http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XrossMediaBar

"The XMB has been phased out starting with the PlayStation Vita, which adopted a new touch-based user interface called LiveArea. On February 20, 2013, the PlayStation 4 was announced, and a new, non-XMB, user interface was shown."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_4#User_interface

"The PlayStation 4 introduces a new customizable interface titled PlayStation Dynamic Menu."

http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/20/4010414/sony-completely-revamps-its-user-interface-for-the-playstation-4

"Sony has just announced a complete overhaul of the user interface for the PlayStation 4. The XrossMediaBar is totally gone from this iteration..."

Either way you can still see the xmb inspiration in their new interface 

I think google play is essential but they could have a dual OS. The sony one operating as an app of a kind. The core device needs to be android, at this point I don't see purpose of a unique OS unless its going to run playstation games and I don't just mean PS1 lol

What I'm glad you didn't say is for them to make a vita phone. That is, IMO a horrible idea.

Now. To make the mobile division successful? They need a larger presence in America. They need to make the Z4 sleeker looking; get rid of the bulk business look while retaining functionality. Make the phone thinner. Use high quality paint schemes, and most importantly distance itself from the PlayStation name. Keep the features but don't tout them while you're trying to market to the cool crowd. Keep the overlay on Android light, the shovelware apps down to bare mimum.

Honestly what I'd like to see is google letting Sony build the next Google Phone with 100% stock Android, the beastly specs and an overhaul on the physical appearance of phone. Get Verizon and AT&T on board, market the shit out of it and profit.

I agree with most of this bar from make it thinner, the Z3 I'm pretty sure is thinner than Samsung s5 and iphone

This would be the end of me buying Sony phones. I had a Z and purchased a Z3 and Z3 Compact the later I gave to my mother. The Z series phones are the best in the buisness, they are superr fast and offer the best battery life, they still pale greatly in comparison with the Vita.

Like the OP said, Sony needs to ditch Android and run their own OS. They already have a very competitive one on the PS Vita, and they already have the ecoystem to bring all of the android/ios apps over. They need to stop relying on other compnies to make their os, and supply the digtal store front. If they are justrunning android and google play they might as well leave the buisness because they will never make any money.

What they have to do if they ever want to be competitve and ever be profitable is relase a PlayStation Phone in the Vita form factor, and a PlayStation Phone in the Z series form factor. They need to make PSN seamless like it is on PS Vita and PS4. Leverage PS Now, Remote Play, and PlayStation Vue. They can bundle their services with their devices on contract like cable and cellular companies companies have done for years. They need to get the devics on all major carriers, and then get big partenerships with places like Best Buy and Walmart.

Buying doing this they can give people an identical experience at home and on the go. They would have the same ecosystem for games, buisness, bills, and other entertainment. Whether you are usin your PlayStation 4 or your PlayStation Phone, whether its wired, wifi, or 4G every service, every game, and every app is avaiable any time and anyplace. This covers the gamers who are getting absolutly shit on in the mobile spae due to the success of iOS and android, and it also allows the non gamer crowd to have a device that can due all of there needs.

Not to be imprudent, but shouldn't this belong in the 'Mobile Discussion'?

Anyway, Apple, HTC, LG, and Samsung already have too heavy a foothold in the mobile market. Sony should play to it's strengths as opposed to its weaknesses.

So you want them to make their own OS? That would be a terrible thing to do. The only thing they can do is release very good high end phones. Perhaps they should release it in the summer or September, so that it doesn't have to compete as much with Samsung Galaxy phones.

You just effectively killed any chance they have at penetrating mass market. Sony is trying to drop losses, not create them and with that being said do you realize what kind of capital they'd need to have or invest in order to create an operating system that wouldn't be baulked at when standing next to iOS or Android? These are two HIGHLY polished operating systems with years and years of refinement from two of the best tech companies in the world. Realistically, how do you think Sony has the time right now to create this let alone fund it amidst talks of cutting the division entirely? That makes no sense to me.

Next; including PSN on this phone would be a great idea. I'm behind that. Including the flagship phone within the ecosystem? Of course! But the way its marketed should focus on the hip crowd while serving the hardcore gamer on the side, not the forefront. Let this be a phone that celebrities want to own. Let it be a phone that has that wow factor. Gaming is fun but it doesn't have sex appeal and thats what this vita phone you suggest would miss.

One other major factor that you've glossed over is battery life. Theres a reason modern phones run lite games designed to sip on battery life. There's a reason most of these games are designed to let you pop in, play a few minutes and pop back out. The kind of games on vita aren't like that, they take time to load, time to boot up, they suck up battery life and it requires a pretty big investment of your time. We live in the era of attention deficit disorder and I truly don't believe having a bulky vita looking phone with horrible battery life is gonna ignite the sales chart. This might be what YOU want but I doubt its what the majority wants. Let them define their phones by aesthetics, focus more on expanding potential user base (more carriers), give it that sexy must have appeal and market THE SHIT out of it with a stuck up attitude. People will come in droves. It worked for Apple and it can work for Sony, I'm very confident in that. Cater to PlayStation gamers on the side but focus on the mass market.

Isn't the mobile division posting profit?