Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Hardwear

The very first thing you notice when you get the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is its size and heft. From 119mm x 62mm x 16mm (four. 68in x 2. 44in by. 63in) and 175g (6. 17oz), the PLAY isn't any small phone in your fingers. The real problem for me was the thickness from the device. While I understand it facilitates the game pad, the actual Motorola DROID or DROID two, both of which have slide-out bodily keyboards, feel anorexic in assessment.

The tapered edges of the rear cover do help the xperia PLAY fit comfortably within the hand, but when I was utilizing it as I would any additional smartphone (read: not video gaming), it just felt like it had been bigger than it needed to be for the task.

The front from the Xperia PLAY sports a 4-inch, FWVGA (480 x 854 pixel) touch screen above four physical keys for that standard Android functions of back again, home, menu, and search. The screen itself isn't bad, though it definitely doesn't have the punch or wow factor of the Super AMOLED Plus or perhaps a Super LCD display. It could stand to become a bit more responsive to my touch too, as sometimes it would consider multiple presses or swipes prior to the screen would register my enter.

The display is also positioned off-center for the bottom of the phone, which provided an awkward handling position when utilized in portrait orientation.

The buttons themselves are small along with a bit fiddly, though they did work after i needed them too. The cheap chrome finish on them has to go, though; it looks poor now, and I imagine it won't wear well over time. All of those other phone is made of polished plastic, which not only provides cheap feel to the Xperia Play but is also a severe fingerprint magnet.

The rear include constantly looked filthy with smudges and fingerprints, so I had been constantly wiping it off along with my t-shirt. A textured or soft-touch back might have lent a lot to the feel you might expect to get from the $200 smartphone. The power switch, which is tucked in top of the right corner of the telephone, is very tiny and hard to get into. It features an integrated notice light, which is cool, though I discovered it a bit tough to note since the button is hidden behind the display.

As far since the gaming pad goes, certain features worked well, while others skipped the mark. The four-way directional pad and also the square, triangle, circle, and X buttons worked properly and were responsive during action. The touchpads that are made to mimic analog sticks were another story though. I found it hard to make use of them to control objects within games, and found them to complete different things from what I was expecting frequently. With the thickness of the actual Xperia PLAY, I think Sony Ericsson might have used the analog stick on the PSP gaming handheld without a lot trouble.