All of that above is fact besides what is originally labeled as a rumor (the ipod compatibility and such) but it really does leave alot of room for speculation and its very logical since Sony does NOT want to work with their major gaming competitors, Microsoft, Apple and Sony only complete in few sections of the market (music included) but an alliance between the two with the PS3 could very well lead to a PS3 win over the Xbox 360...

it is a logical and smart move hence the mention