The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play adopts the impressive Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system. It also comes packed with a 1GHz dual core processor, a 4 inch screen and 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, touch focus and video record and the front facing camera is on hand for video calls. 3D maps allow you to explore new places and Google voice search delivers voice-activated calling, messaging and much more. Other features include Wi-Fi, 3G/HSDPA, Bluetooth and an entertainment package consisting of a multimedia player and pre-loaded Facebook, Twitter and YouTube applications.
What makes the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play stand out from other smartphones though is the slide-out game pad that makes it more of a portable games device than a mobile phone. The game controls slide out from behind the 4 inch touchscreen and combined with incredible graphics and stereo sound the Play gives you a truly fantastic gaming experience. It also comes pre loaded with some great games such as Asphalt 6 and Crash Bandicoot.
Although the touch-screen gaming controls are not as responsive and precise as we would hope and the camera is only of average quality for a recent smartphone, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is still a big leap forward in mobile gaming. As a gaming device alone it is not as specialised as a Nintendo DS or Sony PlayStation Portable and to be fair we would not expect to see a smartphone that is, not just yet anyway!
But it's the slide-out game pad that truly has gamers excited. You will notice that the button layout resembles that of a PlayStation controller, with the PlayStation controls on the right and directional pad on the left. It even has the left and right shoulder buttons along the sides. However, taking the place of the two analogue joysticks are two touch-sensitive circles.
The Xperia Play is "PlayStation-certified," but it is not part of the PlayStation Network, and you may have to buy your favourite PlayStation games all over again for the new device.
Hardcore games may prefer to stick with a dedicated hand held gaming device for now but for the rest of us who fancy something new to pass away the time with when we are travelling or just bored then this, for now, is the phone to have.
Our overall opinion is that the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play delivers a fantastic PlayStation game experience and one that's coupled with every thing you could want from a top-end smartphone!
