Sony Ericsson Xperia Play
Encyclopedia
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, codenamed Zeus, is a handheld game console
Handheld game console
A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...

 smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...

 produced by Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB is a joint venture established on October 1, 2001 by the Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to manufacture mobile phones....

. Under the Xperia
XPERIA
Xperia is the range of Sony Ericsson handsets which are smartphones. Since 2010 the company's main focus has been on these devices which now account for more than half of all sales. Xperia is derived from the word 'experience' which was used in the branding of the Xperia X1 in the catch line, "I ...

 smartphone brand running Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the device is the first device to be part of the PlayStation Certified program which means that it can play PlayStation Suite
PlayStation Suite
PlayStation Suite is an upcoming software framework that will be used to provide downloadable PlayStation content for devices that meet the forthcoming PlayStation Certified requirements. Currently, this includes devices that both run Android 2.3 and meet specific unannounced hardware requirements,...

 games. The device was originally thought to carry the PlayStation branding, though this has been clarified to be a certification of being part of the PlayStation Certified program.

The device was revealed officially for the first time in a Super Bowl ad on Sunday, February 6, 2011. On February 13, 2011, at Mobile World Congress
Mobile World Congress
The GSMA Mobile World Congress is the combination of the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry and a conference featuring prominent Chief Executives representing mobile operators, device manufacturers, technology providers, vendors and content owners from across the world...

 (MWC) 2011, it was announced that the device would be shipping globally in March 2011, with a launch lineup of around 50 software titles. In the US, the Xperia Play was initially available only on the Verizon
Verizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....

 network, until the release of the Xperia Play 4G on AT&T. In Mexico it is available through Telcel
Telcel
Telcel is Mexico's largest mobile phone carrier, owned by América Móvil. Founded in 1989 and based in Mexico City, Telcel is the leading provider of wireless communications services in Mexico. As of December 31, 2006, Telcel's cellular network covered more than 63% of the geographical area of...

.In the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, carriers O₂
O2 (United Kingdom)
Telefónica UK Limited is a telecommunications, internet and financial services provider in the United Kingdom owned by Telefónica, forming part of its Telefónica Europe division...

, Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...

, Orange, T-Mobile
T-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...

 and Three
Hutchison 3G
3 is a brand name under which several UMTS-based mobile phone networks and Broadband Internet Providers are operated in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom...

 have confirmed that they intend to stock the handset. In Canada, the device is carried exclusively by Rogers Wireless
Rogers Wireless
Rogers Wireless is a wireless telecommunications provider offering mobile phone and data services throughout Canada using Global System for Mobile Communications and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System technology. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications...

.

Hardware

The device is a horizontally sliding phone with its original form resembling the Xperia X10
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is a smartphone in the Xperia series designed by Sony Ericsson. It is the first Sony Ericsson smartphone to utilize the Android operating system. The phone was shipped with Android 1.6, but an upgrade to 2.1 was made available starting October 31, 2010, with a gradual...

 while the slider below resembles the slider of the PSP Go
PSP Go
The PSP Go is a version of the PlayStation Portable handheld game console manufactured by Sony. It was released on October 1, 2009 in American and European territories, and on November 1 in Japan. It was revealed prior to E3 2009 through Sony's Qore VOD service...

. The slider features a D-pad
D-pad
A D-pad is a flat, usually thumb-operated directional control with one button on each point, found on nearly all modern video game console gamepads, game controllers, on the remote control units of some television and DVD players, and smart phones...

 in an indented area on the left side, a set of standard PlayStation buttons (
,
,
and
) in an indented area on the right, a long rectangular touchpad
Touchpad
A touchpad is a pointing device featuring a tactile sensor, a specialized surface that can translate the motion and position of a user's fingers to a relative position on screen. Touch pads are a common feature of laptop computers, and they are also used as a substitute for a mouse where desk...

 in the middle, start and select buttons in an indented area on the bottom right corner, an option button on the bottom left corner, and two shoulder buttons (L and R) on the back of the device. The original form, has a long rectangular touchscreen, and four buttons below, for back, option, home, and search. The device features a 1 GHz
GHZ
GHZ or GHz may refer to:# Gigahertz .# Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state — a quantum entanglement of three particles.# Galactic Habitable Zone — the region of a galaxy that is favorable to the formation of life....

 Qualcomm
Qualcomm
Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...

 Snapdragon processor, a Qualcomm Adreno 205 GPU, a display measuring 4 inches (101.6 mm) (854 × 480), a 5 megapixel camera, 512 MB RAM
Random-access memory
Random access memory is a form of computer data storage. Today, it takes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in any order with a worst case performance of constant time. Strictly speaking, modern types of DRAM are therefore not random access, as data is read in...

, 512 MB internal storage, and a micro-USB connector. It supports microSD
Secure Digital
Secure Digital is a non-volatile memory card format developed by the SD Card Association for use in portable devices. The SD technology is used by more than 400 brands across dozens of product categories and more than 8,000 models, and is considered the de-facto industry standard.Secure Digital...

 cards, versus the Memory Stick
Memory Stick
Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998, and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks...

 variants used in PSP consoles.

The device features the Android 2.3 Gingerbread firmware, with early prototypes running Android 2.2, and it is supposedly one of two successors to the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...

 being released this year. Also, the device will apparently run on something known as "Z-System"; though it is unclear what that entails, Sony Ericsson has filed several trademarks for "Z-System".

PlayStation Suite

The device is said to feature games graphically within the range of similar portable devices and will play these games via an application currently known as the PlayStation Suite
PlayStation Suite
PlayStation Suite is an upcoming software framework that will be used to provide downloadable PlayStation content for devices that meet the forthcoming PlayStation Certified requirements. Currently, this includes devices that both run Android 2.3 and meet specific unannounced hardware requirements,...

. It changes the interface of the device from that of a phone to the XrossMediaBar
XrossMediaBar
The XrossMediaBar is a graphical user interface developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The interface features icons that are spread horizontally across the screen. Navigation moves the icons, instead of a cursor. These icons are used as categories to organize the options available to the user...

, closely resembling the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...

. A dedicated section in the Android Market
Android Market
Android Market is an online software store developed by Google for Android OS devices. Its gateway is an application program called "Market", preinstalled on most Android devices, allows users to browse and download mobile apps published by third-party developers...

 specifically for games for the system allowing users to download games on the go is also added. Titles shown off internally on the device include older PlayStation games and newer PSP games, including God of War
God of War (series)
God of War is a series of action-adventure video games based on Greek mythology.The main trilogy—God of War I, II, & III—in the series were developed by Sony Computer Entertainment's Santa Monica division , with Ready at Dawn Studios developing the PSP and Javaground the mobile phone installment...

and LittleBigPlanet together with plans for future games incorporating augmented reality similar to Invizimals
Invizimals
Invizimals is a PlayStation Portable augmented reality video game developed by Novarama, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. It is a collectible creature game, and is bundled with the PSP's camera attachment on launch....

. The prices of the games are also expected to be under US$10, considerably less than the PlayStation Portable's price range of less than US$40 per game.

Android

The device is compatible with Android software, which can be downloaded from the Android Market
Android Market
Android Market is an online software store developed by Google for Android OS devices. Its gateway is an application program called "Market", preinstalled on most Android devices, allows users to browse and download mobile apps published by third-party developers...

. Many games are optimised for use with the device's additional gaming controls.

Rumors

Reports of a PlayStation smartphone have existed as early as 2006 when Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...

 filed a patent for a PlayStation Phone. Rumors of such a device resurfaced again in 2007 when a Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB is a joint venture established on October 1, 2001 by the Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to manufacture mobile phones....

 executive announced that they were developing a device for gaming, and plans to use the XrossMediaBar
XrossMediaBar
The XrossMediaBar is a graphical user interface developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The interface features icons that are spread horizontally across the screen. Navigation moves the icons, instead of a cursor. These icons are used as categories to organize the options available to the user...

 in its devices. In June 2007, head of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...

, David Reeves, denied the existence of such a device saying that he had no knowledge of such a device being developed. During the 2007 Games Convention
Games Convention
The Games Convention, sometimes called the Leipzig Games Convention and abbreviated as GC, was an annual video game event held in Leipzig, Germany, first held in 2002. Besides video games, the event also covers Infotainment, Hardware, and Edutainment...

, Peter Ahnegard, an executive at Sony Ericsson, further fueled rumors of a PlayStation Phone, when asked about the device he said that "It's obviously something that we're looking at but right now I can't really comment."

In early 2008, the official Sony Magazine
Sony Magazine
Sony Magazine is a quarterly magazine published by Haymarket Network on behalf of Sony Corporation UK with articles on film, music, games, television, sound, vision, gadgets, and adventure. It is only available from Sony Centre branches in the UK and through the magazine's website. The magazine...

 reported that "a new PSP-style phone is apparently in development." In early 2009, it was reported that plans for a PlayStation Phone has been cancelled as Sony were unwilling to license the PlayStation brand to Sony Ericsson unless Sony would produce the handset independently. This subsequently prompted a fallout between Sony and Sony Ericsson. In May 2009, rumors of such a device arose once again when then head of Sony Ericsson, Hideki Komiyama, told The Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....

 in an interview that as part of his recovery plan for Sony Ericsson, he would like to combine the PlayStation brand with their phones similar to how they had created the Walkman
Walkman
Walkman is a Sony brand tradename originally used for portable audio cassette, and now used to market Sony's portable audio and video players as well as a line of Sony Ericsson mobile phones...

 and Cybershot lines of mobile phones. In June 2009, The Nikkei
Nihon Keizai Shimbun
is one of the largest media corporations in Japan. Nikkei specializes in publishing financial, business and industry news. Its main news publications include:* Nihon Keizai Shimbun , a leading economic newspaper....

 reported that Sony Ericsson were developing a "cellphone-game gear hybrid" as a competitor to Apple's iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...

, combining the functionality of a mobile phone and a handheld gaming device.

Images surface

In early 2010, the Wall Street Journal reported that Sony was getting ready to release a smartphone able to download and play video games. The first solid details about the phone came via Engadget
Engadget
Engadget is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. Though on appearance Engadget functions much like a blog and may be defined as such, much of its editorial content takes the form of an online magazine...

 in August 2010, reporting many leaked details about the device including that it runs Android, it is a sliding phone with a button configuration similar to the PSP Go
PSP Go
The PSP Go is a version of the PlayStation Portable handheld game console manufactured by Sony. It was released on October 1, 2009 in American and European territories, and on November 1 in Japan. It was revealed prior to E3 2009 through Sony's Qore VOD service...

, with some technical specifications. Pictures of the device were leaked to the internet when Engadget released pictures of a prototype running Android 2.2, a PSP Go
PSP Go
The PSP Go is a version of the PlayStation Portable handheld game console manufactured by Sony. It was released on October 1, 2009 in American and European territories, and on November 1 in Japan. It was revealed prior to E3 2009 through Sony's Qore VOD service...

 like form factor with a touch pad and microSD card support. Several sites however, have questioned the legitimacy of the images of the device in question, though Engadget has rebuked these theories and shown their proven track record of leaked devices which include the iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...

, 2010 MacBook Air
MacBook Air
The MacBook Air family is a line of Apple ultraportable Macintosh notebook computers.The first-generation MacBook Air was a 13.3"-only model, previously promoted as the World's Thinnest Notebook, introduced at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 15, 2008. It featured a custom Intel Merom CPU...

 and the Nexus One
Nexus One
The Nexus One was Google's flagship smartphone manufactured by Taiwan's HTC Corporation. It became available on January 5, 2010 and uses the Android open source mobile operating system...

. More images of the device were released by Engadget on October 29, 2010 showing the device running Android 2.2 Froyo and showing its model as "Zeus", it adds that there are several of these devices in internal testing stages with at least one device running Android 2.3 Gingerbread. A video showing the device in the wild in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 was leaked on December 1, 2010, It showed the device running Android 2.3, and reported that the device's final name would be the Sony Ericsson Z1 though this has not been confirmed by multiple sources.

Two days later, more videos were leaked. They were far clearer, showing the device clearly, with a "PlayStation" icon on the phone which displays a XrossMediaBar
XrossMediaBar
The XrossMediaBar is a graphical user interface developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The interface features icons that are spread horizontally across the screen. Navigation moves the icons, instead of a cursor. These icons are used as categories to organize the options available to the user...

-themed interface when selected. On January 5, 2011, Engadget
Engadget
Engadget is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. Though on appearance Engadget functions much like a blog and may be defined as such, much of its editorial content takes the form of an online magazine...

 published more photos of what seems to be the final design for the device as it bears both the PlayStation and Xperia brands which weren't on the prototypes. The day after, several other clearer photos and videos of the device was leaked revealing what seems to be its final design, specs, and its benchmark score of 59.1 frames per second. On January 10, 2011 a video showing the device playing original PlayStation games was released. Though it is unclear whether the games were being played through official software or an emulator
Emulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...

 of the original PlayStation console. On January 12, 2011 a Chinese website released pictures of what looked like the device disassembled with the parts spread out and the casing removed.

Official announcement

On February 6, 2011, Sony Ericsson created an event for the Xperia Play on their Facebook page.

In late January or early February, a shortened version of an advert made for airing during the Super Bowl was leaked on several websites. On February 6, 2011, the device was officially announced with the broadcast of the full version of this ad during the 2011 Super Bowl. On February 13, 2011 more details were released by Sony Ericsson.

Release

On April 1, 2011, the device was released in the UK, Ireland and Spain. On April 28, 2011, it was launched in Canada, exclusively to Rogers
Rogers Wireless
Rogers Wireless is a wireless telecommunications provider offering mobile phone and data services throughout Canada using Global System for Mobile Communications and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System technology. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications...

. The US launch is officially scheduled for Spring 2011, and while a time frame of mid-April was initially given, the device's launch was pushed back to May 26. In Indonesia, the device was launched on XL Axiatta network on July 29, 2011. On September 18, 2011, the Xperia Play 4G was released for AT&T, it features HSPA+ for faster speeds and it comes in a Stealth Blue color.


Android updates

On September 8, 2011 Sony Ericsson confirmed that the Xperia Play, and all Xperia phones released in 2011, shall receive an update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. More information on this upgrade was announced on November 15, 2011.

See also

  • PlayStation Portable
    PlayStation Portable
    The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...

  • PlayStation Vita
  • List of Android devices
  • Xperia
    XPERIA
    Xperia is the range of Sony Ericsson handsets which are smartphones. Since 2010 the company's main focus has been on these devices which now account for more than half of all sales. Xperia is derived from the word 'experience' which was used in the branding of the Xperia X1 in the catch line, "I ...

     range of smartphones
  • N-Gage
    N-Gage
    The N-Gage is a mobile telephone and handheld game system by Nokia, based on the Nokia Series 60 platform, released in October 2003. It began sales on October 7, 2003. The N-Gage QD replaced the original N-Gage in 2004....

  • Sony Tablet
    Sony Tablet
    Sony Tablet is the brand name of a series of tablet computers which run Google's operating system Android 3.1 Honeycomb. They were informally announced on 26 April 2011, using the code names, by the Sony Corporation in the Sony IT Mobile Meeting...

    s S and P

External links

Official website
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