Rumour: PSP2 in the works?

This is in light of Kotaku's recent post about the PSP2, which is rumoured to be in development as we speak ... er, type. Apparently, this new PSP will boast a ton of new features, among which are a touchscreen (all pretense of not copying the competition being abandoned, I see), improved buttons and a built-in camera.

Word has it that a big announcement will most likely hit at E3 with Sony unveiling the redesigned portable. An announcement of launch date (which should be sometime 4th quarter) is entirely possible as well. The redesigned product apparently does exist as this is what we've heard so far:

The screen is gorgeous
The loads are faster
Improved buttons
Internal flash — 8GB
Possible touch-screen
Possible built-in camera
Uses UMD

Also -- not that this is of any real consequence in the long run -- do keep in mind all those rumours about Skype on the PSP. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's move on to the aforementioned upgrades.

OK, first off: This isn't going to make the tiniest bit of difference unless Sony can lower the price on the newer model. Also, longer battery life would be nice, but that's about it. Unless Sony's planning on making this newer model significantly more powerful than the current PSP, I see absolutely no point in developing it.

I had previously discussed my thoughts on the PSP's current status in the gaming market and what Sony could do to lift its sales and give it a better reputation among developers. Now, while I'm no expert on the subject, I'm still going to stick to my theories regarding this matter. For one thing, even if they do slap a touchscreen onto the PSP, it wouldn't work nearly as well as it does on a certain competing portable due to the lack of a second screen. Do we really want our fingers and stylus blocking half the screen while playing a game? I think not.