Back in August, we heard news of a Sony Ericsson-made PlayStation Phone that would seriously up Android's gaming cred.  Today images of the PlayStation phone have finally come to light, and, well, it looks like a PSP Go running Android.  As you can see above, the device has a large touchscreen that slides up to reveal a D-Pad and the standard PlayStation square, triangle, circle, and square buttons.  The hardware in the picture is still very much a prototype, which explains why there's no skin to be found on the OS.  Speaking of the OS, this device should be sporting Gingerbread when it comes to market, as well as a special Sony Marketplace that will offer games designed for the platform.  When it comes to specs, you can expect a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 processor, 512MB of RAM, 1GB of ROM, a screen somewhere between 3.7 and 4.1 inches, and a microSD slot.  There's a multitouch-capable touchpad between the controls, as well as the PlayStation shoulder buttons that we've come to know and love.  By now you're probably wondering when this thing is going to be released, right?  Well, it's entirely possible that we could see it before 2010 is up, but a 2011 launch is looking more likely.

Despite hitting recently surpassing 100,000 apps available, the Android Market still isn't known for its high quality games.  There have been some major steps forward with the release of games like Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds, but the PlayStation Phone has the potential to put Android gaming on the map.  Plus, the fact that it's a PlayStation device should help drive a ton of gamers to the platform that may not have been interested otherwise.  If you've been looking for a new Android phone and have even the slightest interest in gaming, it might be a good idea to wait a bit and see what happens with the PlayStation Phone.  I know I'll be keeping a close eye on it.

Via Engadget