The Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY is the first handset to be ”PlayStation certified”, which means its designed for playing games.  The slide-out PlayStation-style game controller is innovative and it enables you to interact with games on your smartphone in ways that just aren’t possible on a touchscreen-only device.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play R800i Unlocked Phone and Gaming Device with Android OS and Slide-Out Gamepad

Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY Review

The Xperia Play ships with the latest Android OS, version 2.3 Gingerbread, and its hardware specs, while not the absolute top of the line, are still commendable.  It has a 1GHz processor, a 5 megapixel camera with a front-facing camera, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless networking. The 1GHz Snapdragon processor does an admirable job of keeping the phone and games running smoothly. It has 512 MB of RAM, which is a bit low. Nevertheless, this is a very capable device that offers excellent performance.  The phone’s glossy plastic back also hosts the 5MP camera with LED flash, and the Sony Ericsson green-silver logo. The blocky body has slight curves on the sides that make it comfortable to hold. At 119mm x 62mm x 16mm (4.68in x 2.44in x .63in) and 175g (6.17oz), the PLAY is no small phone in your hands.

The 4.0-inch, WVGA (480 x 854) Touchscreen is just gorgeous, with saturated colors and no jaggies or pixels to be seen. The display is with the ability to show 16 million colors, standard fare for today’s high-end Android handsets, and has good viewing angles. The luscious screen helps bring graphic-intensive apps, games, and videos to life. The capacitive touch screen feels smooth and responsive as well.

There are two circular analog pads between these two sets, which allow you to make precise movements in games, as if on the touchscreen, without your fingers obstructing the view. The D-pad and face buttons felt easy enough to press, and we soon found ourselves engrossed in the game rather than worrying too much about the mechanics.

The Xperia Play’s 5-megapixel camera with flash and peculiar 800×480 video capture was just okay.  Images weren’t especially sharp, and colors were slightly darker than they appeared in real life. Videos looked better but were a bit on the quiet side.

The Xperia Play is quick and responsive, an entertainment powerhouse that also has a very good camera and great sound and call quality. The Xperia Play also offers the usual Android and phone features, such as integration with a variety of social networks like Facebook and Twitter, Gmail and other e-mail, text and multimedia messaging, Google Maps 5.0, voice navigation, search, YouTube, the WebKit browser, and basic tools like a calendar and a calculator. It’s just a 1500 mAh battery, which is pretty standard these days, but the battery performance was still impressive.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY’s  gaming experience is top notch, and the controls work very well. The Xperia Play will appeal to mobile gamers who are sick of poor touchscreen controls and are looking for a more fulfilling gaming experience on their phone.

See larger image Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY Android Phone (Verizon Wireless) (Wireless Phone) List Price: $599.99 USD Release date April 26, 2011.