Sony Ericsson Xperia Play: Hands-On and Photos

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is an all-in-one portable games console and mobile phone. it's slated for release in the UK in April, together with no less than 50 games! So finally, after months of rumours and speculation, Sony Ericsson has presented 'the world's first PlayStation certified smartphone'.

The Xperia Play has a 4" screen with a definition of 854 x 480 pixels and runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Since the Sony PSP and PSP Go screens with just 480 x 272 pixels, the Xperia Play can boast three times more pixels than Sony's previous portable consoles!


The only handheld console that can match or even outdo this level of display quality is the brand new Sony NGP, unveiled in January, which has a 5-inch screen with 960 x 544 pixels.




Some Xperia Play tech specs:

• 1 GHz processor
• 512 MB RAM + 512 MB ROM
• 5-Megapixel camera
• Android 2.3
• 60 fps for gaming
• Connections: microSD card slot, microUSB port
• Battery life: 5 hrs 35 mins for gaming / 6 hrs 25 mins of talk-time
• Dimensions: 119 x 62 x 16 mm
• Weight: 175 g

Unfortunately, the Xperia Play won't be backwards-compatible with PSP games, which is a bit of a shame for anyone who already owns one of Sony's previous portable consoles. A few games will come pre-loaded with the phone but the rest will be available to buy in Android Market. Developers are therefore being invited to create and/or adapt game apps for Sony Ericsson's new handset. However, it remains to see how keen they'll be on developing new games exclusively for use on a smartphone. Note that users will also have access to PS One games.


The games controller slides out from under the screen and has nothing to envy of the PSP. On the whole, the Xperia Play feels natural to handle. It's light and isn't too bulky considering it's slide-out design. The controller itself is nice and responsive too. Battery life has been announced at just over five hours for gaming, and we'll be keen to put that to the test in practice.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is slated for UK release in April.


Here's a video of the Xperia Play in action:



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