According to the tipster, the XPERIA Play was being publicly manhandled in London; they were too coy to interrupt and ask for some playtime of their own, but they did snap a sneaky photo of the sliding smartphone. The handset has a 4-inch 854 x 480 resolution touchscreen, 5-megapixel camera and runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread; we’ve also heard separately that it will launch on Orange UK, though we don’t know if it will be a carrier exclusive or not.

After today’s Sony NGP launch, meanwhile, we also know that the XPERIA Play – while seemingly not getting PlayStation branding – will get access to the PlayStation Suite, Sony’s new gaming platform and PS Store for titles that run on Android phones. That’s expected to be populated with PSOne classics initially, though Sony is also inviting Android game developers to have their titles certified and included in the on-device download store.

The NGP will also be able to access the PS Store and use the same games as Android devices. While Sony isn’t announcing any specific titles or handsets that will use it, we’re assuming that the PlayStation Phone aka XPERIA Play will make its official debut at MWC 2011 next month, and be the first Android 2.3 device to get access once it launches.

There’ll also be a PlayStation Certified licensing scheme for hardware manufacturers, which presumably will apply not only to smartphones themselves but to accessories; after all, not all devices will come with the XPERIA Play’s slide-out gaming control pad. More details at MWC 2011.

[via Android Community]

Press Release:

Sony Computer Entertainment to Unveil ‘PlayStation®Suite,’ Delivering the World of PlayStation® to Android™ Based Portable Devices

Simultaneously Launching “PlayStation®Certified” License Program to Provide PlayStation® Content and Development Support for Android™ Based Portable Devices

TOKYO, Jan. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) today unveiled “PlayStation®Suite” (PS Suite), delivering the PlayStation® experience to Android™ based portable devices*(1). Through this entirely new initiative, users will be able to enjoy PlayStation content on an open operating system for the first time in PlayStation history.

In the dramatically evolving and diversifying mobile market, the number of users who enjoy games casually on a variety of devices including mobile phones, smart-phones and tablet PCs, has been increasing significantly. By offering “PlayStation quality” content to this rapidly growing market, SCE will not only deliver the PlayStation experience to a wider base of users around the globe, but will also be able to offer game developers and publishers the potential to further expand their business opportunities to these devices.
In providing the PlayStation experience on Android based portable devices, SCE will commence a “PlayStation®Certified” license program for hardware manufacturers. Through this program, SCE will offer necessary support, including development support as well as logo licensing, to ensure the delivery of PlayStation quality experience across various devices.
On the software front, SCE plans to provide PS Suite content within this calendar year, starting with original PlayStation games*(2) (PS one® classics) that will allow users to enjoy “PlayStation quality” gameplay on their Android based portable devices. SCE also plans to open PlayStation®Store where users will be able to download content in an easy to use environment, directly via the Android based portable devices. Moreover, SCE will provide a new game development environment in an effort to ensure new and compelling content is delivered on PS Suite, which will also offer opportunities for a wider base of developers and publishers to further expand their business on various portable devices.
Newly developed content for PS Suite can also be enjoyed on the next generation portable entertainment system (codename: NGP), which SCE announced today. Users who have never experienced PlayStation content can get a taste of the PlayStation experience through PS Suite and from there, they can enjoy the ultimate portable entertainment experience that is only possible on NGP.
SCE will vigorously enhance the entertainment world, delivering the PlayStation experience to a wider base of users.
*(1) Android™ 2.3 or beyond is required.
*(2) PS one game console software title. We will announce the titles when ready.

The biggest question we have – how well the touch-sensitive joysticks work – still goes unanswered, since there aren’t any games available to test them with, and emulators seemingly wouldn’t map them. However, as you can see in the video below, general gaming did work, and the Android 2.3 Gingerbread smartphone seems reasonably swift with its 1GHz processor and Adreno 205 graphics.

The software appears to be unfinished – WiFi doesn’t work, for instance – but the separated Timescape and Mediascape apps we saw on the XPERIA Arc are present and Sony Ericsson’s media app plays 720p H.264 with no problems. There’s also a useful widget overview view, triggered with a pinch gesture.

So far so good, but the real differentiator from the ever-more-crowded Android marketplace will be Sony Ericsson’s line-up of games and how much the XPERIA Play costs; those factors we won’t know until MWC next month. SlashGear will be there to bring back all the official details, rest assured.

R3 Media Network

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Video demo after the cut

Sony Ericsson’s Timescape app is preloaded on this particular prototype, and we’re guessing it’s a similar build to what we’ve seen on the XPERIA Arc. The company has unlinked Timescape – and its Mediascape sibling – from the underlying OS, leaving it as more a widget than a baked-in service.

What remains to be seen is how Sony Ericsson has managed to differentiate the XPERIA Play – as the smartphone is believed to launch as – from other Android devices. Much of that will depend on the portfolio of games available, and whether they are exclusive to the PlayStation Phone or not.

[via Android Community]

Inside there’s a Qualcomm MSM7x30 series chipset – interesting, since previous reports suggested the QSD8255 – paired with Broadcom wireless. No great surprises anywhere, but it’s getting increasingly difficult for Sony Ericsson to say “no comment” and keep a straight face. If this doesn’t get official at MWC 2011 next month, we’ll eat our proverbial hat.

[via Android Community]

It’s unclear at this stage whether that’s functionality the shipping version of the XPERIA Play will actually support. Reports earlier from Chinese sites that acquired a PlayStation Phone prototype suggested they had been able to run a ROM emulator with some degree of success; this particular prototype could be doing just that, though Sony Ericsson’s plans for official gaming on the smartphone are likely to be more streamlined (and controlled).

Still, it’s confirmation that the PlayStation Phone’s processor and GPU are up to the job, and that should come as good news to the homebrew community which is itching to get its hands on the device. We’re expecting Sony Ericsson to make the smartphone official at MWC 2011 next month.

[via Android Community]

They claim it was a “70-percent success”, which doesn’t really mean much; needless to say, Sony Ericsson will likely have locked down gaming options on the handset when it launches anyway, so that you’re forced to use their own ROMs rather than cracked or copied ones. As for the comparisons, the smartphone gets up close and personal with the PSP-1000, the PSP Go, DSi, GBA SP and other Sony Ericcson handsets.

The PlayStation Phone was last seen in the wild on Friday, complete with some preliminary benchmarking and a “PlayStation Pocket” app store, seemingly for games downloads. We’re expecting Sony Ericsson to officially launch it at Mobile World Congress next month.

[via Android Community]

Other hardware specs include a 4-inch touchscreen running at 854 x 480, a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash on the back, 512MB of RAM/ROM and a microSD card slot. Sony Ericsson has also dropped on dual-microphones, presumably for noise cancellation. The battery is 1,500mAh but the XPERIA Play still manages to be smaller than the PSP Go.

IT168 did some benchmarking and found that the PlayStation Phone could hit 1,733 in Quadrant and 59.1fps in Neocore; remember, this is unlikely to be finalized software, so we could well see improvements again when the device launches for real. Under it all is Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

[via Android Community]

Unfortunately, there aren’t a flood of details herein. We do get to see that the handset, featuring that unique slide-out gamepad, is running Android 2.3 — which is in line with the Gingerbread rumors, and not necessarily the version number we had been hearing about in the past. As for the logo on the bottom-left, the four button Sony PlayStation logo can be seen clearly. Plus, the XPERIA branding is clear as day. We’ll have to wait for Sony Ericsson to pull the curtain off this device for a bit longer, it seems.

[via Android Community]