yet.

Although still just a rumour, the report holds some weight thanks to a recent confession by Sony Ericsson’s President, Hideki Komiyama, that a PSP phone “could happen”.

Komiyama added that such a gadget would help Sony Ericsson carve out a niche for itself based on Sony’s strength in gaming. ®