According to a 1Up report, the new PSP console will lose its UMD disc drive. On the other hand, the redesigned handheld will feature a d-pad, analog nub, and face buttons. In addition, the new PSP will have 8 GB or 16 GB of flash memory.

It appears that the new model will bear the PSP Go! name, a rumor fueled by the fact that Sony is strongly backing its Go! brand (including the1.3 megapixel Go!Cam or the Go!View video on-demand service)

Sony is expected to release the new console this September in Japan. The North American release has yet to be pinned down, but sources claim that the release will be scheduled for late October or early November.

The new PSP console is thus arriving on the market only 6 months after the the launch of the new Nintendo DSi. The move is everything but strange: Sony lost the war for handheld supremacy to Nintendo, but being number 2 is one thing and being a distant number 2 is another.