Database Users

[Q] HTC Aria ARMv6 vs. ARMv7

I'm a new HTC Aria owner and with all the research I did before my purchase I seemed to have missed the fact that this is an ARMv6 processor. I see now that certain applications require ARMv7 (Google Earth is an example), or seem to prefer ARMv7 (Firefox Fennec).
So here's my question: Should I care that much about ARMv6 vs. ARMv7? Will I end up unable to use most (or perhaps "key") Market-Place applications because of the "old" chip?
I have two weeks to return this device or I'm stuck. And I know I'm sort of asking a loaded question. But I'd like to hear some ranting and raving on both sides of the issue, so I can read, think, and make a better-informed choice.
Let me thank everyone in advance for some useful, civil, discussion! ;-)

The reason I kept my aria was for its size. It fits perfect in my pocket. Other android devices boast screen size but the larger devices feel awkward. I haven't had any issues with what I do on my phone. It really boils down to what you look for in a phone.
Sent from my Liberty using XDA App

wpscully said:
I'm a new HTC Aria owner and with all the research I did before my purchase I seemed to have missed the fact that this is an ARMv6 processor. I see now that certain applications require ARMv7 (Google Earth is an example), or seem to prefer ARMv7 (Firefox Fennec).
So here's my question: Should I care that much about ARMv6 vs. ARMv7? Will I end up unable to use most (or perhaps "key") Market-Place applications because of the "old" chip?
I have two weeks to return this device or I'm stuck. And I know I'm sort of asking a loaded question. But I'd like to hear some ranting and raving on both sides of the issue, so I can read, think, and make a better-informed choice.
Let me thank everyone in advance for some useful, civil, discussion! ;-)
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Yes, you will regret it... I know I did... the Aria seems fine at the beginning.. but them there come the limitations of an old chip.... and is not fun anymore... so no Full Flash,, no google earth, no firefox.... no cool 3d games... no 720p video recording, etc... I'm waiting for my Samsung Vibrant to arrive tomorrow... so I can sell the Aria....

eortizr said:
Yes, you will regret it... I know I did... the Aria seems fine at the beginning.. but them there come the limitations of an old chip.... and is not fun anymore... so no Full Flash,, no google earth, no firefox.... no cool 3d games... no 720p video recording, etc... I'm waiting for my Samsung Vibrant to arrive tomorrow... so I can sell the Aria....
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to each his own

ryan92084 said:
to each his own
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Amen.
Honestly, when you are shopping for a phone there are so many choices that it is almost like car shopping. You commit to two years and are basically married to the thing. The reasons why you buy an Aria over a Captivate are because of its size, it's construction, it's form factor (subjective, sure, but this is a DAMN SEXY phone), etc. It can do many dinky doinky things just fine (push email, calendar, yadda yadda). But if your desire is to have something that is more "fully loaded" so that you can run any app, then yes, get something more hard core.
I use DVD Fab on my home PC to rip movie files into WMV format, and with ES File Explorer I can watch "The Godfather" with my stereo bluetooth headset while on the eliptical at the gym. I use an eReader, I social network, and I play all my music while I study/workout/drive somewhere.
These are my reasons for owning an Aria, but every pot has a lid and your mileage my vary.

As it's been said, it's really your own decision, but I thought I'd comment on the few apps you mentioned. The things you said you're missing out on are pretty much Flash, Google Earth, Fennec not being optimized, and maybe some higher quality video support.
Flash is the big one here since on the basic web it does help make browsing a full featured experience. So if you browse the web a ton and make use of Flash then you'll notice it. For me I don't really notice a lack of flash, especially since there's an app for a lot of stuff that would normally use it. Also, more things are going to HTML5 and away from Flash.
Google Earth is honestly just a toy on the phone. I can see having fun with it, but not any practical uses. Firefox Fennec is honestly bloated. Even if it did run well on the phone it's current install is 33mb. That's pretty large for a phone app. I use Chrome and Chrome to Phone to sync bookmarks and the like. As far as video support goes, the Aria doesn't have a high resolution and it's not really a media-centric phone. If you're planning on watching a lot of stuff I'd say go for the Captivate.
Anyway, I love my Aria. It was inexpensive, it's small, yet still powerful, and I think it works great for any practical uses.

I've been using my Aria for 2 months, and I've experienced no "limitations". I watch youtube videos, download market apps, play games, take pictures, record movies, listen to music, browse the internet, post on forums, plan trips.
I haven't found one thing yet that I wanted to do with my phone that I couldn't. I've used a Captivate, and I still prefer my Aria, especially now that we have CM6 w/ FroYo.
But this is just my experience. Your mileage may vary.
Sent from my Liberty using XDA App

I have to agree with the others. I've been an Aria owner for a little over two months so far. This little phone is a quite capable device. I got a chance to fool around with the captivate and idk but it didn't really feel right. Sure it probably has the best hardware atm but in reality, it's still a samsung. Never been really a fan of samsung, sorry.
As for flash 10.1, I read page with a list of all the phones that were to get flash. The Aria was one of the phones listed..I think it was listed on gizmodo or engadget, one of those sites. I thought it was interesting seeing it there. Now I can't seem to find the site but I swear it was listed lol.
Anyways this is my first actual smartphone and I'm quite happy with it. I was in the prehistoric age with my SE W810i lol...I figured this phone will keep me occupied till the dual cores with better battery life come out =P
Edit btw..this thread may be of interest to you:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=767565

well.. I got my Samsung Vibrant yesterday... I have to say... the Vibrant is superior to the Aria in every aspect.
Is so thin,, it fits better in the back pocket that the Aria, after applying the lag fix the phone is extremely fast and smooth. The screen is just amazing when compared to the Aria... ahhh and watching movies is a hole new experience... Now I can play the 3D games I like... like (Let's Golf and Asphalt 3d), now I have Live wallpapers without lags. 720p Video Recording... whoooo... and I can stream those movies right to my TV using DLNA. the Aria is a cute little phone... but is like comparing a Mini S (Aria) vs. Porsche 911 (Vibrant).

Mhyst said:
Amen.
Honestly, when you are shopping for a phone there are so many choices that it is almost like car shopping. You commit to two years and are basically married to the thing. The reasons why you buy an Aria over a Captivate are because of its size, it's construction, it's form factor (subjective, sure, but this is a DAMN SEXY phone), etc. It can do many dinky doinky things just fine (push email, calendar, yadda yadda). But if your desire is to have something that is more "fully loaded" so that you can run any app, then yes, get something more hard core.
I use DVD Fab on my home PC to rip movie files into WMV format, and with ES File Explorer I can watch "The Godfather" with my stereo bluetooth headset while on the eliptical at the gym. I use an eReader, I social network, and I play all my music while I study/workout/drive somewhere.
These are my reasons for owning an Aria, but every pot has a lid and your mileage my vary.
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Can't agree more. To me the Captivate is too bulky in comparison, the Aria is quite the attractive phone. While it may not have the size screen the Captivate does, it is still an impressive screen. The previous poster mentioned being able to play 3-D games on the Captivate, but I'm not sure if that was meant to say the Aria can't or...? I don't play a lot of games on my phone, I use it generally more for music, video, organization, etc. but I do have some games, including Let's Golf and while I'm sure it runs better on the Captivate, I don't have any issues running and playing it on the Aria. Also, I never have any issues with LWP lagging. To be honest, in CM6, I never have any performance issues whatsoever, granted I don't do much 3-D gaming, but I did buy it for it's smartphone features, not really to game (obviously you may be more interested in gaming than I).
I had the opportunity to trade my Aria in for a Captivate, with about 2 weeks to think it over, in which time I did a lot of reading and used the Captivate in the store several times, and this was pre-CM6. I 100% do not regret my decision in staying with the Aria. The device is quite capable of majority of what you will throw it's way and it'll definitely do it well. Just to put this out there, I know MANY Droid users that are still using their Droid's today without a single complaint as far as performance, and some of their specs are slightly lower than the Aria. If you want a powerhouse, the Captivate is clearly the better choice, but you shouldn't let lack of power deter you from buying an Aria, because it definitely holds its own. Plus, in MY opinion, HTC > Samsung hands down in countless ways; construction, quality, feel, support, etc.
As a side note, there is a Kernal out there to overclock it. I personally haven't used it but my guess it'll bring you within about 200mhz of the Captivate
Oh, and one last thing. Be sure to not take the comments here as immediate fact (in either direction), not accusing, but it was almost implied that the Aria is not capable of certain things that it really is. Make sure to do some more of your own research before you make that final decision.
As far as flash goes, we may not have it right now, but as someone mentioned there are plenty of apps/mobile versions that I hardly notice it and with a community as great as the Android one I wouldn't be suprised to see flash support on the Aria sometime in the future.

Full flash requires instructions from ARMv7 architecture, so says Cyanogen.

eortizr said:
well.. I got my Samsung Vibrant yesterday... I have to say... the Vibrant is superior to the Aria in every aspect.
Is so thin,, it fits better in the back pocket that the Aria, after applying the lag fix the phone is extremely fast and smooth. The screen is just amazing when compared to the Aria... ahhh and watching movies is a hole new experience... Now I can play the 3D games I like... like (Let's Golf and Asphalt 3d), now I have Live wallpapers without lags. 720p Video Recording... whoooo... and I can stream those movies right to my TV using DLNA. the Aria is a cute little phone... but is like comparing a Mini S (Aria) vs. Porsche 911 (Vibrant).
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Did you bother reading the specifications of the Aria prior to buying one? It really doesn't seem like it judging from your two posts in this thread. I hope you don't end up sitting on your Vibrant

ioft said:
Did you bother reading the specifications of the Aria prior to buying one? It really doesn't seem like it judging from your two posts in this thread. I hope you don't end up sitting on your Vibrant
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I have both phones right know the Vibrant and the Aria.. so I can compare... been using both for 2 days now(been with the Aria for 2 months) the problem with the Aria is its CPU is old ARMv6 by the end of the year everyone with an Aria will be looking for something else..... Vibrant still ahead... The Aria is good I like it... but is not an entertainment device like the Vibrant is.

I got the Aria for the form factor.
I considered the Captivate but it's a big phone and the display had a blue tint that looked like ****.
By the end of the year we will have phones with dual core cpu's anyway and everyone with a Vibrant will want one.
Sent from my HTC Liberty using XDA App

how do you know thar aria have ARMv6 ?
wildfire what do it have ?

blakerboy777 said:
Full flash requires instructions from ARMv7 architecture, so says Cyanogen.
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If HTC can make Flash Lite work, I'd put my money on this incredibly talented Android community to do SOMETHING in that field. Not saying that the Aria will receive 100% full Adobe Flash support, but I wouldn't say it'll never get any.
By the end of the year we will have phones with dual core cpu's anyway and everyone with a Vibrant will want one.
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Quoted for truth. To say the Aria isn't an entertainment device is pure slander, it entertains the hell out of me. Just because it doesn't have as big a screen or as great a processor doesn't mean it can't play videos, music, games, the like. Not everyone needs the top of the line device to provide them entertainment or satisfaction.

reading so many bad reviews

so i been keeping up with reviews with this phone
http://www.businessinsider.com/xperia-play-review-2011-6
i see nothing but bad reviews for this phone =/ people are saying this phone is weak and handhelds that are out now are more powerful..... i dont see how the psp has a 333mhz cpu 64mb of ram and the ds 133mhz cpu with 16mb of ram
i dont see how this phone is not powerful compared to these? i really like this phone alot better then my epic 4g, ya the screen was pretty but now i dont really noticed it anymore as im use to the play screen, and the speed of my epic was only fast because it was rooted with all bloat ware removed and had CIQ and everything else removed for speed

the reviewers dont like it because there are dual core tegra units out already and this phone is a single core snapdragon with an adreno gpu, sure its not as powerful as the new phones coming out but its plenty enough for the games being thrown at it and to handle psone titles.
i honestly dont care what the reviewers say, i love this phone, its very fast and does everything i need in a nice way, its way better than my old iphone 3g, i love the gamepad, the touch surface takes a while to get used to but its decent as opposed to having to smudge my screen with my fingers

I don't know if you're asking a question or anything, but my Play runs faster than my DInc2 review unit and MUCH better/faster than my Fascinate. I think many people are mad that it didn't come with future-proof dual-cores or even 4G. But as a regular phone with basically stock Gingerbread on Verizon, it runs great and outperforms any phones I've reviewed or owned. The only real slowdown you might notice is multi-tasking, but for me it's really only been on low battery plus lots of apps/games running in the background. Sure, they skipped over any extraordinary features besides the controller, but that's why you get this phone really and it is solidly constructed and plays very well.
That being said, I would love root and custom roms/kernels to make this a beast.

That website likes to bash sony, not going to take him seriously. He should be able comparing the gaming experience between phones.. Not the psp... That's what this was made for... Play some first person shooters not Maiden... And then come to all negative conclusions. Never read a more biased review in my life.
It can play all the games coming out right now... Mainstream is not dual core yet... How many computer games require quad i7s, just because it's out and exists, doesnt mean you need it right away.
Sent from my R800a using XDA App

i mean i wish they waited and put at least the 1.2ghz cpu in or the 220 adreno gpu but oh well it has the power to play ps1 games and if sony really wants to make money code psp games to this and throw in some PSN access

Almost all my ifriends who have seen this phone love it.
I love this phone.
Games run fine.
Why play a game on a powerhouse when you still have to comtrol it by touchscreen?
Touchscreen controls are the worst thing to happen to most games. (except angry birds )
If you want a gaming phone, buy this. If you dont want a gaming phone, buy something else.
If sexplay 2 is out when my 2 year contract is up i will easily upgradeg to it. Dont think i could ever go back to a touchscreen only phone now.

Even engadget is suggesting a xperia play 2 indirectly
Sent from my R800i using XDA Premium App

Most reviewers don't focus on what this phone is, I've seen a website compare it to a 3DS it's not trying to revolutionise hand held gaming.
It's a mobile phone with a gaming controller and I love it.
Sent from my R800i using XDA Premium App

If you enjoy game playing, then this is the sickest thing in the world, so they can all shutup

The bad reviews should not be surprising at all. The Xperia Play is a phone for a pretty niche market even for handheld gaming. Android games are nothing to write home about in terms of quality (please don't mention Gameloft games... I think they're horrible for the most part).
The real boon of this phone has been emulators and the battery life. Coming from a Galaxy S where I had to make sure to not use the screen too often or it wouldn't make it through the day, the Play is amazing. Emulators speak for themselves. In my time commuting I've completed Chrono Trigger, Super Metroid, a few Mario games, and Zelda Minish Cap. Every single one of these is head and shoulders above every single Android title on the market right now.

Deoxlar said:
Never read a more biased review in my life.
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You should check out anything Sony on IGN. Talk about biased.

I have to agree with some comments on here, the phone is aimed at a pretty niche market and there are more powerful phones already out.
However, I can say that I played a good amount of Android games before and on the Xperia Play I can say you can actually play those games accurately. I don't know how people can struggle with on screen game pads for emulators or even regular games, I never bothered to download any emulators on my previous phone because I knew it wouldn't be enjoyable. The only game I ever completed was Angry Birds because of the basic controls, anything that needed accuracy was impossible.
Anyone that has seen me playing my phone always asks what phone it is. Even non-gaming coworkers are intrigued by it.

This PLAY is awesome.. but unfortunately, i got a defective one.. Only can enjoy games with emu's, and can not update it to 2.3.3 firmware, also can not enjoy gameloft games or any other HD games as it would crash the android OS till the touch screen, power button, wifi, bluetooth, gamepad touch, sdcard not function if i play those games for too long. Have to remove battery to make PLAY works normal again.
Luckily, firmware 2.3.2 (UK version) still makes a bit friendship with my PLAY.. although the android OS crash after playing gameloft or hd games for too long, the touch screen would still work so that i could reboot my PLAY using quickboot app (thanks to deoxlar for recommending the app to solve my removing battery issue after the OS crash)

To be honest I have not seen even one positive review about the Play, the reviewers seem far too concerned about the latest dual core devices even though the Play runs every current game and app the same and thats not even including the gamepad that defines the Play.
It's like none of the reviewers have ever played a game on a mobile device ever, amazing how bad some of those reviewers are, how they got jobs I will never know.
And yeah, the Play is by far the best gaming phone out there thanks to the game pad, no other phone comes close, as a phone it lacks a few features and the hardware may seem a bit dated compared to the very latest phones on the market but make no mistake, this is a fantastic mobile gaming device.
Just a shame SE totally failed at advertising and securing some "must have" games for the device.

Reviews I've seen by gamers love the phone. Those that aren't gamers don't like it because it doesn't come with some word printed on the spec sheet. I've yet to see any performance problems so I'm personally glad it doesn't waste battery life for performance I can't see. But I gave up having to have the latest buzz word item right away many years ago.
In the same way that the handhelds haven't replaced my consoles and the same way the consoles haven't replace my computer, the Play isn't replacing the handelds. The Play certainly replaced my phone and I will never willingly go back to a phone without a game pad on it.
As for the comparisons to the handhelds, why would somebody think I'd carry my 3DS or PSP with me wherever I go like I do with my phone? Who are these people that do this or think this is reasonable?

Screw that son of a hamburger(his name is else hamburger lol )
I am an LG optimus and HTC hd 7 user and im really happy with this phone
Sent from my R800i using XDA Premium App

Sigh, most people who have reviewed this phone review it with the crappy pre-installed games. I have hardly played the pre-installed games to busy with emulators and now Samurai II: Vengeance (friggin awesome game ).
I could care less if the hardware feels dated or is not "dual-core" since every game ive tried on the xplay has played extremely well (apart from some Fpse games) but once the xplay gets overclocked (or even if it is not overclocked) im guessing most games for the next two years the xplay will still be better than the touch screen alternatives.

I guess the best reviews are the ones made from people who own the phone. And from what I read on this forum in other place, people are, generally, extremely satisfied. I have one, too and I'm happy as well!
These reviewers say "wait for PS Vita or buy a 3DS". That doesn't make much sense, since I won't carry on my pocket any of these devices, and my phone I carry everywhere I go.

I mainly agree with Clyzm, the bad reviews come because it is a niche product. It destroys any other phone for emulating games, but non-gaming reviewers will not attend to that; it has surprisingly good rear camera and GPS performance, but a reviewer won't spend much time with those features, and the most important thing, its price is outrageous through official channels. In Spain it costs €650 out of contract (ca. $1000). Its brother, the Arc, costs €540; a Samsung Galaxy S II costs €580 and a HTC Sensation fetches €600 (and it's selling way less than the SGS II).
I researched quite a bit and found mine cheap (€400) on eBay Germany: your average consumer is less likely to research as much. If I had paid a thousand bucks for this phone, it'd be already back in the store. This phone does deliver a very good performance where it should: but it lacks a lot of oomph to command such high prices.

Logseman said:
I mainly agree with Clyzm, the bad reviews come because it is a niche product. It destroys any other phone for emulating games, but non-gaming reviewers will not attend to that; it has surprisingly good rear camera and GPS performance, but a reviewer won't spend much time with those features, and the most important thing, its price is outrageous through official channels. In Spain it costs €650 out of contract (ca. $1000). Its brother, the Arc, costs €540; a Samsung Galaxy S II costs €580 and a HTC Sensation fetches €600 (and it's selling way less than the SGS II).
I researched quite a bit and found mine cheap (€400) on eBay Germany: your average consumer is less likely to research as much. If I had paid a thousand bucks for this phone, it'd be already back in the store. This phone does deliver a very good performance where it should: but it lacks a lot of oomph to command such high prices.
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near $1k over there is crazy, you guys are getting the shaft in europe, you can get an unlocked one for around $550 on ebay, i got mine for around $100 on contract but it would have been around $600 if i got one without a contract

[Q] Is the Xperia Play worth Getting?

I am very hesitant in getting that phone, I've heard alot of good things and alot of bad things
I've seen specs and I've seen reviews, but I want to know people's personal opinion as they have the phone for full everyday use and not just reviewing it.
Is it worth it?

My advice do not go for it,you have better options for the same price.even if you are into gaming do not go for it...you can wait for NGP later and get dual core mobile now like galaxy s2/sensation/optimus 2x

I say go for it 4 sure. If you're like me who loves Zelda OOT, buy it! There is nothing like sitting on the subway while kids are playing their angry birds on their iphone while you sit there with your play and play Zelda or tekken 2 It's totally worth it!
everyday phone? Oh yeah! It works great!
Don't listen to that guy talking about dual core. You don't need it on a phone!! seriously, WHY would you need dual core? Everything i've tried on my play works like a charm!

jassired said:
My advice do not go for it,you have better options for the same price.even if you are into gaming do not go for it...you can wait for NGP later and get dual core mobile now like galaxy s2/sensation/optimus 2x
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Yeah, get a dual core mobile now so you can play the exact same games you can play on the Xperia Play, only with worse controls and worse battery life.
Then get an NGP later so you can carry around two devices for ultimate portability!

hairdewx said:
Yeah, get a dual core mobile now so you can play the exact same games you can play on the Xperia Play, only with worse controls and worse battery life.
Then get an NGP later so you can carry around two devices for ultimate portability!
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that was exactly what i meant haaha +1

^^^ I'm being sarcastic in my last post, in case the OP didn't catch that.
I'm very happy with my Play as a gaming phone and everyday phone. My wife has a Droid 3, and there isn't much difference at all, if any, in app performance and daily phone use. I have much better battery life as well. She has a better camera Maybe eventually apps will start taking advantage of multiple cores, but it's going to be a while.
You can't play this game on a touch screen very well...

Yourmama said:
I am very hesitant in getting that phone, I've heard alot of good things and alot of bad things
I've seen specs and I've seen reviews, but I want to know people's personal opinion as they have the phone for full everyday use and not just reviewing it.
Is it worth it?
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It is very simple. How much do you value playing both Android-native and emulated games against the rest of features in a phone? If you really want to play games in a phone, this is your device.
If you don't value playing games over dual core CPUs, slick designs, gorgeous screens and feature-rich cameras, you're not the target for this device. It has a very specific niche, which Sony Ericsson has spent millions in digging out. It's a love-it-or-hate-it product, with little middle ground.
Oh, and it has an astonishingly precise GPS.

There are bad points about this phone but show me a perfect phone.
The best 2 things about this phone are obviously the control pad for 1 and the battery life, which has amazed me so far.
The only thing that I find annoying is the lack of decent games taking advantage of what is a great phone.
But I have to say I have started using emulators and they are quality, n64oid and fpse especially.
So to sum up its a great mix up between a gaming device and a smart phone. It is let down on the development side.
It all just depends on what you want if you like gaming I dont think you will be let down in purchasing this phone
Thats my two pennies anyway
Sent from my R800i using XDA App

I have an xperia play and a few of my mates have dual core phones (SGS2, Optimus x2 e.t.c). I would not swap the Xplay for any of them.
As hairdewx has shown if you plan on playing anything with FPSE or emulators it is pointless on anything other than an xplay. The emulators alones let you play thousands of games with proper controls (makes it a 1000x better)
The speakers are the best on any phone. And the battery life is amazing to say this is a gaming device. Just using it as a normal phone it is as good as the rest.
I would recommend you get this phone. I think it will be hard for me to upgrade to a newer phone @ the end of my contract, unless it has proper gaming controls . (Xplay 2 hopefully)

Thanks guys I don't know I just might get it the only setback was the lack of an HD screen and the core issue but seems that the people who have the phone are enjoying it, I will see

Just wanted to give a perspective from someone who just bought the phone yesterday.
Waiting in the Verizon store I got the chance to mess with a few other phones. I actually played a couple games on some as well and just took an overall look. So to start lets forget the coolness of the control pad, and also that IMO playing games with motion/touch controls aside from something designed for it like Angry Birds absolutely sucks. Its why I seriously have not been into mobile gaming until now and I'm a big gamer. Just can't stand those controls.
Most of these new 4G dual core phones are huge. Seriously I was playing with one of the new 4G phones and the damn thing was like a doormat it was so big. Meanwhile the Xperia Play dimensionally is almost identical to my OG Droid, but space wise is designed better so that the 4" screen pushes to almost the edges of the device which uses space very well. Fits in my pocket WAY better than those 4G devices with a screen thats only 0.3" smaller.
Next up is speed. The OS is just as responsive on the Play as any of the 4G devices, I'm honestly not sure how much a dual core processor can help on a cellphone especially for normal every day tasks, with an OS that while multitasking, is not like a PC where you can physically have 2+ windows on screen at once. The way Android prioritizes memory, if you are using multiple apps at once, I just don't see there being a possibility of an everyday advantage. Needless to say, touch them side by side, there is NO difference in speed. Which brings me to games. I played a couple on the newer devices, they looked and played the same as on the Play, no faster, no better graphics, no nothing.
Finally would be features, ok so the camera is ok but not as good, 4G where available, is REALLY fast so thats nice as well and if you're in an area its common, and you have a need for that kind of speed, well then its something you should consider. And HDMI out, not on the Play. I personally have no use for it but if you do then theres another loss. So this comes to opinion - IMO the camera is good enough, it does the job, its a cell phone not a Canon. 4G? I live in the NY metro area basically where 4G service should be mostly available but its spotty, meanwhile WiFi is everywhere, and everywhere I'd sit and use it I have WiFi (my home, my folks house, my firehouse etc), when I travel I book hotels that have free WiFi, also my ISP provides open WiFi in many areas. Also I have no shame I use peoples open WiFi signals if I have to, so honestly I don't miss the speed there. 3G really isn't THAT bad either, however its a compromise, and I'm sure outside of this area it could be a problem for some. Then HDMI out, I bet I'd try it out for a novelty but I'd probably never use it. I have a PS3, I watch movies on my big screen from that or my PC with HDMI out.
And 2 things I've said above become an advantage for the Play, no 4G and no Dual core = better battery life.
So all in all I don't for a second regret the purchase, you get 95% of the performance of a 4G phone, with the advantage of better battery life, and the completely awesome built in control pad. If you want to game, its a no brainer.

When I saw the title of the thread I opened it to give my opinion about this phone. But when I read the previous answers, all that I wanted to say had already been said, so I gave up writing a big text because I don't have anything new to say!
Then I'll only say that it's an awesome phone, buy it without any fear, you won't regret it.

_terror_ said:
If you're like me who loves Zelda OOT, buy it! There is nothing like sitting on the subway while kids are playing their angry birds on their iphone while you sit there with your play and play Zelda or tekken 2 It's totally worth it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WTF! did you get a stable enough N64 emu (not to mention enough ram to run the rom) I have a GBA SNES NES GameGear and Genesis, but i cant find a good (preferably free at least till applanets back up) 64emu anywhere....and how are you running tekken two though all the psx emus crash cause of sony releasing this phone....oh and as long as you plan to plug the thing in everynight for like 8 hours (although 2.3.3 update fixes that a small amount if you dont game or browse or call or well pretty much emulate any sort of energy from it) than dont buy this phone really takes a commitment, i hate that i bought it then found out motorolla is releasing the droid 3(name changes between SP's) with HDMI out 1Ghz process 8mp cam rear and ii believie dont quote 3.2 front (might have been 2.3 or somewhere goin on memory of specs) THAT IS THE PHONE YOU WANT IF YOU ARE STILL LOOKING but release does depend on SP Bell got it first! havent folllowed up on it much just pisses me off that i bought a damn sony product over a 3ds.......oh and sorry if i repeated anyfacts

It is my favorite device. I just put in 2 hours of Beyond the Beyond without any awful on screen controls or bluetooth shenanigans.
Sound quality is spectacular too, as is the battery life.
The only thing that could use some improvement is the camera.
If you enjoy games more than just casually and really enjoy emulation, there is no other real option IMHO.
Sent from my R800at using Tapatalk

KronikonE said:
WTF! did you get a stable enough N64 emu (not to mention enough ram to run the rom) I have a GBA SNES NES GameGear and Genesis, but i cant find a good (preferably free at least till applanets back up) 64emu anywhere....and how are you running tekken two though all the psx emus crash cause of sony releasing this phone....oh and as long as you plan to plug the thing in everynight for like 8 hours (although 2.3.3 update fixes that a small amount if you dont game or browse or call or well pretty much emulate any sort of energy from it) than dont buy this phone really takes a commitment, i hate that i bought it then found out motorolla is releasing the droid 3(name changes between SP's) with HDMI out 1Ghz process 8mp cam rear and ii believie dont quote 3.2 front (might have been 2.3 or somewhere goin on memory of specs) THAT IS THE PHONE YOU WANT IF YOU ARE STILL LOOKING but release does depend on SP Bell got it first! havent folllowed up on it much just pisses me off that i bought a damn sony product over a 3ds.......oh and sorry if i repeated anyfacts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
N64oid v2 runs alot of roms pretty perfect now, and fpse eats tekken alive, infact i havent found one ps1 rom it dosent run pefectly

jdsemler said:
Sound quality is spectacular too, as is the battery life.
The only thing that could use some improvement is the camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
K Sound Agreed, Battery however i would like to know what miracle device you are using to keep it powered cause even with the 2.3.3 update which i wont le improved battery life significantly, i dont find its able to keep up with the demand especially noticable when streaming data i.e. skyFM or TuneInRadio(awsome app by the way for a phone with no FM reciever any radio station you could imagine....from all 7 contenent...yes there is a sat radio station based in antarctica for the 12 people that are ever there at one time, sheesh im Canadian and i say no thanks to that lol sorry off topic tired and ranting), and camera is decent quality 5.0mp front is only1.2 so self portraits are a little grainy i find, but none the less i have to agreee it could use more features to the actual cam its self

AndroHero said:
N64oid v2 runs alot of roms pretty perfect now, and fpse eats tekken alive, infact i havent found one ps1 rom it dosent run pefectly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
didnt know N64oid v2 was out thanks!, and as for the ps one emu i think i might just steal whatever games they release seeing as i pretty much bought a psone in a phone seems a little redundant to download a program on top of that....just cant wait to see if they find a way to release FFVII and VIII to the phone

Just get an android phone you like
to the guy who started this thread truely you just want an android phone PERIOD with it dominating over 50% of the smart phone generation other companies are trying to figure a way to eat a piece of googles pie....ie rumors which are now apparently confimed (which i havent seen first hand knowledge) but the iPhone 5(BOOO) is set to release with BBM installed, and we all know android with get it first probably for free with some sort if ad support....its like comparing a PS3 to Xbox360 its just not necessary 360 wins in every department like android.(minus blueray but you can obvi get a cheap one of those now to make up for it)

Anyone interested
found a decent site on app creation for android....vogella.de/articles/Android/article.html
sorry bout not making it a link apparently i havent posted enough for our Naziesq forum rules

KronikonE said:
to the guy who started this thread truely you just want an android phone PERIOD with it dominating over 50% of the smart phone generation other companies are trying to figure a way to eat a piece of googles pie....ie rumors which are now apparently confimed (which i havent seen first hand knowledge) but the iPhone 5(BOOO) is set to release with BBM installed, and we all know android with get it first probably for free with some sort if ad support....its like comparing a PS3 to Xbox360 its just not necessary 360 wins in every department like android.(minus blueray but you can obvi get a cheap one of those now to make up for it)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't you pissed on this guy's thread enough? Then you come into a forum with people who are obvious playstation and Sony fans and say the Xbox360 "wins in every department" which is so untrue its not even funny but I'm not getting into that flame war here.
You don't seem to like the phone much, and you don't seem to like PS much, door is to the left, go buy another phone then.

why this huge price-cut?

this is starting to get absurd.
At first i thought that it was just Expansys who went crazy and lowered the price THAT much, i figured they made a mistake ordering hundreds of the device and couldn't sell them so had to resort to drop to ridiculous prices or whatever the heck can happen when an (non)internet shop make mistakes.
But now it's like 3-4 other internet shops are going for more or less that price, never heard before of a 500 euro smartphone sold by so many shops at less than half price like this.
Nothing just happen without a reason, there's always at last 1 reason why this phone got his price slashed like this, and thinking about it, ok it didn't sold THAT much but it had some kind of a cult following... and being honest, this handset has practically the same hardware as the Arc, beside the exmor-whatever camera, but not only that, just check at whatever other android phone of more or less 200 euros, the Play clearly is way, way better than them...
Again, i wonder what's the meaning behind this insane price cut.
I'm currently an X10 user and i love it, but being a huge retro-gaming geek, i'm selling it for 180 euros (and friends of mine says it's cheap) and bought a 240 euro Xperia play waiting for it to arrive (damned expansys delayed shipping to next week).
Hope i did the right thing and this SEXplay will not crumble and turn into dust in the first 5 days of usage or sad things like that.

i don't know but i bought my phone May this year for 5000HKD (around 650USD) and now that it is released in my country they sell it for around 450USD at Sony Ericsson concept shops. i don't know the reason for the very low price but heck isn't that great?
i still go for the reason that it didn't sell well that's why they're selling it for a very low price.. besides, they need consumers to buy it fast because of the imminent release of the PlayStation Suite which will further increase their sales..

Well, most of the good games are just boring Gameloft ports.
The SexPlay is a great phone, with basically zero exclusive software support for it.
If you buy this phone for anything else other than emulation, you are basically wasting your time imho.

Like you did?
dsswoosh said:
Well, most of the good games are just boring Gameloft ports.
The SexPlay is a great phone, with basically zero exclusive software support for it.
If you buy this phone for anything else other than emulation, you are basically wasting your time imho.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used the XDA App to post this, what did you use?

Cat_On_Droid said:
Like you did?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didnt buy it for anything else other than emulation whilst being bored at work. (I use it as my main phone too ofc).
The free EA games are boring imo. As are most Gameloft games. The only other game i REALLY enjoy is the online texas poker.
The DPad is really nice to use whilst browsing the internet. The analog joysticks are not for me, i personally dont enjoy using them.
The reason why im mostly disapointed with the SexPlay is because there is no MAME emulator that has working save states. Without save states, mame is useless to me at work.
So yea, i have had a good time with the SexPlay, but im now of the opinion that i wont be buying another game phone. Especially not now that i have just bought a brand new laptop and can play proper mame at work on a nice big 17.5 inch screen with my xbox control pad.
I do wish the SexPlay continued success though, its just that it has outlived my pocket and i am eagerly awaiting my next phone upgrade. Glad that i only got an 18 month contract because it runs out in less than a year now.
Ive also had lots of prpoblems with my SexPlay -
1) Poor signal
2) No data signal
3) Volume button fell out
4) Back button doesnt work properly
5) Right shoulder button gone loose
6) Touchscreen goes dowhaddle whack crazy at times
7) Accelerometer doesnt work properly, steers to the left all the time
8) Compass doesnt work properly
And above all........I found out here in Britain we have a network called GiffGaff that runs off the O2 network, and for £10 / month on a PAYG deal you get TRULY unlimited data at "H" speeds.
I bought this simcard to see how it performs, and lets just say i have used close to 50gig this month leaving torrents downloading on my phone...............(wished id never even bought a contract, GiffGaff prices are probably the best in the World).

For me, poor signal and dead signal were cured in 2.3.4 update.
I agree with you xplay is limited, but it was my first smartphone and my expectations were dead low.
I used the XDA App to post this, what did you use?

Apparently there is going to be a Playstation store available for all ps certified devices. And they decided to drop the price so they could make a killing on apps i'm guessing

dsswoosh said:
Well, most of the good games are just boring Gameloft ports.
The SexPlay is a great phone, with basically zero exclusive software support for it.
If you buy this phone for anything else other than emulation, you are basically wasting your time imho.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean until the Playstation Suite launches. I'm quite excited about how that's going to change things. Main reason I decided to go for the XPlay. That and the promise of more PS1 and possibly PSP titles on the way. But the future is looking good for the Xplay if the PS Suite does what Sony says it will.
There's also plenty of good non-gameloft games on the market that have been optimised for the XPlay already.

Am I the only one who likes Xperia PLAY for Xperia PLAY games?
I love my classics, and like to be a nostalgia drunken at times... but for the most part, playing something that actually takes advantage of the hardware (especially that big, beautiful 854x480 screen) is much more appealing than some game I've already played that will either be dis-proportioned, or letterboxed.

i dont know but i dont enjoy emulation at all..

TLRtheory said:
Am I the only one who likes Xperia PLAY for Xperia PLAY games?
I love my classics, and like to be a nostalgia drunken at times... but for the most part, playing something that actually takes advantage of the hardware (especially that big, beautiful 854x480 screen) is much more appealing than some game I've already played that will either be dis-proportioned, or letterboxed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love a lot of the exclusive games but the analog stick control is such a miserable experience for me....regular market apps like pew pew respond better for me
Sent from my R800x using XDA App

VZW Online FREE
Cat_On_Droid said:
For me, poor signal and dead signal were cured in 2.3.4 update.
I agree with you xplay is limited, but it was my first smartphone and my expectations were dead low.
I used the XDA App to post this, what did you use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am thinking of getting this as an early upgrade for one of my lines.
If it comes with 2.3.4 installed allready, will I be able to root it?
I just got a DInc II and rooted it the Friday before the 2.3.4 update was forcefeeding around.
LUCKY.
This looks like a great emulator unit.
I hope this price sticks....

These price cuts make me a bit sad like.
I mean, I knew it would come...but it is kinda soon.
I paid £280 for my XPlay, now I can get it for between £180-£200 from very reputable dealers.
Sad.
That being said...yeah, the phone isn't perfect but I do love it.
I like the occasional 'new' game but most are really shallow (looking at you GameLoft), so I stick with what I got the phone for...the thousands of game available emulated.
Emulation has always been and always be my favourite thing, that's why this phone is perfect for me despite the obvious flaws.

agree with the bulk of you.
The only reason i'm getting this phone is because of emulation.
Hell i never ever even took a look at the gameloft or any other android game out there... i think i just played angry birds twice in my life.
I currently have an X10 and i absolutely love it, don't give a crap about dual core or stuff like that, my x10 goes fast and does everything i need it for; except for one thing, that is emulation.
I'd be the happiest person alive to have everything i had with my X10 plus a solid pad and the chance to pop it up any time and delight myself with some good-ol' super mario world
Right now there's another thing that concernes me about the play, dsswoosh was talking about buttons blowing in pieces or malfunctioning... that would suck. One thing i loved about my X10 are the marvelous hardware buttons (hate the softouch ones), that after almost a year of abuse they still work like new..

cac2us said:
I am thinking of getting this as an early upgrade for one of my lines.
If it comes with 2.3.4 installed allready, will I be able to root it?
I just got a DInc II and rooted it the Friday before the 2.3.4 update was forcefeeding around.
LUCKY.
This looks like a great emulator unit.
I hope this price sticks....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=17808767#post17808767

That this phone's strength lies in how well it can emulate anything below Dreamcast is undeniable. I bought it for 400 euro five months ago, now I could buy it for 220 or so... But the loads and loads of games that I've been able to revive and enjoy, and the fun of tinkering around with a new piece of kit (I've been lucky to have been helpful for some devs here), are just priceless.

pelly_jelly said:
Right now there's another thing that concernes me about the play, dsswoosh was talking about buttons blowing in pieces or malfunctioning... that would suck. One thing i loved about my X10 are the marvelous hardware buttons (hate the softouch ones), that after almost a year of abuse they still work like new..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) The volume button fell out, but i fixed it with a dab of solvent cement. Other people have reported it falling out aswell.
2) The back button has a fault where when you press it, sometimes it activates, 2 or 3 or even 4 times. This can be highly annoying. If you have 4 tabs opened in a browser and it activates 4 times, they all shut down and the browser exits
The O button can be used as back, so its not a gamebreaker, jut annoying.
3) My right shoulder button has lost springiness and sags a bit. Again, not a gamebreaker, just annoying.
The actual game buttons all work great and are solid after months of use.

TLRtheory said:
Am I the only one who likes Xperia PLAY for Xperia PLAY games?
I love my classics, and like to be a nostalgia drunken at times... but for the most part, playing something that actually takes advantage of the hardware (especially that big, beautiful 854x480 screen) is much more appealing than some game I've already played that will either be dis-proportioned, or letterboxed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup! I hardly play any retro games on my Play, too busy with modern xperia play optimized games!

For me, its all about emulation. Look at the options before the play : wiz gp2x / canoo : the linex devices that had piecemeal developer support and were a touch complicated to configure/set up. OpenPandora, great if you can wait 1.5 years for delivery, but a bit bulky. <-- I actually received mine about 1 week before the play arrived, now it sits collection dust as I have everything running better on the Xplay.

i traded in my xperia neo for a play,2months ago,been happy so far with the device although i must also admit that the signal handover is total crap..if it goes from 3g to edge it does have 2 seconds of "no service",when you are in a call,the call is dropped..other devices have a much smoother handover,but that was the same with xperia neo..my old iPhone 3g never dropped the signal when it changed the frequencies..
and the price cut i think its just because the play is a niche product,there are far too many people that would love to have a xperia play but consider themself "too old" or too "serious" to carry around a phone with handheld controls( or even the girlfriend says:lol what do you want with this toyphone.-) i hope that this playstation suite has something to offer because all this gameloft clone games and the rest,meh,nothing for me personally with two exceptions:hyperlight is great and reckless getaway
as far as it comes to gaming,i`m a retro gamer,i play only the oldschool games,mainly NEO GEO,i do love the CAVE vertical shooters but theres the problem there are too small on the play because when you switch it to TATE mode,you cant control with the gamepad,when you leave it landscape its too small,so thats a pity..but thats the reason i still keep an old CRT monitor.-)
when i was 12 years old,everyone got a SNES.a friend called me,he was some real anime and manga addict and got a NEO GEO out of an import store,he called me:hey come over,i got a new gaming system etc..i was blasted by the detailed sprites,the huge characters but i thought:"hey thats cool but i`ll stick to my SNES" but after that afternoon seeing the neo geo in action by a friend,i came home playing my loved SNES and thought:**** that,that`s just horrible graphics,i need that NEO GEO thing,it was literally no fun anymore to play SNES.so i traded in my snes with 40games for a neo geo with two games -robo army and sengoku2 .-) later i traded in the neo geo with 6 games for a japanese ps1,14days after it was released in japan..
..and everything that comes after ps1 isn`t exciting to me,in my opinion we are now in the worst decade of gaming ever:arcade is dead-touch gaming took it over,tiny dumb games with "accelerated controls" "movements" or even whole consoles like the Wii,xbox kinect,ps move,all this garbage..and it`s all about the "story" nowadays(who cares,these games are like a book,once you played it theres no point in playing them again,that`s why these ridiculous trophies and gamescore was invented..)or graphics(never liked 3d so much as 2d only exception was the ps1 because it was fresh but i felt after getting a ps2 years later that 3d is just not the way i love games).
and for playing these old games which need a console,a tv and a huge ass controller(neo geo arcade stick anyone?) on a phone in my pocket,everywhere,everytime is just priceless for me,the phone aspect is "soso" but when it comes to gaming,the play just rocks for retro lovers
i think with the price cut many people will buy it as a handheld only..basically its a steal and a no brainer for everyone who is into retro gaming,sure i can hookup a controller to my laptop but theres no way i would do that in spare 30minutes of time or in a train .-) with the xperia play its just slide open,press play,much faster and it`s so great to see all this games on a smaller display they look right,they feel right and they play right even 15-20years later..

Then and Now

This is my opinion about Xperia Play's rise from it's announcement until now.
Then:
Xperia Play was at the time of it's announcement the long-expected "PlayStation Phone", the phone that could also play PSP games. Unfortunately, it wasn't like that, so most of the people who were excited about this phone had lost all their interest. Only a few remained interested in this phone at it's beginning and so it is that XPlay's popularity has been so low on the first three months. At that time it was seen as:
- A phone with the last Android version that time - 2.3.2
- It had just a few optimised games, already known by others
- It had only a PSX game
- A thick phone with a bad design
- It was almost as expensive as iPhone (between $750 and $800)
Now:
Although no one could imagine a phone that was already labeled as a dissapointment could be 10 times better after some months, it changed a lot. At this point I would say to others that you can't even compare XPlay with Vita, because it's far much better. More and more people are becoming interested again and it's popularity is rasing to the top. It was the work of SE company and developers that brought up this phone's popularity and awesomeness. XPlay now has or will have:
- Android 4.0 (upcoming)
- Ability to fully play PC games with OnLive
- Lots of software changes made by SE through updates (like the 720p filming)
- Lots of mods which made our lifes easier made by devs D)
- Ability to play PSX titles through PSXPeria and FPse
- Ability to play PSP and PSX original games through PlayStation Pocket (upcoming)
- Over 200 optimised games
- Some games were for a period of time XPlay only
- The price went down a lot (now it's between $380 and $420)
Also Merry Christmas everyone!

This is true... however I always had faith in the phone getting better.
There were just so many people who were impatient and wanted to throw their toys on release day and have a cry and then sell the phone... Obviously weren't real gamers to begin with.

subcu1ture said:
This is true... however I always had faith in the phone getting better.
There were just so many people who were impatient and wanted to throw their toys on release day and have a cry and then sell the phone... Obviously weren't real gamers to begin with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed,while it may not have the "best" hardware,its still a powerful phone with the only PlayStation Certified controls.
Sent from my R800i using Tapatalk

subcu1ture said:
This is true... however I always had faith in the phone getting better.
There were just so many people who were impatient and wanted to throw their toys on release day and have a cry and then sell the phone... Obviously weren't real gamers to begin with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But the phone was marketed to them. Sony didn't really try to push it for gamers only. look at the advertising, Kristen Schaal playing two roles, the slogan "Everything you need and the one thing you want"... None of that is designed to appeal to hardcore teen gamers, but to a more adult audience.

To be honest I wasn't disappointed with the phone when it came out, I was just stoked I could beat the first level of Super Mario 3 without wanting to throw my phone in anger.
But like a fine wine it got better with age.

$380? Its going at around €200 in the EU. Got mine for €160 unlocked myself.
Also the phone has flaws, and networks seem to be dropping it. Not worth €500 IMO. Worth €160? Id happily pay €240 for it tbh

shadowninty said:
$380? Its going at around €200 in the EU. Got mine for €160 unlocked myself.
Also the phone has flaws, and networks seem to be dropping it. Not worth €500 IMO. Worth €160? Id happily pay €240 for it tbh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
F$*&ing thanks button....
Dude, show me a perfect phone. It doesn't exist.
The flaws on this phone aren't terrible by any means.

speedyink said:
F$*&ing thanks button....
Dude, show me a perfect phone. It doesn't exist.
The flaws on this phone aren't terrible by any means.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He hasn't said that..but this phone was never worth five hundred euros. At its current price It's probably the greatest bargain in terms of price-quality alongside with the now defunct Xperia Neo. I'm yet to see a better bang for the buck ratio in any other brand.

speedyink said:
Dude, show me a perfect phone. It doesn't exist.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Play is as close as you can get

speedyink said:
F$*&ing thanks button....
Dude, show me a perfect phone. It doesn't exist.
The flaws on this phone aren't terrible by any means.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, its happened to me before, weird theres no take back eh? Gave you one to make up for it anyway. Yeah no such thing as a perfect phone. And no, the flaws are far from terrible, and its certainly an excellent device
Logseman said:
He hasn't said that..but this phone was never worth five hundred euros. At its current price It's probably the greatest bargain in terms of price-quality alongside with the now defunct Xperia Neo. I'm yet to see a better bang for the buck ratio in any other brand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly - it was worth maybe €450 at a push on release. But at the current price, its amazing value, I mean you wouldnt get a Nexus or Desire for that, and they are far worse devices.
The Alpha Gamer said:
The Play is as close as you can get
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah now

shadowninty said:
Haha, its happened to me before, weird theres no take back eh? Gave you one to make up for it anyway. Yeah no such thing as a perfect phone. And no, the flaws are far from terrible, and its certainly an excellent device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know right? I've done it a few times now =P. Thanks for the thanks back, heheh.
Its been one of my better phones, that's for sure. Not sure I could trade it up for a non gamepad phone now
Sent from my R800i using XDA App

speedyink said:
I know right? I've done it a few times now =P. Thanks for the thanks back, heheh.
Its been one of my better phones, that's for sure. Not sure I could trade it up for a non gamepad phone now
Sent from my R800i using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the biggest problem with this phone... What the hell do i upgrade to if they drop the SEX PLAY 2?? I can't play games just with a touch screen anymore lol
Sent from my R800i using Tapatalk

Far as I'm concerned, it is perfect.
I've always wanted a device that's truly all-in-one. I'm talking about something that navigates, plays music, plays movies, sorts/views pictures, checks my e-mail for all my accounts, can stream all sorts of media to and from the device, takes care of all my office needs, records video in HD, allows video chat, social networking, group chats, provides a prime web browsing experience, allows me to check my bank balance, lets me take notes, record lectures, does all the phone basics, allows true voice control, lets me quickly jot down notes, allows easy access to the file system, AND plays games with a sense of tactility, responsiveness and precision... without any kind of ridiculous external controller that must be separately charged, assembled and/or paired.
No other phone or game device does that. None.
This does all that... with smooth operation in everything from games to day-to-day menus, great battery life, various UIs that are so infinite in possibility that I switch them roughly every week, simplicity, enough ability to customize so that the device works itself around me (and not the other way around - hear that Apple iOS?) and a level of consistent competence that makes me wonder if there's any point in a phone stronger than this.
I started off very critical, and this thing has passed at everything I've thrown at it with flying colors. There is absolutely nothing else on the market that does this as well as the Xperia PLAY does. Other solutions bring physical controls to smartphone gaming, but they ALWAYS have **** support outside of emulators... not a single one has over non-emulated 200 games, and not a single one operates without all that pairing nonsense.
I could complain about the 400MB of memory, but with the ADB trick I've hit 183 installs and still haven't taken up enough memory to make it say I'm running out of space. I could complain that it's not a dual-core, but the only people that'd really complain about that are the entry-level G4TV-watching tech-newbies who don't know how a good GPU/RAM can change the tides when processor strength initially looks small... with games like Dead Space running so smoothly, seems like tossing in a stronger processor would be detrimental to the battery life before it actually does anything useful.
So yeah... I'm satisfied

I actually agree. It gained its hype although no one really noticed it during its launch. But since the price has gone down to £160 im sure it's going to get alot of attraction now

TLRtheory said:
... plays games with a sense of tactility, responsiveness and precision... without any kind of ridiculous external controller that must be separately charged, assembled and/or paired.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This!! Back when I had my HTC Hero, I always wanted some sort of bluetooth controller so I could control emulators more easily!

kupo5131 said:
That's the biggest problem with this phone... What the hell do i upgrade to if they drop the SEX PLAY 2?? I can't play games just with a touch screen anymore lol
Sent from my R800i using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel ya. If the sexplay 2 gets cancelled I may just not upgrade. There's not been any other phone out there that's made me think that. I'm usually the latest tech whore, but why have all that power if you can't really use it properly?
Sent from my R800i using XDA App

Logseman said:
But the phone was marketed to them. Sony didn't really try to push it for gamers only. look at the advertising, Kristen Schaal playing two roles, the slogan "Everything you need and the one thing you want"... None of that is designed to appeal to hardcore teen gamers, but to a more adult audience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TBH if it was marketed to teen gamers there would have been no way in hell I would have bought it.
I am an old school gamer and wanted a good mobile for work and for gaming.
The only 2 things I wish the device had was 12mp Camera and an HDMI port. But will be definitely be buying the X Play 2... But now that Sony has taken over the mobile division it is more likely to be an actual "PlayStation phone".

i do agree , i think we all agree
imagine that you have a phone with 8 core (( CPU )) , how you can enjoy with your phone when you have to touch screen for play games ?!!
beside how can you see your screen when your finger is on that !!
any way ,
i think it xperia play have very good design whit good hardware ...
but now
i think we all need sony's exclusive games , not android global games , just imagine great games on xperia play , like " god of war - resistance - locoroco - little big planet - patapon - uncharted - grand turism..." and other company's games " like silent hill ... "
it's time for sony to show its ability on games world .
i don't know guys , are you agree with me! but i want to say : SONY,WE WANT YOUR EXCLUSIVE GAMESSSSSSSSS

mehdi.moha said:
i do agree , i think we all agree
imagine that you have a phone with 8 core (( CPU )) , how you can enjoy with your phone when you have to touch screen for play games ?!!
beside how can you see your screen when your finger is on that !!
any way ,
i think it xperia play have very good design whit good hardware ...
but now
i think we all need sony's exclusive games , not android global games , just imagine great games on xperia play , like " god of war - resistance - locoroco - little big planet - patapon - uncharted - grand turism..." and other company's games " like silent hill ... "
it's time for sony to show its ability on games world .
i don't know guys , are you agree with me! but i want to say : SONY,WE WANT YOUR EXCLUSIVE GAMESSSSSSSSS
Click to expand...
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Once playstation suite releases hopefully that becomes a reality
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psp games when are those coming?