Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone) - 4/4 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Feb

[Update: Aired During The Super Bowl] Sony Ericsson's Leaked Xperia Play Commercial Redefines "Creepy"

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, Sony Ericsson, Videos, Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

Update: We're still getting over the fact that Sony Ericsson just aired a slightly longer version of this ad in front of the millions of people watching the Super Bowl - check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4lxuoGgbxs

Sony Ericsson's upcoming "PlayStation phone," the Xperia Play, has been leaking left and right pretty much since its inception, and therefore it's no surprise that its first official commercial was also reveals via a leak.

Droidnytt.no, a Norwegian Android fan site, published the following video showing our little green friend getting thumbs attached to his hands for easier game controller handling, all in the creepiest way imaginable.

Feb

Confirmed: Sony Ericsson Announcing Xperia Play On February 13th, Gingerbread Included

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Gingerbread 2.3, News, Sony Ericsson, Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

There's been no shortage of leaks involving the Xperia Play, but Sony Ericsson hasn't said a single word on the matter... until now, that is. A new event was just posted on the company's Facebook page, and guess what it's related to:

That's right - expect an official announcement of the Xperia Play on February 13 (the day Mobile World Congress kicks off) at 1:00 p.m. EST / 10:00 a.m. PST. Can't wait? Check out the (now official) commercial for the device - not only is it super creepy; its description confirms that the phone will ship with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).

Jan

Xperia Play Prototype Previewed, So Far Only Plays PSX Games

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Games, News, Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

Engadget was lucky enough to get its hands on a prototype of Sony's much-anticipated PlayStation Phone (believed to launch as the Xperia Play), and while not everything on the unit they got was finalized (Wi-Fi was completely broken), it does give us a pretty good idea of what to expect when the phone officially launches.

First, we have some of the most important specs:

4.0" 854 x 480 LCD display
Single-core 1 GHz processor (believed to be Qualcomm) with Adreno 205 GPU
512 MB RAM
Android 2.3 with Timescape UI
5 megapixel camera

That single-core processor might seem disappointing with all the excitement surrounding Tegra 2 phones, but the Xperia Play still manages to get high marks in a number of benchmark tests (including a Quadrant score of 1,689).

Jan

Sony PlayStation Phone Given An In-Depth Review, Now All But Official

Posted by Josh Cooter in Gingerbread 2.3, News, Sony Ericsson, Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

Last Updated: January 11th, 2011

Just days after Kaz Hirai teased the world with talk of Sony's future in smartphones, tablets, and the PlayStation brand (all without confirming or denying the existence of a PlayStation phone), Chinese site IT168 has posted an in-depth review of the engineering version that they managed to get ahold of. Not only is the PSP Phone very real; from the looks of it, the device is almost ready for prime time.

Before delving into the details, here are the specifications and features that we are working with:

Qualcomm Adreno 205
1GHz Snapdragon Processor
1,500 mAh battery
4" LCD display with 854 x 480 resolution
5MP autofocus camera with LED flash (720p video recording unconfirmed)
512 MB RAM
512 MB ROM
Micro SD slot
SIM Slot
Micro USB
Rear Mic for noise cancellation
Android 2.3

Hardware

The design of the PlayStation Phone is comparable to the form factor of the PSP go, so avid mobile gamers can rest assured that the hardware controls will blow traditional touch screen controls out of the water in terms of precision.

Dec

[Rumor] Playstation Phone To Be Called Xperia Play? Trademark Filing Says Maybe

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Sony Ericsson, Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

It seems the blogosphere is abuzz with the news that an EU trademark for the name Xperia Play has been awarded to Sony Ericsson, filed the first of the month.

Companies file for trademarks a lot, so we'll see if this name pans out. If it does, it'll quite possibly be the worst marketing decision by Sony Ericsson yet, and may indicate that the Sony mother-ship wants to reserve the Playstation phone name for a later, cooler, probably proprietary-OS device. So, you may actually want this rumor not to be true.

Source: OMHI via Engadget

Dec

Test Pictures Taken By Sony Ericsson PlayStation Phone Show Up On Picasa

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in News, Sony Ericsson, Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

By now we've already seen the PlayStation Phone in a video or two, a number of pictures, and the usual batch of rumors. However, one of the few things we haven't known about the device is what its camera will be like. Well as of today, you can officially cross camera quality off the list of unknowns - four pictures taken by a certain "Sony Ericsson Zeus" have just hit Picasa:

A little digging revealed that all of these pictures were captured by a 5MP camera (with an aperture rating of 2.4 and a focal length of 4.1mm), and as the second one shows, it is indeed accompanied by a flash.

Dec

Sony Ericsson's PlayStation Phone ZEUS Z1 Makes Surprisingly Clear Appearance On YouTube

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Devices By Manufacturer, Gingerbread 2.3, News, Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

Well, this one's a bit special, isn't it? In a marked shift from the traditional blurrycam espionage, what we have here is a nice, calmly filmed tour of the no-longer-mythical Zeus device. While there isn't a great deal of new information presented in the video, we do catch a glimpse of a PlayStation icon in the menus. The software is labeled Gingerbread in the About screen, despite a distinctly Froyo-esque appearance. As for the hardware, the Zeus sports an impressively large display and a curvy (if rather large) waist-line. We also get a glimpse of the camera and flash on the back, as well as several Sony Ericsson logos in various places.

Nov

Sony Ericsson CEO Hints At Rumored Playstation Phone, Leaves Us Begging For More

Posted by Stephen Tenerowicz in News, Sony Ericsson, Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

Bert Nordberg, the CEO of Sony Ericsson, told the Wall Street Journal in a recent interview that “there’s a lot of smoke, and I tell you there must be a fire somewhere” when asked about the PlayStation phone rumors and leaks. Nordberg also said that Sony Ericsson plans to "make a lot of noise" with a new product at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February 2011. Could this be the famed PlayStation phone? Possibly.

Nordberg also stated in the interview that there are some major challenges in developing a gaming-oriented smartphone. Overall, the toughest part seems to be securing rights from game developers.

Oct

Sony Ericsson PlayStation Phone Is Real, Looks Just Like Renders & Packs Some Solid Hardware

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Gingerbread 2.3, News, Sony Ericsson, Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

Last Updated: January 11th, 2011

Remember that Sony Ericsson PlayStation phone we heard about back in August? Turns out it's not only real, but a prototype is out and about in the wild - and Engadget has landed themselves some surprisingly clear and detailed pictures of the device. Better still, it looks pretty close to the renders we saw in August - surprising, given the track record for Android rumors.

Between the PlayStation moniker and the slide-out gamepad, I think it's pretty clear that this beastie will be marketed as a gaming phone. In support of that fact, word has it that the phone will support a custom Sony Marketplace with games specifically designed for the platform - if they can garner enough developer support, that should be a fairly nice selling point.

Aug

Sony Working On PlayStation Branded, Android-Powered Gaming Phone

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Sony Ericsson, Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

Earlier today, Engadget broke an exclusive regarding Sony-Ericsson’s work on an Android gaming handset that is currently “in the late stages of planning.” There have been rumblings of a PlayStation phone for quite some time, and it seems like this device may be Sony finally delivering on those long-standing rumors.

According to Engadget, the device will feature:

3.7-4.1” WVGA screen
5MP camera (may not be final)
Slider-phone design, but instead of a QWERTY keyboard, a gamepad
Gamepad will have:
- Touchpad for directional controls instead of joysticks
- A standard D-pad,
- Standard PSP buttons
- Shoulder buttons
“Likely” to have a 1GHz Snapdragon Processor
Mostly black chassis, some silver highlights (looks like a Captivate crossed with a PSP Go)
Will run Android OS “Gingerbread”
Phone-specific software skin
Will have access to a new and exclusive Android Market Games section
Game titles will include some PSX oldies, as well as newer PSP games