Review of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play
Our review of the Xperia Play surprised us that Sony Ericsson are able to fit so much into such a small container. Once the handset was removed we found the phone to be surprisingly comfortable with the curved back sitting firmly in your hand. The phone's dimensions are 119 mm x 62 mm x 16 mm and is only slightly deeper then the majority of Android handsets currently in the market. A small price to pay for the added gaming functionality.
Included with the handset are two USB cables for both syncing and charging the handset. As to be expected the phone comes with a stereo hands free kit but surprisingly is also supplied with a mini car charger which also connects via USB. If that's not enough a screen protector is also provided for good measure. You really are left wanting nothing more for your handset bearing in mind the phone also comes with a 16GB micro SD card ready to load with games.
Operating System & Apps
Once the handset boots into life you get the familiar Android home screen with the Sony Ericsson skin laid on top. The biggest addition being the Timescape widget which allows you to log into your social networks and keeps your twitter and facebook feeds visible right from the home screen. The Xperia play is running on Android Gingerbread 2.3 and you can really tell by the smooth menu transitions. Another nice little feature is the ability to organise your apps by "Most used". This is a great way of saving time if you are unsure of how to keep your apps tidy and ensures the important ones are always easy to find. Of the pre-loaded apps one of the best is "WhatsApp" which is an instant messaging service that works across iPhone, Android and Blackberry. It lets you send pictures and messages all within your data bundle. Office suite is also waiting for you incase you have any business intentions for the phone.
Music Player & Camera
The music player is great with a very ipod like layout. Once loaded with some tracks onto the SD card you can browse your music library by Artist, Albums, all songs or by playlist. The playlists can be created straight from the app with the ability to create smart playlists from newly added tracks or my most played. The camera has a 5mp sensor and shoots really impressive photos. To focus on an image you press the shutter button on screen and once you’re happy to take the photo just let go. The camera has a macro setting which allows the user to get extremely close up images that are perfectly clear and sharp.
Gaming
Most importantly with this handset however is the gaming functionality. The lower half of the phone gently slides open in a very smooth movement and the handset enters game mode! Under the display a game pad is now revealed and any Playstation owner old or new will feel right at home. A 4 way d-pad and two touch analogue pads are ready to control your charters. The familiar cross, circle, triangle and box buttons leave you ready to jump straight in. The Xperia Play comes with 4 titles pre-loaded. Bruce lee (a Tekken type fighting game), Fifa 10, Sims 3 and Star Battalion HD are lined up ready for you to boot up. After playing Star Battalion as our first game we feel as though the graphics of the cut scenes are amazing and could be taken from any of the current home consoles. The game play itself is more comparable to those of the PS2. The controls are nicely laid out and we played easily on the console without any sort of hand cramp. The battery seemed to stand up to the challenge well with enough power for hours more. If that's not enough the Xperia Play also comes with Crash Bandicoot which has been directly ported from the original Playstation. Although the graphics are no way near as polished as the Xperia Play titles, the game is a classic and will surely lead to hours of fun. Sony are planning to capitalise on their backlog of titles meaning you’ll never be wanting for more games.
Conclusion
All in all we love this phone. When we first heard of the Xperia Play we thought it would suit only gamers as they would likely be prepared to have a below average phone in order to have an above average gaming device. In fact you don't have to compromise at all. The phone runs faster then the old Sony Ericsson X10 and has been improved 10 fold. The Play element of the phone doesn't disappoint and is everything you could ask for from a hand held console. We're really impressed with the Xperia Play, and would happily recommend it to anybody!
James, Mobiles.co.uk
Pricing
Click here for pricing and stock availability for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play.
Your Comments
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