Sony has confirmed the worst kept secret in tech, the PlayStation licensed smart phone. The Xperia PLAY will be the latest model in Sony Ericsson’s Xperia range of Android based smart phones.
Said to deliver the smartphone functionality that the most serious power users could need, teamed with the immersive gaming experience that any gamer would want. The features will also include a 5 megapixel camera, a 4” multi-touch screen and social networking features, so it rivals most existing smart phones in the usual areas.
Slide out the gaming control and users enter a new world of immersive mobile gaming. The slide out game pad reveals a digital D pad, two analogue touch pads, two shoulder buttons and the four PlayStation icons: circle, cross, square and triangle. Qualcomm’s optimized Snapdragon processor with a 1Ghz CPU and embedded Adreno GPU graphics processor deliver 60fps play-back 3D mobile gaming and Web browsing with minimal power consumption so Xperia PLAY users can enjoy long hours of battery life and game time. How long? Up to 5hrs 35mins of game play time.
Xperia PLAY will run on Gingerbread (version 2.3) and as the first PlayStation Certified device it will have access to PlayStation game content provided through the PlayStation Suite initiative, currently under development by Sony Computer Entertainment and due to launch later this calendar year. There’s only a hint as to the games to be available so far but they include The Sims 3, FIFA 10, Guitar Hero, Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY will be available globally in selected markets from March 2011.
Here’s some specifications (and by ‘some’ I mean lots):
Xperia™ PLAY at a glance:
Sony Ericsson Xperia™ PLAY
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
* The service is not available in all markets.
** Requires Facebook™ application installed on the device.
Google™ services*
* These services may 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: up to 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 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
This phone will fail dismally. It’s just another Android phone. Sony are releasing the NGP (PSP2), which will struggle against the 3DS, just as the PSP has sold nothing compared to the DS.
This, in contrast was supposed to be the perfect device for Sony, but in fact has none of the functionality of the Playstation. It can play PS1 games, but seriously, how many people is that going to attract??