Sony Ericsson Xperia Play

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is a PlayStation with a phone inside it. The device has been designed to work well as a play unit and a capable feature phone. As a gaming phone, it has to withstand the pressure applied on it.

The Form Factor

A phone with gaming capabilities in your pocket all the time also means that the device has to be pocket friendly. The Xperia's Play is not the heaviest phone in the world but it makes its presence felt in your pocket all the time. The four-inch screen is a feature that many would be happy about. The phone runs on the Sony Bravia engine.

 The front side of the phone has four physical keys that functions for Back, Home, Menu and Search options. The Search option is particularly an interesting function as it can quickly get you to contacts and applications. The phone is a slider model which means many of its buttons attached by the sides and top are uneasy to use. The power button for example is hidden behind the slide-out keyboard. Similarly the 3.5mm headphone is placed at the side of the phone which may be a little uncomfortable. Though the phone is hefty, it fits well in the hands.

The Gaming Factor

The phone runs on the latest Android 2.3 operating system with a single-core 1GHZ next generation Snapdragon processor. The build quality and the design (like button placement) in the phone may not be very comfortable. There is a slide out pad that comes with an array of gaming controls. The phone's gaming controls consists of two shoulder buttons that can also be used to adjust the volume up and down. The dual touch pad in the middle are also ones that obey your directions. The plastic buttons on the right and left feel a little cheap but is wonderful function-wise. This is easy to access and use and with the variety of options, it enhances your gaming pleasures. The D-Pad in the slide down menus can be used just like the track pad in other phones. It makes moving around the screen and text entering better as you have an easy control over the cursor. The circle key allows users to go back to the phone menus while playing games and will be a welcome feature to this PSP phone. The menu key also helps in accessing game menus. After sliding the phone, most screens on the display turns 90 degrees but the home screen does not.

The play station suite is an online store for android games. Only phones that are PlayStation-certified have proper access to the store. The Xperia Play is one such phone. Old PSP and PSOne games can be downloaded from the PlayStation Suite. The Play is definitely a great little gaming device. It also has few other modern phone features.

Other Phone Features

The breath taking four-inch display of the Play holds a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels. The display makes sure that all the minute details on the screen is shown off clearly and sharply. The colourful image of the screen will be apt for gamers.

 The Android 2.3 Gingerbread offers Flash Support that would enhance browsing experience. The 5-mega-pixel camera on the back of the phone takes care of your photo sharing requirements.

 To sum up, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play will surely excite gaming enthusiasts. The slide out keyboard might just increase the overall weight of the phone. Considering its a phone that offers games, its still light and portable. Much of the phone's success will depend upon the games available for it.