Xperia Play launches in 11 markets, US has to wait
Hitting six more markets over the next two weeks
Published: 1 April, 2011
READ MORE: US | Sony Ericsson | Tablet | Android
It was Sony Ericsson's worst kept secret and now after being officially announced earlier this year the Xperia Play smartphone is available in 11 markets. These markets include the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia, Hong Kong and Taiwan but not the US. Anyone itching to get their hands on the handset stateside won't have long to wait though as it is due to be released with Verizon this spring.
The phone is equal parts a handheld gaming console and smartphone as it combines the familiar gamepad layout of Sony's PSP and the form factor of an Xperia smartphone. Overall it bears more of a resemblance to Sony's ill-fated PSPGo device though this has far more promise than the failed console.
With a 1GHz processor, Adreno GPU and 512MB it's not the highest spec'd device out there for the £500 ($800) price tag which it is currently offered with but it's said to deliver 60fps when gaming and will be running Android 2.3.
A big selling point, for gamers at least, will be the 60 titles that the handset will launch with. The games will be available to download from the Xperia PLAY launcher and several big titles such as FIFA 2010 and The Sims 3 come pre-installed.
"It's great to get Xperia PLAY into consumers' hands at last. This is just the start and the future is exciting based on all the interest and support we have from the game industry. A steady stream of fresh innovative content will be coming to Xperia PLAY over the coming months." said Dominic Neil-Dwyer from Sony Ericsson.
In addition to being able to download new titles the Xperia Play will be the first PlayStation certified device which will allow users to purchase classic PlayStation games adapted for the phone.
Despite all the hype the phone launched quietly in the UK amid rumours it would be delayed and so far it appears to have had a much quieter reception than the iPad 2 and 3DS.
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