Sony Ericsson on Sunday officially took the wraps off the Xperia Play at a Mobile World Congress news conference in Barcelona, Spain. A collaboration between Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Ericsson and powered by Google’s Android Gingerbread software, the smartphone is being billed as the inaugural PlayStation Certified device, which means it can play select PlayStation games that have been ported to Android via PlayStation Suite.
At first sight, it’s a regular smartphone with a huge four-inch (480 by 854) capacitive multitouch display, a five-megapixel camera on the back and the unmistakable Sony Ericsson look and feel to it. Slide it open in landscape and you get the familiar PlayStation controls, with directional buttons on the left and action buttons on the right, in addition to shoulder buttons and two analogue touchpads.
Such a setup provides un unobtrusive view at game action, which should appeal to gamers who prefer tactile feedback and physical controls over virtual joysticks and other form of touch-based controls that don’t lend themselves well to certain types of games. Engadget got a chance to play with a demo unit and went away impressed, saying the controls worked "quite well."
The phone runs Qualcomm’s optimized Snapdragon that combines a 1Ghz processor with Adreno graphics that Sony Ericsson said would be enough to drive PlayStation games in 60 frames per second. The launch lineup includes EA’s Need for Speed and Sims 3, EA Sports’ FIFA 10, Activision’s Guitar Hero, Gameloft’s Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell, and more.
Gameloft will have ten of its best-selling games ready for the launch and pledged to port more than 20 titles over the next six months. Unity Technologies will provide its game development platform so other developers can port their PlayStation games to Android, too.
Making all of this possible is PlayStation Suite, Sony’s new software platform announced last month as part of their upcoming PSP 2 handheld. The software brings PlayStation gaming to Android and is meant to tackle Apple’s mobile gaming strides with the iPod touch using the recognizable PlayStation brand and a powerful library of titles.
The Xperia Play will come preloaded with a bunch of PlayStation titles, Sony Ericsson said at the unveiling, adding some fifty PlayStation games should be available at launch. You’ll be able to download more when Sony’s online gaming store dubbed PlayStation Store comes online on Android. The phone will launch first in the US in early spring with a little help from Verizon Wireless. It’s set to hit the "select markets" worldwide later in March, Sony Ericsson said.
Source: Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play specs
- Camera
- 5.1 megapixel camera
- Auto focus
- Flash / Photo light
- Geo tagging
- Image stabiliser
- Send to web
- Touch focus
- Video light
- Video recording
- Video blogging
- Music
- Album art
- Bluetooth stereo (A2DP)
- Google Music Player
- Music tones (MP3/AAC)
- PlayNow service
- Sony Ericsson Music player
- Stereo speakers
- TrackID music recognition application
- Internet
- Android Market
- Bookmarks
- Google search
- Google Voice Search
- Pan & zoom
- Web browser (Webkit)
- Communication
- Call list
- Conference calls
- Facebook application (from Android Market)
- Google Talk
- Noise Shield
- Polyphonic ringtones
- Speakerphone
- Sony Ericsson Timescape
- Twitter application (from Android Market)
- Vibrating alert
- Messaging
- Android Cloud to Device messaging (C2DM)
- Conversations
- Google Mail
- Instant messaging
- Picture messaging (MMS)
- Predictive text input
- Sound recorder
- Text messaging (SMS)
- Design
- Auto rotate
- Keyboard (onscreen, 12 key)
- Keyboard (onscreen, QWERTY)
- Picture wallpaper
- Touchscreen
- Wallpaper animation
- Entertainment
- 3D games
- Dedicated gaming keys
- Flash Lite
- Gesture gaming
- Motion gaming
- Video streaming
- YouTube
- Organiser
- Alarm clock
- Calculator
- Calendar
- Document editors
- Document readers
- E-Manual
- Flight mode
- Google Calendar
- Google Gallery 3D
- Infinite button
- Phone book
- Set-up Wizard
- Widget manager
- Connectivity
- 3.5 mm audio jack
- aGPS
- Bluetooth technology
- DLNA Certified
- Google Latitude
- Google Location Service
- Google Maps with Street View
- Media Transfer Protocol support
- Micro USB Connector
- Modem
- Synchronisation via Facebook
- Synchronisation via Google Sync
- Synchronisation via Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync
- Synchronisation via Sony Ericsson Sync
- USB 2.0 high speed support
- Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi Hotspot functionality
- Google services (not be available in every market)
- Android Market Client
- Gmail
- Google Calendar
- Google Gallery 3D
- Google Latitude
- Google Maps with Street View
- Google Media Uploader
- Google Music Player
- Google Phone-top Search
- Google Search widget
- Google Sync
- Google Talk
- Google Voice Search
- Set-up Wizard
- YouTube
- Screen
- 16,777,216 colour TFT
- Capacitive multi-touch
- 4 inches
- 480 x 854 pixels (FWVGA)
- In-Box
- Xperia PLAY
- Battery
- Stereo portable handsfree
- 8GB microSD memory card
- Charger
- Micro USB cable for charging, synchronisation and file transfer
- User documentation
- Facts
- Size: 119 x 62 x 16 mm
- Weight: 175 grams
- Phone memory: 400 MB
- Memory card support: microSD, up to 32 GB
- Memory card included: 8GB microSD
- Operating system: Google Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
- Processor: 1 GHz Scorpion ARMv7
- Talk time and networks
- Talk time GSM/GPRS: Up to 8 hrs 25 min
- Standby time GSM/GPRS: Up to 425 hrs
- Talk time UMTS: Up to 6 hrs 25 min
- Standby time UMTS: Up to 413 hrs
- Talk time CDMA2000: Up to 7 hrs 40 min
- Standby time CDMA2000: Up to 405 hrs
- Game play time: Up to 5 hrs 35 min
- MP3 playback: Up to 30 hrs 35 min
- Networks:
- UMTS HSPA 800, 850, 1900, 2100
- GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900
- UMTS HSPA 900, 2100
- GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900
- CDMA2000, cdmaOne, EVDO
- Colour: black, white
