Mobile gaming on smartphones is taking off in a big way and looks set to be taken to a whole new level in 2010. While everyone can remember the days of playing Snake on their monochrome Nokia 8310, the increasing amount of hardware power being crammed into modern smartphones is allowing developers to produce much more interesting titles for smartphone users. With the introduction of Xbox LIVE onto Windows Phone 7 handsets, Microsoft's traditional console rival Sony has been keen to bring its gaming experience to the world of smartphones.
The Xperia Play is the result of this move, as is evident from its alternative title of the PlayStation Phone. The Xperia Play will bring the best of PlayStation and the PSP to the world of smartphones with many fantastic game titles available, far surpassing the current crop of App Store and Android Market games that are so popular with many smartphone users.
The most striking thing about the Xperia Play is its sliding design, which does not reveal a QWERTY keyboard as would be expected, but instead contains that iconic PlayStation control pad. Complete with the square, circle, triangle and box that have become famous trademarks for Sony's consoles, the Xperia Play comes with a directional keypad that make it ideal for all forms of mobile gaming.
With the current emergence of dual core handsets like the LG Optimus 2X and the Galaxy S II, the only noticeable drawback of the Xperia Play is its processor which is set at 1GHz. While this is soon to become outdated by the next wave of high powered smartphones it still offers all the processing power needed for the gaming titles available, and is comparable to the processing power of all of the Xperia Play's Windows Phone Xbox rivals.
The Xperia Play also comes with hardware acceleration and a gorgeous 4" LED-backlit LCD screen that provide an exceptional level of visual quality. Along with the PlayStation control pad that is in use the Xperia Play comes with a fully touch sensitive screen that runs on capacitive technology, allowing for full multitouch input.
The Xperia Play is a perfect smartphone for gaming for sure, but the smartphone does not fail to deliver in other areas as well. Running on Google Android Gingerbread and Sony Ericsson's Timescape UI, the Xperia Play comes with excellent support for social networking and all forms of messaging including email, threaded SMS and instant messaging.
The phone is also ideal for all forms of web browsing, with 3G and DLNA enabled Wi-Fi both on offer. The DLNA allows you to connect the Xperia Play up to compatible devices, such as modern TVs, allowing you to enjoy your gaming experience on a larger screen.
With Sony's long tradition of excellence in the world of console gaming it is hard to imagine the Xperia Play not providing a satisfying experience to gamers the world over. It can also be rest assured that this will not be the last PlayStation Phone, with many subsequent devices released at a future date. With the developments in mobile phone hardware that are currently underway future PlayStation Phones should be even more mouth watering and Sony's gaming expertise should be just the impetus needed to reaffirm Sony Ericsson's position in the world of smartphones.
