PSN to expand to cameras, TVs next year?

Sony is planning to use the PlayStation Network as the basis for a broader online service that will connect a wide range of its devices, including TV sets, cameras and phones. This network might launch as early as spring 2010.

The news comes via an extensive Fortune article on the future of the Japanese technology giant.

"It is a kind of omnibus web-based software platform that will use the power of the Internet to connect the company's rich library of content and devices, creating a multimedia experience for customers that actually rewards them for buying multiple Sony products and services," the article says.

PlayStation boss Kaz Hirai told Fortune that the service "will overlay the backbone of the PlayStation Network but will be broader and more open". It would allow you to download movies direct to a TV, as well as making it easier to share photos between devices and friends, display and edit video, store media and so on.

Hirai said the "first glimpse" of the service would arrive next spring, but it would be a gradual process. "It's now a matter of what all the services need to look like for each device, and coming up with a rollout plan," he said. "It's like city planning here, and we can start small. We don't need to build New York City overnight."