Xperia Play Specs

After countless leaked reviews and pictures and videos of the much awaited Sony Xperia PlayStation phone, we now know a lot more about Xperia Play specs and what we can expect from the device. It's been a long time since people have been asking Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) when they will release the PlayStation smartphone and the date just seems to be getting closer and closer.

If you have not yet seen the Xperia Play ad that was first aired during Super Bowl 2011, then you will not understand the hype that is following this marvelous gadget. The ad is a bit creepy for some, but it fits perfectly with the slightly unsettling ads of the PlayStation that we have seen in the past.

The Mobile World Congress (MWC) to be held in Barcelona is just around the corner now, and a whole ton of new phones are expected. But Sony Ericsson plans to launch the Xperia Play a day before the MWC starts (February 13, 2011), and this has been officially confirmed by them. The PSP phone release date should be sometime in March, but this is something we will only learn about during the launch. Read more on Xperia Play release date.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Specs

With that in mind, let's look at the specifications of this phone. This is basically going to be a side-sliding Android phone. But instead of a side-sliding QWERTY keyboard we are going to see a PlayStation style gamepad open up. The four direction buttons, the four PlayStation action buttons and the Select and Start button are all going to be present. The triggers that we have seen at the back of the PSP (PlayStation Portable) will also be present, and the most attractive part will be the touch based analog controls in the middle. If you have seen the images of this device, you will agree with me when I say that it looks deliciously mouth-watering. Here are the other notable Sony PSP phone specs.

4.2 inches capacitive touchscreen, 480x854 resolution, LED-backlit LCD screen
Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS
1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, Adreno 205 GPU
512MB RAM, microSD slot available
5 MP camera capable of HD recording, front facing camera also present
Comes installed with PlayStation suite for downloading PSP games

Other Important Information

One interesting aspect of the Xperia PlayStation phone is that the PlayStation name in itself does not feature anywhere on the device. Sony has decided to make it go down the Xperia route, and this is something that makes us wonder what is going on. Even the new PSP that came out, the Next Generation Portable (NGP), does not carry the PlayStation name and this is rather strange. Maybe Sony are trying to slowly phase out the name for products and focus on creating a PlayStation service and ecosystem instead.

Anyhow, these Sony Xperia Play specs sound rather interesting, and if you are a fan of portable gaming and love Android as much as we do, then this phone is just what the doctor ordered for you. The battery life of the device is my only concern and it remains to be seen how it will perform, and how many hours one can get out of the phone. But the ability to play high quality PSP games on an Android phone with the regular PlayStation controls is something that has got me craving this phone pretty badly.

Sony Ericsson messed up with updates for Android for their Xperia series Sony Ericsson phones in 2010, but hopefully 2011 will be a better year for them. The PlayStation phone and even the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc have set the tone for a promising year, and with the Xperia Play specs that we have just seen we know that this phone is going to be a sell-out.