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AT&T plans to sell the Sony Xperia Play 4G, a smartphone capable of playing PlayStation Portable games, on September 18 for $50 with a two-year contract.
The Play 4G runs Android 2.3 and features a 1-gigahertz processor, 4-inch touch screen and 5-megapixel camera. AT&T's model has 4G capabilities, and includes a charging and multimedia dock.
The Play stands out from other smartphones with its slide-out controls for gaming, in addition to pre-loaded seven games, including "Madden NFL 11," "The Sims 3," "Crash Bandicoot," "Dungeon Defenders," and "Asphalt 6 Adrenaline."
The marriage of Sony's PSP gaming system's to an Android smartphone allows users to download 150 different titles from the device's "Get Games" application. Analysts have criticized the PSP's library of games as being too weak for a dedicated gaming system, but many of the titles users can download on the Xperia Play have much stronger graphics and deeper gameplay than average smartphone games.
But while the Play offers one of the most advanced smartphone gaming experiences, the device has struggled to find an audience on other carriers.
Dedicated gamers steered clear of the device because not all of the PSP's games are available to download. Sony is also set to release its next-generation portable gaming system, the PSP Vita, at the end of the year, making the original PSP outdated.
Meanwhile, customers looking for a top-of-the-line smartphone will also likely pass over the Xperia Play in favor of a device with a more advanced camera and faster processor.
Sony may have had big aspirations for the Play during its development. But at this point, the new Play 4G may be its attempt to extend the life cycle of the PSP rather than a real attempt to create a revolutionary hybrid device. |
