Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY Black

Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY review

Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY Black
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY Black

 

July 2011, Singapore – In March, we published the first look of the Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY. In this article,  we will look at he gaming aspect,  as this is a PlayStation Certified phone.

Product Specifications:

  • Size: 119 x 62 x 16 mm
  • Weight: 175 grams
  • Phone memory: 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
  • Graphics: Adreno GPU
  • Display: 4″ multi touchscreen
  • Camera: Front-facing VGA and Back 5.1 megapixel with flash
  • Battery Life: up to 8 hours talktime
The build of the game pad is very sturdy. When you slide out the game pad, the screen does not tilt.  Sliding open the game pad with one hand is possible because of the built-in spring mechanism. The game pad may look small and compact, but it is ergonomically engineered to make sure you have the most comfortable gaming experience.
The game pad reminds me of the DUALShock controllers from Playstation consoles, with the standard direction and action buttons. The game pad also comes with analog pads, Start, Select and Menu buttons on the front and L R buttons on the back. Buttons are firm and responsive when pressed and the analogue pad has a rough friction touch that makes it comfortable to use compared to capacitive touch screens.
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY game pad
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY game pad
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY back L R buttons
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY back L R buttons

The display screen is bright but not too glaring even at maximum brightness, so I guess your eyes will not hurt even after long hours of gameplay. The screen ratio is 16:9 format, so some games may look slightly wider if its not customized for this display.

Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY screen comparison
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY (left) screen comparison with the iPhone 4 (right)

The Xperia PLAY game menu can be accessed by sliding open the game pad and the menu pops up. From this menu you can also access the Android Market to purchase games that are Xepria PLAY optimized. But if you purchased games made by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), you will not be able to access those games from this menu. Instead, go to the main apps menu from the phone and find the PlayStation Pocket App to launch the PlayStation games menu made for SCE games only. Alternatively, you can still search for individual games on the main apps menu.

Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY game menu
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY Xepria PLAY game menu
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY game menu 2
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY PlayStation Pocket menu

Most Xperia PLAY optimized games are not exclusive games for the Xperia PLAY.  What we are trying to say is that they are normal mobile games made to be playable via the touch screen controls with the option to play it using the game pad. Taking Dungeon Defender as example, when the game pad is closed the screen is packed with game controls and buttons. But when you slide open the game pad, the screen is less cluttered and now your fingers will not be blocking your view on the screen.

Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY game close
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY game close
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY game open
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY game open

PlayStation games by SCE are directly imported from PlayStation One and the display uses the old school 4:3 format.   When played on the Xperia PLAY’s 16:9 screen, expect some distortion. But not to worry, Sony Ericsson has not overlooked this.  You have the option to change the game display format (Full Screen, Normal and Zoom) from the game settings.

Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY wild arms fullscreen
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY wild arms fullscreen
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY wild arms normal
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY wild arms normal
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY wild arms zoom
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY wild arms zoom

Overall I think the Sony Ericsson PLAY works well as a mobile phone and a mobile gaming console. It is definitely recommended for people like me who have big thumbs that are bound to block most parts of the screen when gaming on a smartphone.

We could not help it but side track to the photo quality.   Check out what we have taken below. (Click on the photos for a full sized image.).

 

 

 

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