Timing a press conference 75 minutes before before a Bill Gates keynote is certain PR suicide, but for Sony it could also turn out to be a brilliant move. At least that's what the Japanese company seems to be betting on by scheduling the unveiling of new details about its PlayStation Portable (PSP) console a mere 1:15 hours prior to the "pre-show" keynote by Bill Gates. Gates is set to deliver his keynote at 6:30 PM (2:30 AM in the UK) this Wednesday at CES in Las Vegas.

CES officially kicks off on Thrusday with Intel CEO Craig Barrett delivering the opening keynote.

The launch of the PSP isn't expected until the end of the first quarter of 2005, disappointing users in Asia who were previously promised a 2004 launch but still on schedule for the European and US markets.

Releasing significant details about the PSP can potentially embarrass Microsoft. The company has succesfull entered the console gaming market, but doesn't have a portable version of its Xbox in its product roadmap.

Further more, Gates last year made somewhat of a fool of himself when he failed to impress delegates at CES.