#6 Xperia Play extended review

Yes, for those who follow me (I hope), there are so many things about the Xperia Play that I want to write about but don't have that many pages on the magazine for it. Also, they will "frown" upon what I am going to write if I did do it in the magazine. So I'll do it here instead. Shh.. Tell nobody about it. Use words like "Word on the street (net) is that.." or "Hey, I heard from this Super-Genius-Awesome-Guy said.." Yea, something like that.

Here's a quick extended review about the smartphone.


Proud owner of Xperia Play... only for two to three weeks......

Firstly, this piece of machine is really muscular. Its biceps are tremendous, almost scary at times. Pump with testosterone (can't believe I spelled that word right the first time), I can give a 0.24562% of female population will get this device. How do I come up with that figure? Well, let's just say I didn't use calculator. If you disagree, show your woman the phone SIDEWAYS and see how will she react. The form factor is already unappealing. For guys? Well, I like it. That's one out of 7 billion people's opinion.

Again I stress, which you will read in Mobile World Magazine, that I dislike the material choice by Sony Ericsson. It is a smudge magnet and you will definitely see scratches in the future. Taking out the back cover is almost like peeling an apple's skin. Do it wrong and the glossy plastic might BREAK off easily. Sure, tell us that it is Piano Black. Even if you name it Black Mamba, the material used wouldn't get any better.


As you can see, tonnes of smudges.

The camera here is almost a waste giving us 5 megapixel. Sure, it's the same as iPhone's megapixel but did you know that iPhone was released a year ago? By this year, 8 megapixel is the standard. Even the iPhone 5 is rumoured to have 8-megapixel camera if it is out THIS year. One thing that I can praise about the camera is that it offers customisation. No zoom but yes to customisation. Autofocus, white balance, scene mode and several others are at your control. And Sony is known to produce good camera quality so that's good as well. Too bad it's a different story for the front-facing camera. VGA and grainy.

The video..... It's really a major disappointment. Here's the reason why: you have a phone that can support HD viewing but you cannot record in HD. What's worse is that, the Xperia Play has no HDMI output. I saw how great it is to have Xperia Arc with HDMI output and for a gaming phone not to have it? Tsk tsk tsk Sony. Shame on you. No gaming on the big screen.


No, I am not an Angry Birds fan. But I do love Jumping Now.

Here's one of the User Interface that I have to cut out (sad): the Web browser. I know that it is nothing important but you do have to know that the Xperia Play's browser is like any other Android phones. It supports Adobe Flash (woohoo!) but not as buttery smooth as you think. It buffers sometimes but if you are patient, you will be rewarded. Sorry, no instant win here.

Another surprise here is the speakers. Unlike the PSP Go, this phone has better quality speakers. It's really loud but it won't pierce your ears like how that dude stuck a pin in your earlobe. I really REALLY love this part of the phone. Playing Asphalt 6 with maximum volume is awesome. If only I can own the cars there....

Here's the part you've all been waiting for. The thickest part of the cake. The sweetest part in a drink. The best part in a steak. The.. The.. Okay, I'll shut up and "get on" with it. Gaming experience!

First off, is the game pad. Well, just look below. Seriously, just look at it and you will understand:


Almost the same with PSP minus true analogue stick... Oh, and plus Android menu button (bottom left)


I wouldn't call the L & R, "buttons" but oh well.

Get it? There you go. My only complain (two actually, oopsie) here is that they should have stuck with a true analogue stick and the L & R shoulder buttons are flimsy. Pressing the L & R buttons are like fixing a loose compartment. Satisfaction not guaranteed at all. But you have to give Sony Ericsson credits for porting over PSP buttons. Where else can you find a device with 20 buttons with no alphabets on it? Yeah, I counted ALL the buttons on the device.

Other than that, everything else feels alright. HOWEVER, there seem to be a problem when I played Asphalt 6 with this gaming smartphone. It cannot keep up with the frame rate of this game. That translate to lagging at times. Boo. Thank goodness not all the time. SIM 3 in Xperia Play is cool but it made the button purposeless as you are better off using the touchscreen.

Here's another problem: there are currently too little games for this phone. Especially PS One games. You can only play Crash Bandicoot. So far they are not offering anything else in the Malaysia's market.

And presenting to you, something Sony Ericsson will frown upon: using emulators. You can find it over the Internet but not in the Android Market. If you play games via this route, you struck gold. So many PS originals out there for you. It doesn't stops there because you can even play games from Mega Drive, SNES, Gameboy and N64! Once you set the controls to your liking (game pad all the way!), you will have loads of fun! Shh.. Don't go telling people about it. This will be our secret!

Well, that's it folks. The rest of "the good, the bad and the ugly" for this phone. For my original review on this device, just get the Mobile World Magazine. Or ask me to BORROW you my copy. Hey, I need the magazine for boasting rights, I mean future portfolio.

So will you get one or skip it?

Calv out!