Ok, I know I’m all grown up and shouldn’t be interested in a phone that includes its own portable playstation system, but I am… in fact, I’m very interested in it.

Not only does it appear to have full smartphone capabilities, but it’s apparently housed in a reasonably svelte package (albeit larger than typical smartphones) – and it looks pretty damn good.

The videos I’ve seen online about playable demos are really encouraging… as long as the battery life holds up, it’ll make for more entertaining journeys on public transport, for example!

One of the main unanswered questions currently focuses on how much the thing will cost. Well, Amazon UK currently has the phone available to pre-order for £599.99 (link HERE) – scheduled to be released on 4th April 2011. Inevitably, this price will tumble as the April launch date looms – and I also expect there to be significant discounts when purchasing the phone through a mobile carrier, as it’ll be heavily subsidised too. The main networks in the UK have already announced that they’ll be carrying the phone.

Importantly, as with all gaming devices, they live or die by the quality of the games available – and Sony have apparently lined up 50 games to be ready at launch, including some classics… I’m just hoping my all time favourite PS one game is on there: Circuit Breakers!!!

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play specs are as follows:

  • Network: GSM/UMTS/HSPA
  • Dimensions: 119 x 62 x 16mm
  • Weight 117 grams
  • Form Factor: Side-Slider (but no QWERTY keyboard here… just regular playstation controls!)
  • Display: 4.o inch LCD Capacitive Touch Screen
  • Operating System: Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread
  • CPU: Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon 1 GHz processor
  • 512MB RAM
  • Storage capacity
    • 400MB of internal memory
    • 8GB card pre-inserted
    • Expandable Memory: micro-SD card slot for expansion up to 32GB
  • Primary Camera: 5 Megapixels
  • Secondary camera: VGA
  • Standby Time: (claimed):  2G up to 425 Hours / 3G up to 413 Hours
  • Audio Formats: MPEG4, H.263, H.264
  • Video Formats: MP3, WMA, AMR, OGG, AAC, AAC+, WAV

More complete specs, including an explanation of included software is available here: http://www.vg247.com/2011/02/13/xperia-play-formally-revealed-at-mwc/

VIDEOS

The norwegian Android website got hold of a comersial for the new Sony Ericsson Xperia Play:

And apart from the background music, this video gives a nice preview of the phone:

One of the better reviews of a hands-on assessment of the phone is on Tech Radar, here: http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/hands-on-sony-ericsson-xperia-play-review-925045

Now, whether I can part with my trusty 3 year old K800i is another question altogether…