Xperia Play

[Hendo]

More here.

It's hard to believe that what we're looking at is real -- but we assure you, the picture above is in fact the PlayStation Phone you've long been waiting for. As we reported back in August, the device you see is headed into the market soon, likely boasting Android 3.0 (aka Gingerbread), along with a custom Sony Marketplace which will allow you to purchase and download games designed for the new platform. The device snapped up top (and in our gallery below) is sporting a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 (a chip similar to the one found in the G2, but 200MHz faster), 512MB of RAM, 1GB of ROM, and the screen is in the range of 3.7 to 4.1 inches. Looking almost identical to the mockup we hit you with this summer, the handset does indeed have a long touchpad in the center which is apparently multitouch, and you can see in the photos that it's still bearing those familiar PlayStation shoulder buttons. For Sony buffs, you'll be interested to know that there's no Memory Stick slot here, but there is support for microSD cards.

The particular model in these shots is still in prototyping mode. As such, the unit doesn't have a custom skin (not even SE's Timescape design seen on the Xperia devices), and is said to be rather buggy. We're digging into more facts as we speak, but it's likely that much of what we reported earlier is still accurate, and though the device could still be headed for a 2010 release, 2011 is looking much more realistic. Still, there's a lot of time between now and the holidays... so keep your fingers crossed!

[DANGERMAN]

Sony europe have said it's fake. Not that that's necessarily proof one way of the other

[spatular]

i think it looks quite cool, i'm not a big fan of touch controls, so an android phone with emulators and propper controls would be good, so hopefully its true, or someone else copies the design

[Hendo]

Sony has admitted to having a "new product" in development that's linked to Sony Ericsson and Sony Computer Entertainment and the cellphone gaming market.

Could this be the PlayStation Phone that was pictured, denied and then un-denied-but-ignored last week?

"We are trying to figure out what we can do as Sony in this [cellphone] market," stated "Sony execs" during a recent financial call transcribed by Engadget. "There is Sony Ericsson and there is [sony Computer Entertainment].

"[sCE] moved from Aoyama, the design and headquarters had to come to Sony City. They are closer to the planning and engineering group of Sony, and I think we can better incorporate all of these capabilities. When the timing is right we can probably announce the new product that we have."

Engadget noted that the transcription came from a translator's interpretation of what "Sony execs" said. The exec in question is likely to be chief financial officer Masaru Kato. Seeking Alpha, a professional transcription service, provided an alternative record of the call.

"Mobile gaming is a very important business area for us," said Sony's chief financial officer Masaru Kato. "We started out with the PSP that was our first mobile gaming console, but since then the market as you know has expanded into bigger arenas; gaming on mobile phones, gaming on tablets and on certain mobiles devices.

"The PSP being a proprietary platform was more concentrated I'd say on the core gaming segment than the light game, but now we are addressing that market as well. I can not be specific as to how we will introduce new product to address these markets, but one thing I can say is that we have those markets addressed and we will come out with products and services to capture the broader gaming market."

Despite the statement discrepancies, both accounts suggest that a new mobile gaming device focused on "light games" may be in development at Sony.

What's more, there may also be a tablet under construction behind Howard Stringer's closed doors.

Engadget's transcription added: "As for the tablet ... obviously as a mobile strategy, this occupies a very important position. On one hand there is PC, and on the other hand there is joint venture with Ericsson on smartphone and for the games devices. And tablets fall somewhere in between.

"It is true Apple has led the market, but when we are to enter the market we would like to put a Sony character onto a new product - and that is the effort we are making right now. Therefore I think you can hope for a very good product to come out."

All signs point to "real".

[retroed]

Yep, I'm going with real too. I'm not sure it's the best thing for them to be doing, though. It won't be powerful enough to run current PSP games?

[Hendo]

Sony Ericsson has all but run around screaming, "Yes yes we're making a PlayStation Phone at last whoopee!"

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Ericsson CEO Bert Nordberg said, "There's a lot of smoke, and I tell you there must be a fire somewhere."

"Sony has an extremely strong offering in the gaming market, and that's very interesting."

"Sony is of course a very strong brand," he added, "and why shouldn't we use that? Gaming, including content, is a very interesting proposition."

The WSJ heard from an undisclosed source that a new phone would carry the Sony Ericsson Xperia brand, run Google Android and offer games through an application.

Nordberg is planning a big splash at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona this February 2011.

Guess it's real, then. But who gives a fuck by now?

[Hendo]

It actually looks quite cool. I like the little touch where you slide across your apps pages and the background picture moves across too.

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[Craymen Edge]

I like the little touch where you slide across your apps pages and the background picture moves across too.

That is a simple, but cool little graphical trick. I think it's an Android thing maybe, I saw the same thing on Tested.com when they were showing off a Samsung tablet device.

[spatular]

I like the little touch where you slide across your apps pages and the background picture moves across too.

I think it's an Android thing maybe

yeah, spot on, my phone does that too and it's just a cheapo android one.

edit - beaten to it!

[Hendo]

Moved to tech and all official now, the Xperia Play.

According to an update on Sony Ericsson's Facebook page, the Android device launches at 6pm UK time on 13th February with a full unveiling at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona.

Xperia Play features a sliding mechanism that reveals a direction pad and PlayStation's trademark square, triangle, circle and X face buttons.

It will utilise the PlayStation Suite, allowing users to access Android games and PlayStation One games downloaded over the PlayStation Network.

"That's the second biggest worst kept secret I've ever seen."

Xperia Play was – alongside Sony's PlayStation Portable successor – one of the worst kept secrets in the industry.

Reports suggest its screen is "on par" with the iPhone's Retina display. Sony's Bravia technology is said to have "trickled" in, with Sony Ericsson considering leveraging the Bravia brand when highlighting the display.

Digital Foundry analysed the leaked specs last month. What was said? "The PlayStation Phone looks like an interesting, if somewhat unremarkable piece of hardware. It's down to the games to convince us of its prospects."

Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and O2 will all offer Sony Ericsson's gaming-centric Xperia Play smartphone when it launches in the UK later this year.

According to an Engadget report, O2 broke the news via its Twitter feed, while Pocket-lint then got confirmation of the other carriers' support.

Both Orange and T-Mobile stated that the device will be available from them in April, though didn't discuss pricing or contract details.

Of the main UK operators, that just leaves Three to declare its interest.

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[spatular]

yeah so i got one of these, had a few days to play with it now, i'm pretty impressed, i don't use my phone much so never going to pay enough per month to get a fancy phone on contract so got a payg one for ~£150, using existing contract sim in it.

downloaded zookeeper, chu chu rocket and some random free games/apps and some emulators. zookeeper is great, just like the ds version but with less modes it seems. not played chu chu much yet.

there's quite a few free EA games at the moment, NFS shift and hot persuite (sp!) both look good but play pretty crap imo. big surprise was fifa 12, i really enjoyed this (i'm not up on footy games mind) but it didn't seem to let you use the d-pad - maybe there's options for this - you have to use the touch pad controls though which are better then touching the screen as no fingers in the way and there are indentations for the centre/edge circle but i'd still prefer proper controls. also maybe i only enjoyed it because it has leeds and they beat arsenal 2-0 in my prediction match for next monday funnily tetris is pre-loaded...but doesn't support the hardware controls as far as i could tell.

tried snes/gba/gb/arcade emulators, having progear and dodonpachi on there was super cool, but they aren't quite perfect, same for snes and gba, although they are better - it might just be a case of messing with the settings though, playing super mario kart on a phone with proper controls was awesome. been trying to get psx emulator to work by making my own iso from the game disk...failing miserably so far. ps1 crash bandicot is pre loaded on there and runs fine (from the store, not via an emulator as such), it's ~7mb, where the wipeout iso i made is near 700. might just buy wipeout from the store for £4. some emulators (on iphone) apparently support bluetooth controllers like wii remote/ps3 pads which sounds pretty cool.

downloaded the kindle app and some free books i'll never read. angry birds as its free, never been interested in it but it is alright. pacman ce demo supported the controls so might buy that but it's ~£2 and i've

the screen is nice, about 4", web browsing was alright on my old phone but this is miles better/quicker.

there are bad points though, it is pretty big (not much bigger than my old one mind)/heavy, and the slide mechanism makes it quit wobbly/odd to hold when closed.

apparently getting an official upgrade to ice cream sandwich later in the year too.

[TopGunKnacker]

i needed a phone recently and was looking at this, very tempting. think ill wait for the next gaming phone though, heres hoping for proper analogue sticks!

[TopGunKnacker]

with the slide design that wouldnt be a problem