We now have some exciting news for those of you that are intending on purchasing the device, as according to Carly Page over at dialtosave.co.uk, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play has now arrived at O2 UK. What’s more is that customers have two color options to choose from: black or white.

O2 is offering the Xperia Play handset for free from £37 a month, which gives you unlimited texts, 900 minutes and 500Mb of data. The Android-based smartphone is also available to purchase on pay-as-you-go for £429.99, although some customers may think that’s a little bit on the expensive side.

As a reminder, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play features a 4-inch touch screen display, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and slide-out PlayStation keys. The Android handset is also in line for an operating system update, which is said to provide the smartphone with Facebook inside Xperia integration.

Will you be going out and buying the Xperia Play handset?

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In our article we will summarize some of the main points made by Engadget, however if you would like to see their fully detailed review check out this link.

Engadget scored the Xperia Play just 6/10, they were particularly impressed by the graphical performance, stereo speakers and gamepad, however were disappointed by its dim, “woeful” screen, poor video capture and lack of content.

After reading the review it is clear that one of the things which holds it back is the fact that there aren’t enough games which truly require a dedicated gamepad, obviously if the device gets a large following developers will invest some time into making games which utilize the Play’s dedicated controls.

As previously mentioned the display isn’t up to scratch, apparently the glare from the sun makes it impossible to play when you are in sunny conditions and there is no way to turn up the brightness either, such fundamental problems could be the difference in success and failure of this hybrid device, however currently there is not much on offer.

As you would expect build quality is pretty good and the slide-out mechanism seems solid, however just as we start talking about the good points we have to tell you that the cheap plastic material lets it down, apparently the glossy finish will scratch / mark easily and the back cover feels brittle.

Finally we must briefly mention the camera, its 5 megapixel sensor is pretty good for stills, however the video capture lets it down. There is no 720p video capture and the microphone muffles and distorts sounds, the 480p video captured is by no means awful, but not great either.

We have been put off the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play by Engadget’s findings, have you?

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Chloe Albanesius from PC Mag is reporting that the handset will be available to preorder starting on May 19. The handset will cost users $199.99 on a two year Verizon contract. The Xperia Play will run Android 2.3 Gingerbread and will come preloaded with seven games.

These include Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior, Crash Bandicoot, Madden NFL 11, Tetris, Star Battalion, and The Sims 3. You will also have over fifty other games to choose from for download at launch via V Cast Apps.

To recap the handset has a 4-inch multi-touch screen with a 5-megapxel rear facing camera, and is powered by 1GHz Snapdragon processor. The Xperia Play launched in Europe on April 1st but so far sales have been a little slow. Recent problems on the PlayStation Network wouldn’t have helped though.

Will you be ordering the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play?

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The game we are talking about is Hockey Nations 2011, which has previously been released for the Apple iPhone. In fact, according to Jon Jordan over at pocketgamer.co.uk, Keith gave the iPhone version a Pocket Gamer Silver award when he reviewed it.

UK developer Distinctive Wireless is said to have converted the Android version of its popular Hockey Nations 2011 game especially for the Xperia Play’s PlayStation-certified buttons and the analog controls. The game includes 6 modes, 40 city teams and 18 international teams.

It also features multiple camera angles, a multiplayer mode that enables users to play with friends via Bluetooth or local Wi-Fi and options such as proper offensive / defensive strategies. It also allows players to throw off their gloves and helmet and participate in a mini-game punch-up.

You can view a video of the game in action via the pocketgamer.co.uk website. Does Hockey Nations 2011 sound and look like a game that you’d enjoy playing?

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Joe Minihane over at T3.com is reporting in an article that that O2 have said in an official blog post that the Xperia Play is “nearly ready”. The handset has been held back by the other networks but was put down to shipping delays.

O2 have put the delay on their network down to buggy software which would have affected the experience owners would have had with the handset. O2 stated they had been thoroughly testing the software, and they are now satisfied the handset is almost ready to be released.

The trouble is O2 have not yet revealed an exact date for the Xperia Play to be released, and we don’t have any pricing plans for the handset. But this must be only days away now, and surely it is better to have the handset working properly before consumers get their hands on it.

Are you waiting for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play on O2?

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If you check out EuroGamer’s recent article you can see a list of 60 games which you will be able to download, we can also confirm that if you buy the Xperia Play from Orange UK it will come with the following games pre-installed: Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior, FIFA 2010, Sims 3, Star Battalion and Tetris. Also you may be glad to hear that Asphalt 6 will be free to download.

Some original PSX tiles will also be available, these are Cool Boarders 2, Destruction Derby, Jumping Jack Flash, MediEvil and Syphon Filter, all of these titles were great first-time round, my personal favorites back in the day were Syphone Filter and Cool Boarders 2.

As previously mentioned there are plenty of other games available, games which we think will be popular include Assassins Creed, Worms, Need for Speed SHIFT, Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock Mobile, Splinter Cell Conviction, Spiderman total Mayhem and Avatar.

All of the games mentioned above (and the rest which are mentioned on EuroGamer) will be available to download via the Xperia Play launcher, when downloading games via the Android Market you should ensure that the title has been optimized for the Xperia Play.

So then guys and girls which titles will you be purchasing? To be honest with you I would take any of the original PSX title (excluding Jumping Jack Flash), how about you?

More About: Android Market, Sony Ericsson, Sony Ericsson Xperia Play

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Now we have just received word that Vodafone UK and 3 have also delayed the Xperia Play’s April 1st launch. According to Johnny Cullen over at vg247.com, Vodafone sent out a customer notice on Wednesday night, announcing that it would not be able to provide them with their orders.

Sony Ericsson has recently confirmed that a ‘freight issue’ might possibly impact the number of Xperia Play phones that reach the UK in time for the April 1st launch. However, the company did issue a statement claiming that the upcoming handset should still be launching on Friday as expected.

Vodafone’s customer notice claimed that there would only be a small delay. They also stated that they are working closely with Sony Ericsson, to ensure that the phone is delivered to customers as soon as possible. Vodafone started taking pre-orders for the Xperia Play phone a couple of weeks ago.

Were you thinking of picking up the Xperia Play from O2, 3 or Vodafone UK?

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However, according to an article by Richard Meads over at pocketgamer.co.uk, the developer also confirmed that the sci-fi action adventure FPS game – which is said to be a clone of the hugely popular Halo video game – will in fact be an Xperia Play timed-exclusive when it is released.

The second installment, which is already available on iOS, in the series will then be released to other Android run devices one month after that. The original N.O.V.A. game was a huge success when it was first released back in December 2009, and even earned itself a Pocket Gamer Silver Award.

As mentioned in our previous article, the N.O.V.A. 2 game features a larger variety of weapons and powers compared to the original. The game also features an improved AI, as well as the added bonus of the multiplayer maps now having space for up to 10 players.

Are you thinking about buying the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play? If you are, would you consider buying the N.O.V.A. 2 game along with it?

More About: Google Android OS, N.O.V.A. 2, Sony Ericsson Xperia Play

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According to Kate Solomon over at techradar.com, the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) run handset was due to go on sale as from Friday, April 1st, but O2 decided to delay the UK release after they discovered software bugs that were causing issues with the performance of the Xperia Play.

Stuart Hibberd – the head of the network’s testing team – said that the company had been testing the phone non-stop for several weeks, and discovered bugs in the software. Hibberd claimed that if the bugs were not fixed, customers would not have a great experience.

He continued on to explain that the team had been working with Sony Ericsson in order to fix the said bugs, but unfortunately had not been able to get them ironed out in time for them to launch the handset on April 1st as the company had originally scheduled.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play comes with six pre-installed games, and features a slide out gaming controller and a full touch screen. If you didn’t already know, O2 customers will also be able to pick up the O2-exclusive white version of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play at some stage.

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Video game developer Gameloft – known for creating mobile games that are clones of other titles – has just announced a new game for the upcoming device called BackStab, which according to a recent article by Will Wilson at pocketgamer.co.uk was teased just last week.

The BackStab game – which is a free-roaming action-adventure set in the 18th century – places gamers in the boots of Henry Blake, who is wrongly accused of treason and is out looking for justice. Gameloft promises that the game features a dynamic combat system that involves counter-attacks etc.

BackStab will also feature side quests and diversion from the game’s main story, including races and duels. The upcoming game will only be an Xperia Play-exclusive for one month, and then it will become available for other mobile gamers.

Although we don’t know a specific release date, we do know that it will be arriving sometime in the spring for an undisclosed price. Is this a game that interests you?

More About: Google Android OS, Sony Ericsson Xperia Play

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