Sony Ericsson’s long-awaited new gaming phone the Xperia play is set for launch and this much talked about phone is almost certain to push the company back up the leader board when it comes to Smartphones. The phone will open up a whole new range of possibilities when it comes to gaming so what is it about this phone and its features that makes it the first of its kind?

This Android powered phone is basically the first ever ‘PlayStation phone’ as it has been given PlayStation Certification. This means that gaming via your phone is now possible in a way that it hasn’t been before because you now have a portable version of PlayStation with the added benefit of a phone attached to it. Needless to say this development in Smartphone features has caused something of a buzz.

Early reviews of the Xperia Play have been mixed with some people suggesting that the phones ‘chunkiness’ is slightly annoying, however as one would expect this phone also has some great features in-keeping with the other Smartphones in Sony’s Xperia range. The Xperia play as well as it’s gaming function also features a 5mp digital camera and has a 4 inch multi touch screen with advanced social networking features.

The much anticipated and most exciting feature of this phone is of course the slide-out panel that contains the Sony gaming D-pad for direction control and the other gaming buttons. The gaming panel also features the four PlayStation icons of circle, cross, square and triangle plus two shoulder switches and two analogue touch pads. People used to on-screen gaming controls may find that the Xperia Play’s control pad takes some getting used to but early reviews suggest that responsiveness to touch is excellent once mastered.

The Xperia Play’s Adreno GPU graphics processor is reported to produce clear, bright images and defined 3D dimensions, enhanced by the 4 inch Bravia touchscreen (480 by 854 pixels FWGVA). The phone also features a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor that Sony promises will extend battery life. The test of time will show if the phone can be used for extended periods of play without losing power after 2-3 hours.

The phone’s user interface is typical of many Android phones and the onscreen keyboard is also said to be easy to use. Sony Ericsson has worked with the main gaming publishers to create a good selection of games so overall you have a top of the range phone combining the gaming element and the functionality of Android. The feeling is that this phone may just deliver all that it’s promised and could raise the bar for portable gaming devices.

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