Following a whopping great hint, Sony has announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that Skype will, indeed, be coming to the PSP. The bad news is that owners of the original PSP won't be able to make use of it thanks to memory constraints.

Owners of the slim and light PSP worldwide will be able to use the voice over internet protocol (VoiP) service to make calls with other Skype users, as well as landline and mobile phone users with the purchase of Skype credit.

For owners of the original PSP, however - no such luck. Nick Sharples, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's director of Corporate Communications explains:



The original PSP features 32MB of memory, compared to 64MB for the slim and light.

Skype will be available in a software update scheduled for late January. Once installed, it will be accessible from the XMB.

Sony has already announced Go!Messenger, which will also offer VoIP functionality, for PAL territories. Sony blog Three Speech tells us that the slim and light will get "full Skype voice functionality" (our emboldening) which is presumably what will differentiate the service from Go!Messenger, which will feature video calls and instant messenger services. SPOnG has contacted Sony for clarification.

Elsewhere in PSP land, Sony has announced a whopping 16GB Memory Stick PRO Duo so you can carry around... well, about as much media for your PSP as you like, really. It's expected to hit the US some time in March, with Europe slated to get it at roughly the same time.

GPS for the PSP has also been given a date of Spring this year for the US. Remember, we're all looking forward to the Leipzig-announced Go!Explore European satnav, promised early this year.

Meanwhile, a keyboard for the PSP is said to be in the works to avoid messy text input through the PSP's screen. A Sony rep has said, "We're looking at several designs, but can't tell you anything more specific."<sup>†

†Source: GameSpot</sup>