Sony Ericsson Launches the Xperia Play

Sony Ericsson created a new market in mobile handsets as it announced the launch of the first dedicated gaming mobile smartphone, the Xperia™ PLAY. Choosing the Mobile World Congress to make the big announcement, the new handset, widely referred to as the PlayStation phone, has already attracted unprecedented attention across the world.

Aptly titled PLAY, the new gaming smartphone will be part of the most entertaining smartphone collection, the Xperia™ range. The Xperia™ PLAY will come pre-loaded with a number of true PlayStation™ games optimized for mobile. As the new smartphone will be powered by the most up-to-date Android platform, Gingerbread, users will have easy access to the Android Market™ where they will be able to access and download the latest games to add to their collection.

With a compact and stylish appearance, the Xperia™ PLAY features the identifiable and characteristic Sony Ericsson shape, whilst maintaining the classic PlayStation™ controller design for the ultimate gaming experience. The Android mobile has specialist gaming keys hidden in its retractable pad, including the widely-recognized dual analog inputs.

Ben Padley, Head of Digital and CRM for Sony Ericsson, said: Sony Ericsson aim was to make the Xperia™ PLAY the ultimate gaming experience and we are confident that existing and new users of Sony Ericsson smartphones will not be disappointed; it not just a PSP phone that makes calls, but a remarkable android smartphone that boasts PlayStation™ certification.

Gaming and mobile phone enthusiasts alike have been waiting in anticipation for the release of the Xperia™ PLAY, which is the first smartphone to combine the worlds of Android, Sony Ericsson and revolutionary mobile gaming into one beautiful, powerful and easy-to-use device. People will be able to purchase our new, uncompromised smartphone in selected markets, globally, from the end of March.