Sony Ericsson’s Xperia PLAY is the company’s first smartphone focused on bringing serious gaming and a powerful handset to the masses. 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. With that said, there are some obstacles in the way — PlayStation Suite offers limited games, and there are some pretty big bugs even on the stock Android handset. Do the positives outweigh the negatives, though? Jump past the break to find out.
Sony Ericsson’s Xperia PLAY is the company’s first smartphone focused on bringing serious gaming and a powerful handset to the masses. 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. With that said, there are some obstacles in the way — PlayStation Suite offers limited games, and there are some pretty big bugs even on the stock Android handset. Do the positives outweigh the negatives, though? Jump past the break to find out.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY is one of the most enjoyable game-focused smartphones I’ve ever used. With a solid slide-out hardware gamepad, a fast processor, and stock Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the PLAY is truly in a league of its own. That’s not to say I haven’t had my share of frustrations with the handset. The power button seem glitchy as far as the software is concerned — the phone just won’t turn back on sometimes after the screen is locked, and it’s incredibly frustrating. Verizon’s solid voice and data network didn’t agree with my particular unit, and while I’m not positive this is an across-the-board issue, signal reception and connectivity were probably the worst of any Verizon handset I’ve used in recent memory.I like the overall concept of the Xperia PLAY — one of the only companies in the world that could pull off a pure gaming handset is Sony Ericsson — and this is a valiant first effort in the space. But in the end, the Xperia PLAY is a little chunky and it feels like it needed a little more time in the oven. If Sony Ericsson decides to introduce a follow up handset, I have no doubt it will be a formidable mobile gaming smartphone that few if any devices could rival. The current iteration is more a concept than a full-fledged gaming device and platform, though if you’re a hardcore gamer, you probably won’t be disappointed with the Xperia PLAY. For general consumers, I’d probably recommend waiting for the follow-up version, however.
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