Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY Review

This is a global GSM phone. It can be used with T-Mobile USA and AT&T, but without 3G. A CDMA version of the phone is expected to launch this Spring with Verizon Wireless.

Introduction:

Can we say beginning of an era about the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play? In case you are wondering why, it is the first ever smartphone with a dedicated gamepad. Sure, its chipset is not the most powerful there is, and its screen is not with the best resolution out there, but when you slide it open, and a PlayStation-style game controller winks at you, instead of a boring QWERTY keyboard, you know something's shifting.

We've been teased about an upcoming PlayStation phone since last summer, and until today so many details about it have been leaked and prototypes examined, that it probably deserves the worst-kept secret crown more than any other phone in recent memory. But that's only regarding the specs and appearance.

For the main part, the Sony Ericsson Xpera Play remained a relative mystery so far. Is the chipset powerful enough to play sophisticated titles? How's the gameplay, and can I resurrect older titles on it? What kind of dedicated game store will be out there for the Xperia Play? All pressing issues that will be addressed in our review, so read on to find out...


Design:

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play keeps up with the “human curvature” design philosophy that the manufacturer introduced with the Vivaz, and followed through with the Xperia line. It mostly indicates the presence of a curved back that makes the phones cuddle and fit comfortably in the hand, and the Xperia Play is no exception, despite that it’s 0.63” (16mm) thick and 6.2oz (175g) in weight. The phone's glossy plastic back also hosts the 5MP camera with LED flash, and the Sony Ericsson green-silver logo. The plastic shell is not the best industrial design out there, but build quality is decent, and we got the the cool white version to boot.

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Posted in: Sony Ericsson