The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is a 3G Android Smartphone. This is not your ordinary Android Smartphone. The phone is half Smartphone half PlayStation. It looks kind of like the PSP Go. On the outside of the phone it looks just like a normal Smartphone, but when you slide it up you have a full Sony Game Controller. This is the ultimate Gaming Phone!
Around the box of the device you will find pictures of the device and some information about the device. When you first open the box you will find the device, battery, microUSB sync cable, USB wall charge, 3.5mm Sony audio adapter, and user manuals. With this device we would have liked to see earbuds. They only include an adapter for non-Sony earbuds. The AT&T model comes with a dock and earbuds as well as the adapter.
On the front of the device you will find the display, 4 physical Android buttons, earpiece, sensors, and front facing camera. The right side has the up/down volume rocker and Left and Right keys for playing in games on this device. The left side has the 3.5mm audio jack and microUSB port. The top of the device has the power/ sleep button with an indicator light. The bottom has nothing except a place to stick your fingernail into, so you can open the battery door. The back of the device has the 5MP camera with flash and the microphone for recoding video. Under the battery door is the 1500mAh battery, speakers, and microSD card slot. This device does come with a preinstalled microSD card. One thing to note is that when you remove the battery door, the Android OS will safely remove the microSD card. You can turn this feature off in the settings. There are also a few microphones under the battery door.
On first impressions the device felt very nice in the hand. It has a great build quality. It really feels solid. It is a little on the thick side because off all the power this device has under the hood. The left and right buttons on the right side feel a little strange on the device when holding it. We recommend buying a case for this phone, because it will help make those buttons not feel so strange on the device. This device is a great size. Its 4 inch display is great. Not to big or small. The sliding mechanism on this device is spring loaded. It moves very nice and is very strong. Even with a case, it still slides nice.
This device runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The exact version is 2.3.2 out of the box. There will be an available update, which will bump it up to Android 2.3.3. The device runs a lot smoother after this update. Sony has confirmed that this device will receive an update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The Verizon Wireless version of this device is running a stock build of Android which is a lot better than having a manufactures UI (User Interface). The AT&T version does have Sony’s Timescape UI. We hope that the Android update to 4.0 will leave it with the stock build. We really like the device without the UI. Some of the preinstalled apps are MyVerizon, Skype, and VZNavigator. This is a stock build so there are not a whole lot of unwanted applications on the device that the manufacture or carrier installs on the device.
The biggest thing and main attraction of this device is the slide out game pad. This is the first PlayStation Certified device on the market. There are preloaded games on the device. Some of them are Asphalt 6, Crash Bandicoot, Madden ’11, The Sims 3, and a few more. When you first play the game it will ask you to download an update in order to play the game. We found no way to get past it. When you are at the Android home screen or in another app, just slide up the gaming pad and it will open the menu that shows all the games on the device. More games are available for purchase threw the menu.
Gaming on this phone is a dream. It runs smoothly and looks great. The best gaming phone we have ever seen. Playing for long periods of time will drain your battery life. The gaming pad is smooth and works great. We do not like the digital control sticks instead of the analog, like on a 
PS3 controller. You can also play with other players that have the same device. It will only play over WiFi in certain games like Asphalt 6. It is nice to play Multiplayer sometimes.
This device has great battery life. Some of the best I have ever seen with a basic 1500mAh battery. I got about two days with basic tasks like email, texting, and web browsing over WiFi. Browsing over 3G can lessen the battery life. When I played games I got about 1 day of battery life. It is not too bad.
The camera on this device is a 5MP rear camera. It has flash and auto focus. It records 720p HD video. We received crisp high quality video and pictures with this device. The front facing camera is only VGA. It is okay, but it could have been 1.3. Nothing to special about the cameras!
This device is running a 1GHz QualComm Snapdragon II Processor with an Adreno 205 GPU. It comes preloaded with an 8GB microSD card. It is upgradeable to 32GB. The phone it’s self only has 1GB of onboard storage. It really fills up fast. Try to install the apps on to the SD card to same space on the phone. The device has a 4 inch Capacitive multi-touch screen with a resolution of 480×854 FWVGA. It supports up to 16M colors. It looks really great. This device is great for gaming and daily tasks. This is the ultimate phone!
Specifications
| Frequencies: | CDMA 850/1900, 3G |
| Weight: | 3.17 oz. (175g) |
| Dimensions: | 4.68” x 2.44” x 0.63” |
| Display: | 4”, Capacitive Touch, (480×854) FWVGA, Supports up to 16M colors |
| OS: | Android 2.3.3 |
| Processor: | 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon II CPU with Adreno 205 GPU |
| Battery: | 150mAh, Li-Lon, |
Talk: 7.7 hours max.
Sleep: 413 hours max.Memory:1GB internal storage, 8GB card included, up to 32GB
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Pros: Great for gaming, fast, sleek, Android 2.3, will get an update to Android 4.0
Cons: has a non-Sony 3.5mm audio jack, requires an adapter (provided), not 4G
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play for Verizon Wireless is a great 3G Smartphone that will get the job done. It can multitask; play games, and basic things to. If you want it just for gaming, basic tasks, or even both this will get the job done. This is really a fun device! This device will run you about $99.99 with a two year contract agreement with voice and data required. Find out more about this device from Verizon Wireless or Sony Ericsson.