Hmm, the touch panel on the back should be much more convenient than the front touch of the ds.

I know I can't wait! Things are starting to get really exciting again!  Could we perhaps even see knew home consoles in 2012?  I certainly think they must be coming soon as well if new portable hardware is rolling out.

I would like to know what kind of media will it use

Thats a good point as well.  Actually a VERY good point.  Does this machine still use UMD?  Will it be a download only machine like PSPGo?  Or will it introduce an entirely different kind of gameing set up. 

The big problem I see with such a design is typing. How are you supposed to input text with a reverse touchscreen? It would be clunky at best.

There's a video in one of the various psp2 threads showing off a similar back touch screen. Basically you control a mouse icon on the screen with the back touch pad. 

i doubt you'll use it for typing or anything.  This touch pad part sounds strange to me as well, but thats the thing they are calling it a touch pad and not touch screen so I don't expect it really to be anything like the touch screen on say the 3DS.  I'm not entirely sure what they are planning on doing with that thing.

2014 imo

so PS3 is 7 years old

Everything sounds good, except the reverse touchpad, which just sounds odd imo and a bit less elegant that a big multitouch screen (a la iPad) would've been.  HD versus 3D is probably the best route for Sony to go versus 3DS too, smart move imo.  Also, the size makes it seem like PSPhone is off the table (unless it uses PSP1 spec, or just plays PSOne Classics and PS Minis or something).

Now I just wonder if the GPU's SGX or Tegra?

Social gaming and messaging are very important in portable devices these days. I can't see any device without such features being successful in today's market.