SpecEagle
SpecEagle review · Sony Ericsson

Xperia Play review: The "PlayStation phone" with a slide-out gamepad and PS controls.

SpecEagle Editorial·Apr 2011·$500
Overall
44/100
Class rank
#1 of 1
Tier
Mid-range
Buy?
Look elsewhere
The verdict, up front

The PlayStation phone.

The Xperia Play realised the long-rumoured "PlayStation phone" — a slide-out gamepad with a D-pad, face buttons and touchpads, plus a library of PlayStation Pocket titles. The optimised-game catalogue stayed small, but as a gaming-phone landmark it is unforgettable.

01Display

54/100

54/100 — right at the average for mid-range phones of 2011.

TypeLCD
Size4.0 inches
Resolution854 × 480 px (FWVGA)

02Camera

50/100

50/100 — right at the average for mid-range phones of 2011.

Main5 MP, autofocus, LED flash
VideoWVGA
FrontVGA

03Performance

50/100

50/100 — right at the average for mid-range phones of 2011.

ChipsetSnapdragon S2 1 GHz, Adreno 205
RAM512 MB
Storage400 MB · microSD

04Battery

54/100

54/100 — right at the average for mid-range phones of 2011.

Capacity1,500 mAh (removable)
Standby~ 425 hours

05Build

60/100

60/100 — right at the average for mid-range phones of 2011.

06Value

56/100

56/100 — right at the average for mid-range phones of 2011.

What works
  • Slide-out PlayStation gamepad with D-pad and dual touchpads.
  • PlayStation Pocket game library.
  • Stereo speakers.
  • microSD + jack.
What doesn't
  • Thick 16 mm gaming slider.
  • Only 5 MP camera, FWVGA screen.
  • Limited optimised game library.
  • Heavy 175 g.

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 1-phone cohort of mid-range devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .