Gaming all the way

The Play’s game pad slides out from beneath the screen. On it you will find the gaming buttons and controls wherein the direction buttons reside on the left while the typical square, circle, triangle and cross buttons neatly sit on the right of the phone. The Xperia Play’s 1GHz processor ensures the seamless running of games without any slack in speed however, the brightness on the 4-inch display is pretty poor barring you from using it outdoors. Now the rains will not stop little Johny from playing!

The controls are highly responsive to the on-screen action making your gaming experience enjoyable. The Xperia Play comes with a wide range of pre-installed games as well as the ability to purchase from a number of stores. This feature is neatly packed as ‘Xperia Play Games’ and ‘More Games’ sections into the ‘Xperia Play’ app which gets activated on sliding the game pad. One of the drawbacks here is the confusing menu options. While some of the titles can be downloaded from the Android market through Google checkout, those popular titles developed by Gameloft will take you to Paypal and you will have to follow the typical online buying procedure. Toggling between downloading process and game browsing between different apps is very confusing.

Another downside is that many games are not suitable to be played on the Xperia Play – its controls don’t function on such games. Further, the Xperia Play is not geared to handle multi tasking efficiently. So, if you have to answer that call, forget about the game you’d just started. These inconsistencies leave the customer with little to expect from the Xperia Play.

The technology

The other features that come with the Xperia Play will please you. It measures 119*62*16mm and weighs 175g. It is a good Android phone with a 4-inch LED backlit capacitive touchscreen with touch sensitive gaming controls. It also sports a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash for that perfect shot. Its battery would last for up to a day with continuous playing and downloading of apps. Though the Xperia Play may not give you that ultimate gaming experience, it is worth a try.

Good

• Comfortable and responsive gaming controls
• Powered by Android 2.3 Gingerbread

Bad

• Poor display
• Confusing software

Get the more details of Sony Ericsson Xperia Play specifications and more: http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/corporate/products/phoneportfolio/specification/xperia-play

Where to Compare: Sony Ericsson Xperia Play

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