Culver City (CA) - After fighting stagnant sales of its PSP handheld for several months, Sony is now working on a video download service that it hopes will pose a real threat to the iTunes video store, and also rebuild interest in the portable gaming system, according to a Financial Times story.
The new service would allow users to download video content through a proprietary Sony platform, which could then be transferred to the PSP via a Memory Stick. To back up the service, Sony is also bringing out a 4 GB stick, which could hold about 10 full-length movies.
Sony already has a similar battle with iTunes. Its Connect music download program, which also lets users transfer songs to the PSP, has played the second fiddle to Apple's service, though it has offered some actual competition for iTunes. Some of Connect's features that are unavailable for iTunes include saving files in different formats onto a CD and the ability to re-download any song purchased. It is unknown if the video download service will be integrated into Connect or if it will be an entirely new platform.
