Some folk get to go to Barcelona, others get to stay at home.

It was on the evening of 16th February that I went to a showing of Sony Ericsson's three new Xperia handsets (arc, neo and PLAY) arranged by Brando, the promotions company that is behind Three UK. In London's West End the event was titled "Sony Ericsson UK MWC Event". The use of lower and upper case names in this review is completely intentional. It is as used by Sony Ericsson in their promotional materials for the Xperia.

Xperia PLAY
My initial reaction to this handset when it was announced in the media a few days ago was not entirely complimentary. So have I changed my opinion now that I have actually seen one for real and had a few minutes to handle it?

Sony Ericsson say of their new handset
XperiaTM PLAY delivers the smartphone functionality that the most serious power users could need, teamed with the immersive gaming experience that any gamer would want.

In portrait mode, the Android smartphone offers all the benefits that users have come to expect from Sony Ericsson’s existing range of XperiaTM smartphones with best-in-class entertainment experiences, a great 5 megapixel camera, a brilliant 4” multi-touch screen and great social networking features.

However, slide out the gaming control and users enter a new world of immersive mobile gaming. The slide out game pad reveals a digital D pad, two analogue touch pads, two shoulder buttons and the four PlayStation icons: circle, cross, square and triangle.
The first impression was "Wow! This is a bit of a porker". It has a bit of thickness about it, understandable because of what is packed into the chassis. But I had moments earlier been handling the incredibly svelte Xperia arc, so that could have had a bearing. It does have a very viewable 4" multi-touch screen that is very easy on the eye.

In portrait mode, the Xperia PLAY looks like any other Android handset with familiar icons and a row of four standard buttons along the bottom (Back, Home, Menu, Search). The left side sports a micro-USB and headphone sockets. And the right side has a volume rocker in the middle with Left and Right paddles for use in games.

Rotate the handset to landscape mode and slide out the gamepad and this is where the device takes on its games console persona. To the left and right are a classic set of Playstation control pads, with Menu, Select and Start buttons along the bottom. Centred between these two pads are a pair of "virtual analogue" controls. These are two touch-sensitive disks that mimic the analogue sticks on a regular Playstation controller.

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In use, all of the controls come completely to hand and will be totally familiar to any seasoned Playstation gamester. The analogue controls may be slightly less so because they do not physically move, but the feel seems very familiar and I would not expect people to find too much trouble adjusting.

In all other respects the Xperia PLAY is a completely stock Android handset with Sony Ericsson giving it minimal skinning.

Futures?
Sony Ericsson have a stated commitment to further develop and improve the Xperia PLAY, saying:
XperiaTM PLAY will run on Gingerbread (version 2.3), the latest version of Google’s AndroidTM platform. The XperiaTM PLAY will also be the first PlayStation Certified device. This means it will have access to PlayStation® game content provided through the PlayStation® Suite initiative, currently under development by Sony Computer Entertainment and due to launch later this calendar year.
This is quite interesting really. In the materials SE were showing the ability of the Xperia PLAY to "network" to deliver multi-player or collaborative gaming. While this may be nothing particularly new it does add a significant gaming capability to the new handset. Clearly, Sony Ericsson are in for the long haul with the Xperia PLAY. They need to be though. If these things are tied to 24 month contracts there has got to be a perceptible longevity to encourage people to buy.

So has my opinion changed? Well, yes and no. I certainly do look on the Xperia PLAY much more favourably for gamers, with its rated 5 hours of gameplay on a single charge. This device is likely to sell well to those ardent PS gamers, particularly if the games are reasonably priced in common with the competition on other Android handsets.

Would I have one?
No, because I am not a gamer by any stretch and so the very unique features of the Xperia PLAY would be wasted on me. But that would not in any way stop me from recommending this handset to someone who is very much more in tune with the Playstation games scene. I don't think they would be disappointed.

Availability and Price?
I did ask but the team were not able to say very much at this time - this handset is really hot out of the factory gates. Prices, tariffs and availability are all in the process of being worked out. The chaps at the event guessed that the Xperia PLAY would most likely be on a £40/24mth contract (assuming no up front cost for the handset). That would suggest that the SIM-free price could be the wrong side of £300.

Outside of the mobile networks it makes completely obvious sense for the Xperia PLAY to retail at the likes of Game and HMV. What an omission it would be if these were not there. But these stores are not equipped to sell mobile contracts, so will the buying public be prepared to lay out for SIM-free?

This is a high quality device and so I cannot see how, given the incumbent pricing model, SE could sell the Xperia PLAY for significantly less. But to shift out of retail stores the SIM-free price would need to be below £200 on day one! One to watch and see. There should be clarity over the next couple of weeks.