Well, I hope they announce some of this stuff.

-More ergonomically friendly shape (for more comfortable grip)
-Wireless A/V out (So it could act like a home console as well)
-Rear Touch Panel (Rumored to be in the PSP2 and actually sound kinda cool, hope the software uses it well...)
-Dual Analog Sticks (Seriously, DUAL analog sticks this time Sony!)
-Screen dimensions 2.65" x 4.59" (5.3" diagonal)
-Screen resolution 1280×720 (Not a 3D screen)
-Cross game voice chat (Would be a first for a portable system, and totally awesome)
-Load times equivalent to the DS (PSP load times were very annoying, definitely hope this true)
-Game cartridges similar to the 3DS or better (possibly higher capacity)
-Battery life similar to the 3DS or better (possibly higher capacity or double batteries)
-Mandatory Steady FPS locked to 60 (Stuttering Frame Rates are lame, Sony should make a policy about this, because the hardware is set at system launch, then there is no variable other than shoddy software. No excuses.)
-Launch Price $299.99  (I cannot imagine any company going above $300 on a portable, will probably be sold at a loss like all of Sony's Launch Prices)

ummm no as the PSP2 will be significantly more powerful that the Xperia Play and it will play disc/cart based games (opinion).

omgomg!!!!1 0_0 please be true

I kind of forgot about that... and it underlines the fact that in my mind the XPERIA play makes no sense at all.

As it has 2 analogue sticks, it must be more than a PSP go phone, but as it is not powerful enough to be a PSP 2 phone, so I think it is going to end up as something which is fairly useless, playing PSP 1 games via PSN and then some games for android using the hard controls?

I always imagined an official announcement would be made shortly before the release of the 3DS

Not really. The xperia play hits the market that wants to play games with real controls vs the virtual touch screen set as well as those that want a portable gaming machine, but not the the extra thing to carry around. While it will sell less that the PSP2 and 3DS as well as other Sony Ericsson phones, it will be profitable and a good cross over tier for Sony to have.

So what games do you think it will play, just Android games?

Sort of.

My opinion is that Sony is going to have a PSN market addition to android where it can sell all of its properties for better returns than through the Google Market. Here there will be games as well. While all of this will work on ANY Android device (to gain the biggest possible user base) it will be enhanced to run better/control better on the Xperia Play device. Maybe some additional feature set as well to try and push people to get the XPlay.

But, they won't piss off all potential buyers of these games as SE phones don't go to all carriers and they'll want those Android users to be customers as well.

EDIT: additionally, it might have some code to make other Android games utilize its controls vs the touch screen where applicable as well.

So Sony will make some games (like the minis?) that run on the Play making use to the controls, but can also run on other Android phones

That kind of makes sense, but in that case there is no reason for me to change my X10 and PSP for an XPERIA Play, it is more for casual owners

Anyway, I feel we are getting slightly off the topic of the PSP 2

That description sounds good (game wise), price wise... I wouldnt expect anything less than $350-$399...