Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (Rs 21,600) :Review

We knew good and well it was coming, and come it has. Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play has made the natural GSM shift in the States in order to grace Ma Bell's airwaves, and despite the "4G" naming convention, this fellow will be topping out at HSPA+. In other words, LTE lovers will need to look elsewhere. This marks the first launch of a PlayStation-certified smartphone for AT&T, and given that it's been around the block a time or two, the carrier is (smartly) pricing it at just $49.99 on a two-year contract -- a buck-fifty less than what it launched for on Verizon Wireless. As we'd heard, it'll ship with Android 2.3.3, a 1GHz CPU, Adreno 205 GPU, a 4-inch display (854 x 480) and will arrive in an exclusive 'stealth blue' hue. AT&T customers will also be blessed with a gratis Multimedia Dock (DK300) and MC100 music cable, not to mention seven pre-loaded games at no charge. Full details on that are hosted up after the break, and interested consumers can line up to grab their own on September 18th.

• Specifications

Available colours	Black , White	Platform	Android 2.3
Size	119.0 × 62.0 × 16.0 mm / 4.7 × 2.4 × 0.6 inches
Weight	175.0 g / 6.2 oz	Memory	Memory card slot: microSD™, up to 32GB RAM: 512MB Memory card slot: microSD™, up to 32GB Actual free memory may vary due to phone pre-configuration
Screen	854 x 480 pixels / 4.0" 16,777,216 colour TFT

Battery performance

Battery performance may vary depending on network conditions and configuration, and phone usage.

Networks	Talk time (up to)	Standby time (up to)	Video call (up to)
GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900	8 hours 25 min	425 hours
UMTS/HSPA 800/850/1900/2100	6 hours 25 min	413 hours
UMTS/HSPA 900/2100	6 hours 25 min	413 hours
Note that network compatibility varies per location. A Standby time specification is an industry standard. The only intention is to allow comparison of different mobile phones under the same circumstances. Factors including - but not limited to - network, settings, location, movement, signal strength and cell traffic strongly effect standby power consumption. Standby time specifications of different mobile phones can therefore be compared only in a controlled laboratory environment. When any mobile phone is used in real life - i.e., under circumstances for which the mobile phone is intended - the actual standby time could be considerably lower and will be strongly dependent on the factors mentioned above.

Camera

Image stabiliser

Avoid blurriness caused by slight hand movements.

Touch focus

Touch the screen to set the focus area.

Front-facing camera (VGA)

Your phone is video-chat ready - and the front-facing camera is great for self-portraits, too.

Flash / light type - Photo light

When lighting conditions are poor, your picture can still be good.

Camera - 5.1 megapixel

Capture and share special moments.

Video light

More light when shooting video.

Send to web

Catch moments with your camera and send straight to your personal web site or blog.

Geo-tagging

Have your photo tagged with information on where it was taken.

Auto focus

Automatic focus for optimal clarity.

Music

TrackID™ music recognition

Record a few seconds of a song and get track, artist and album information sent to your phone in seconds.

Stereo speakers

Listen out loud - a full sound experience via stereo speakers.

Sony Ericsson Music player

Enjoy your favourite music sorted by artist, album and track. Shuffle and smart playlists supported.

PlayNow™

Download music and games to your phone.

Music tones

Use original artist recordings as ringtones.

Bluetooth™ stereo (A2DP)

Music from your phone to headset over a wireless connection.

Album art

Choose music by browsing CD album art or other images

Web

Web browser - WebKit

Full Internet browser with support for standard protocols, images and video.

Pan & zoom

View web pages as you like - get a quick overview or zoom in on details.

Google Voice Search

Use your voice to search the web or to quickly launch a call to a friend.

Google™ search

Find what you’re after with the Google™ search function.

Bookmarks

Quick access to your favourite Web sites.

Android™ Market

Get apps and games - download straight to your phone.

Entertainment

Media Browser

Media content in one place for fast and easy access.

YouTube™

View your favourite YouTube™ videos, or upload your own - access is easy via the YouTube™ application.

Video streaming

Realtime video streaming, e.g. live cam

Motion gaming

Gaming gets physical - turn, swing, move your phone to control the action.

Gesture gaming

Position yourself in front of the phone's camera and move your body to win the game.

Dedicated gaming keys

A full-throttle experience via keys designed for gaming.

3D games

Enjoy quality games with full color and depth.

Connectivity

WiFi™

Utilise high-speed Internet at Wi-Fi™ hotspots at airports and other facilities.

Synchronisation - Exchange ActiveSync®

Stay seamlessly synchronised with your Microsoft® Exchange email server.

Google Maps™ - with Street View

Find your way to your destination.

USB support

PC to phone USB cable support

USB mass storage

Connect and move items between computer and phone.

Synchronisation via Google Sync

Use your Google account to synchronise the contacts in your phone.

Synchronisation via Facebook™

Match your Facebook™ friends with your phone contacts.

Modem

GSM internet dial-up support

Micro USB support

Connect to your PC and other devices.

Google Latitude™

See where your friends are - and share your own location with them.

DLNA Certified™

Connect wirelessly to other devices.

Bluetooth™ technology

Connect wirelessly to other Bluetooth™ devices.

aGPS

Use GPS-powered location-based services.

3.5 mm audio jack

Share your music via the extra jack. Use any headphones with a standard-sized 3.5 mm connector.

Messaging

Text messaging (SMS)

Send text greetings anywhere in the world.

Sound recorder

Take voice notes or record a sound clip to send in a message.

Predictive text input

Fast and easy text messaging.

Picture messaging (MMS)

Colourful multimedia messaging.

Instant messaging

Online chat. On the move.

Google Mail™

Gmail for mobile lets you send and receive e-mail wherever you are.

Email

Check your email inbox wherever you are.

Conversations

Say it via chat-style text messaging.

Communication

Google Talk™ - video chat

Chat-style communication plus video call functionality thanks to the front facing camera and Google Talk™ inside.

Video Chat - dedicated camera

See who you’re talking to in realtime video.

Facebook inside Xperia™ version 2

Facebook status updates. Share and recommend the apps you like, and like the music you love, even direct from the FM radio.

Twitter™ - Application

Let the world know how you feel and what you think - say it with a tweet.

Vibrating Alert

The phone vibrates and you can feel when a call comes in

Speakerphone

Loudspeaker suitable for using the phone as an office handsfree

Sony Ericsson Timescape™

All your communication with one person in one place.

Noise shield

Filter out the sounds around and make yourself heard.

Facebook™ application

Stay in touch with your friends on Facebook™ through your phone.

Design

Gesture input

Swipe your finger across the on-screen QWERTY keyboard.

Keyboard - Onscreen 12 key and QWERTY

Text input made easy.

Dedicated gaming keys

A full-throttle experience via keys designed for gaming.

Wallpaper animation

Stylish moving imagery onscreen.

Touchscreen

Intuitive navigation – just touch the screen.

Picture wallpaper

Background picture on-screen when the phone is in standby mode

Auto rotate

Switch from vertical to horizontal mode by rotating the phone. Whatever you're viewing will rotate to suit.

Organiser

Phone book

The information you need to keep in touch with friends and family.

Infinite button

Just one press to all about your friends or all the artist info you need.

Google Calendar™

Create, add and edit events. Set up reminders and mobile notifications.

Flight mode

Disable the radio receivers and transmitters in your phone so you can safely use other functions.

Document readers

Edit documents in popular formats.

Document editors

Edit documents in popular formats.

Calendar

Store appointment information and set reminders.

Calculator

Full-function calculator when you need it.

Android™ platform

Powered by Android™ for great performance. Personalise with all the apps you need from Android Market.

Alarm clock

Set your phone alarm clock to ring at the time of your choice.