Sony Xperia Play: What is it and why should you care?

The_Stacked_Nerd takes a look at Sony Ericsson's next generation of smartphone, the Xperia PLAY: "Recently, as you probably know, Sony Ericsson have launched their latest in a series of rather poor phones. I can say this as I have had to put up with their slow, unresponsive and blocky Xperia X1 for the past couple of years. This time, there is a new twist however – instead of a slide out QWERTY keyboard, it hides a set of PSP controls for playing PlayStation entertainment. The Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY is the phone that us gamers have been dreaming about for years. I hear your gasp; not so fast, everything is to be revealed..."

[otacon68]

Badass smartphone/handheld hybrid.

[VampiricDragon_]

its not a good smart phone and its not a good gaming device

it cant do what the iphone can do in terms of smart phoning and it cant even do what the psp (or any other real game portable) can do

[The_Stacked_Nerd]

I think it will be a decent smartphone but I agree with you on the gaming part...

[STK026]

I have a hard time calling this a badass smartphone/handheld, considering it has a subpar screen (according to most reviews, the Xperia Arc has a better screen) and I find ridiculous the claim of this being a gaming hadheld/smartphone hybrid, since it is already underpowered compared to some other android phones.

I think the Xperia play is a great concept, but it definately needs an updated version, now. It needs a better screen and a dual-core SoC. Some people might think that a dual-core CPU is unecessary in a phone, but for a gaming oriented phone, it's unacceptable to come without it.

I just hope Sony continues the development of similar smartphones, as it just needs better execution.

Edit:
@below
Well, I haven't had the chance to use the phone all that much, so most of what I worte came from reviews. They seemed to say it wasn't as bright and was barely usable outdoor, which is an issue many phones have.

[R834]

From what I saw at the Gadget Show Live, the screen is actually very good quality. I was actually taken aback by how impressive it was.

Of course, it all depends on what you're watching.

Edit:
It seemed bright enough, although I do have problems with my iPod Touch outside even when on full brightness, so it would surprise me if it wasn't great outdoors.

[nix]

i own one. everyone gasps when i talk abt how much it costed me. it's great to play games with those controller buttons. i wish it had all those great features that ARC has. bravia screen, 8mpxl camera, ability to connect to HD tv etc.

its a great phone though i do think its overpriced.

[The_Stacked_Nerd]

I completely agree with nix, although I obviously don't have one.

[PirateThom]

I had a little time of playing with both Play and Arc and the Arc, far and away, was the more impressive of the two. That screen is amazing, absolutely perfect. The Play, however, doesn't really look as impressive, but it feels good to hold in "game mode".

[badkolo]

this thing is dead already, not bashing, but its way to late for this

[R834]

Really? But this phone has only just come out, or not come out yet (depending on what country you're in)!

What's so bad about it that it's already dead?

[badkolo]

its coming into a swamped market, the only advantage this has is the phone aspect, with android and apple already eating that market up already , it doesnt leave much room for this to survive, by the time this thing actually hits there will be 4 new phones with even better capabilities.

its a niche market at this point.

[zeal0us]

i start caring when verizon stop being lazy and release the d*mn thing.

back to psx4droid.