Sony Ericsson Xperia Play – The smartphone, and the portable gaming console Review

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play – The smartphone, and the portable gaming console Review
VERDICT:

A smartphone and portable gaming console combined? That’s great news for the gamers! However, if you look at its capabilities beyond gaming, it is hard to feel excitement for the Xperia Play. The phone has okay performance, a bulky form factor, a disappointing battery and a handicapped camera. The lack of 720p HD video recording capabilities is a glaring omission. The gaming console experience is very good though, thanks to the full-fledged gaming pad and smooth graphics. The Play is currently retailing around Rs 29,000 (box price- Rs 32,000), and is meant for those who will utilize the gaming capabilities to the fullest.

 

Being a phone, the Xperia Play does well when it comes to the traditional tasks. The call quality on offer is pretty good even though the earpiece’s loudest volume isn’t very loud, which is a drawback in noisy surroundings. For those of us who send out a lot of messages and mails, the on-screen keyboard is an absolute delight. Portrait mode and landscape modes are witness to well spaced out keys, even more so in the landscape one.

Battery life is a disappointment though. Barely one day from full charge to full discharge, with a mix of voice calls, messages, constant social network updates syncing and a bit of gaming. If you are going to game quite a bit, we suggest you keep a charger with you at all times.


Our take
For someone who wanted a portable gaming console and a smartphone as one single device, the Xperia Play might just be the best possible answer, at the moment. The device does well as a portable gaming console, but is just okay as a smartphone. But for Rs 30k , this is a pretty expensive deal. If you want a gaming phone, there really is no alternative. However, if you want an Android phone, basically, but were attracted by the entire package, there are alternatives. The HTC Desire HD or the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc make for better (and sleeker) smartphone alternatives


Specifications:

Network: Quad band GSM 3G capable; Display: 4.0-inches with 480×854 resolution, LED backlit LCD type; OS: Android 2.3 (Gingerbread); SoC: Qualcomm MSM8522; RAM: 512MB; Memory Expansion: microSD (up to 32GB); Battery: 1500 mAh; Weight: 175g

Price: Rs. 32,000

Ratings:
Features: 7.50
Performance: 6.75
Build: 7.00
Value: 6.75
Overall: 7.00

Brand
Sony Ericsson
Model
Xperia Play
Street Prices (Rs)
30,000
Price (MRP, Rs)
32000
Features
Physical Specs
Form Factor
Bar
2G Network Bands

GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900

3G Network Bands
HSDPA 900 / 2100
Screen Resolution
480 x 854 pixels

Screen Size (inches)

4.0 inches

Maximum Screen colours

16M

Touchscreen / Dual Screen (Y/N)

Touchscreen
Battery Rating
1500 mAh

Dimensions (L x W x H)

119 x 62 x 16 mm
Weight
175 grams

Expandable Memory Type

microSD
RAM (in MB)
512MB
SoC (CPU, GPU)
Qualcomm MSM 8255
CPU Clock speed
1GHz
No. of CPU cores
1
Hot Swappable (Y/N)
N
Available Colours
Black, White
Other Features

Operating System (Tested with)

Android 2.3.2

Charging via USB (Y/N)

Y

Hardware Keypad (Regular/QWERTY)

Gaming Pad only

Accelerometer (For auto rotate)

Y

Address Book Capacity

Unlimited

No of calls in register

Unlimited

Talk Time / Standby Time (3G) *

6 hrs / 413 hrs

No of Profiles # / Customisable

NA / Y

Offline Opearability (Y/N)

Y

Inbuilt GPS / A-GPS support (Y / N)

Y / Y
Connectivity

Browsing (GPRS/EDGE/3G)

Y / Y / Y

EDGE max speed (in kbps)

236.6 kbps

3G max speed (in mbps)

7.2 Mbps

Connectivity (WiFi/Bluetooth/IR/USB)

Y / Y / N / Y

Bluetooth Version/A2DP support

2.1 / Y
Camera Specs

Camera Resolution (Mega Pixels)

5

Video Capture Resolution

800 x 480
Auto focus / flash
Y / Y
Type of flash
single LED

Secondary camera for video chat

Y

Mirror for self portrait (Y / N)

N

Camera Settings (So 10)

6.5

Zoom (Optical/Digital)

Digital
Multimedia

Music Formats supported

MP3, eAAC , WMA, WAV

Video formats supported

MP4, H.263, H.264, WMV

FM Radio / RDS (Y/N)

Y / Y
Accessories
Bundled Accessories

Data cable, wall charger, handsfree

Size of memory card provided

8GB

Build and Ergonomics (So 10)

Surface materials used

6.75

Overall build and in-hand feel

7

Quality of moving parts

7.25

Design and ergonomics

7.5

Keypad design (on-screen or hardware)

7
Menu and interface
7

Settings and ease of navigating menus

7.25
Camera menu options
6.5
Performance

Signal Reception and Voice Clarity (So 10)

Zone 1
7
Zone 2
5.5
Zone 3
4
Handsfree Clarity
7
Loudspeaker Clarity
6.75
Earpiece Clarity
7
Handsfree Volume
7.5
Loudspeaker Volume
6
Earpiece Volume
6

Bluetooth Transfer Speed (in KBps)

191.3

Imaging and multimedia tests

Captured Photo Colour

6.75

Captured Photo Crispness

7

Captuted Photo Detail

6.5

Captured Video Quality

5.5

Effectiveness of integrated flash

5.5

Music Quality (loudspeaker)

6

Music Quality (handsfree)

6.5

Volume levels (loudspeaker)

6

Volume levels (handsfree)

7.5
Display (So 10)
Crispness
7
Colour
7.25
Contrast
7
Font rendition
7

Legibility in bright sunlight

7.25
Video playback
7
 

* Manufacturer Rated

 

Contact: Sony Ericsson India
Phone: 1800111800
Email- N.A.

Vishal Mathur

Vishal Mathur

https://plus.google.com/u/0/107637899696060330891/posts View Full Profile

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