MWC: Hands-On Photos with Sony’s Three New Experias

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MWC: Hands-On Photos with Sony's Three New Experias

CES saw the release of the new Sony Ericsson Experia Arc, but tonight we got to see three new Experias: the neo, the pro and the long-awaited PLAY — the Playstation phone. Oh my.

I had a chance to attend the press conference where these were introduced, and a moment to fondle all three.

The Experia neo: The phone I am most excited about personally is the neo; it has a beautiful screen and an amazing camera that works well in even the worst lighting situations. This phone is very media focused, and it comes equipped with HDMI support, an 8 megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash, and a 2 megapixel front-facing camera. The camera demo I saw in the dark Opium Mar club was spectacular because the camera could pick up nearly the same things in the darkened room that my eyes saw!

MWC: Hands-On Photos with Sony's Three New Experias

•Exmor RTM. Great stills and videos even in low light
•Reality display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine; 16,777,216 colour TFT Capacitive touchscreen 3.7 inches; 854 x 480 pixels (FWVGA) Scratch-resistant
•Built-in HDMI. Your stills and videos on HD TV
•3.5 mm audio jack
•aGPS
•BluetoothTM technology
•DLNA
•Google LatitudeTM*
•Google MapsTM with Street View*
•HDMI support
•Media Transfer Protocol support
•Micro USB connector
•Modem
•Synchronisation via FacebookTM; via GoogleTM Sync*; via Sony Ericsson Sync; Synchronisation: Exchange ActiveSync®
•USB mass storage
•USB High speed 2.0 support
•Wi-Fi
•Size: 116 x 57 x 13 mm Weight: 126 grams
•Phone memory: Up to 320 MB
•Memory card support: microSDTM, up to 32GB
•Memory card included: 8GB microSDTM
•Operating system: GoogleTM Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
•Processor: 1 GHz Qualcomm SnapdragonTM MSM8255
•Talk time GSM/GPRS: Up to 6 hrs 55 min* Standby time GSM/GPRS: Up to 430 hrs*
•Talk time UMTS: Up to 7 hrs* Standby time UMTS: Up to 400 hrs*
•Music listening time: Up to 31 hrs* Video playback time: Up to 7 hrs 25 min*
•The Sony Ericsson Xperia neo will be available in the following colors: Blue Gradient, Red and Silver.

The Experia pro: The pro has a sliding keyboard and it looks like it could be a great business phone; its  focus is on office efficiency. It has a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard, and smart functions that allow for quicker communication and messaging. There’s a full suite of office apps here, for everything from syncing email to editing office documents.

MWC: Hands-On Photos with Sony's Three New Experias

•Touch phone with perfect slide-out keyboard and smart functions for fast messaging
•Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine; 16,777,216 colour TFT Capacitive touchscreen 3.7 inches
854 x 480 pixels (FWVGA) Scratch-resistant
•Sync your email and edit office documents on the go
•Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine and Exmor RTM for mobile HDMI. Connect to an HD TV or a projector
•3.5 mm audio jack
•aGPS BluetoothTM technology
•DLNA
•Google LatitudeTM*
•Google MapsTM with Street View*
•HDMI support Media Transfer Protocol
•support Micro USB support
•Modem Synchronisation via Facebook, via GoogleTM Sync*, via Sony Ericsson Sync; Synchronisation: Exchange
•ActiveSync® USB mass storage
•USB High speed 2.0 support
•Wi-Fi
•57 x 13.5 mm Weight: 140 grams
•Phone memory: Up to 320MB
•Memory card support: microSDTM, up to 32GB
•Memory card included: 8GB microSDTM
•Operating system: GoogleTM Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
•Processor: 1 GHz Qualcomm SnapdragonTM MSM8255
•Talk time GSM/GPRS: Up to 6 hrs 55 min* Standby time GSM/GPRS: Up to 430 hrs*
•Talk time UMTS: Up to 7 hrs* Standby time UMTS: Up to 400 hrs*
•Music listening time: Up to 31 hrs* Video playback time: Up to 7 hrs 25 min*
•The Sony Ericsson Xperia pro will be available in the following colors: Black, Red, Silver

The Experia PLAY: For many the biggest news was the Experia PLAY, which is the long-awaited “playstation phone.”The Xperia PLAY is PlayStation Certified, making it the first of its kind. Full and high quality 3-D gaming is enabled by the 1 GHz Snapdragon processor inside, providing smooth, 60 fps gameplay. Reportedly, the hardware used to make this gaming possible is designed to be easier on the battery, but it remains to be seen what exactly this means.

MWC: Hands-On Photos with Sony's Three New Experias

The slide-out gaming pad resembles the layout of any PSP or PlayStation controller, with the exception of the shoulder buttons (one set, as opposed to two). The analog joysticks, of course, are not present, replaced by dual touchpads that will likely take some getting used to from seasoned gamers.

The games coming to this device are the big selling point, though. Twenty developers are said to be working with Sony right now on development for the device, from small companies like Gameloft and Glu Mobile to heavy hitters like EA and Namco Bandai. There will be 50 titles available at launch, with Dead Space, FIFA, Battlefield and Assassin’s Creed all confirmed as in development for the Xperia PLAY (it is unclear how many of these games, if any, are launch titles). PS One classics will also be heading to this phone at some point in the near future, so you can start rolling out the nostalgia now while you prepare to get in on some Crash Bandicoot or Final Fantasy VII on your mobile phone while you’re stuck on a bus or waiting at the airport.

It doesn’t end there, though. Sony has announced that later this year, the PlayStation Suite will become available, which is basically going to be a PlayStation App store made for Android devices, with the purpose of distributing games, including the aforementioned PS One titles. It will also act as developer platform for games created specifically for the Xperia PLAY, from both Sony and third parties.

The Neo and the PLAY will be available in March on Verizon; the Pro will come a little bit later. Prices are unknown as of this moment …

Cooperative reporting with Chip Chick

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About the Author

Judie Lipsett Stanford
Judie is the co-owner and Editor-in-Chief of Gear Diary, which she founded in September 2006. She got her start in 1999 writing software reviews at the now-defunct smaller.com; from mid-2000 through 2006, she wrote hardware reviews for and co-edited at The Gadgeteer. A recipient of the Sigma Kappa Colby Award for Technology, Judie has written for or been profiled by nationally known sites and magazines, and she has served on multiple industry hardware and software award panels. She is best known for her device-agnostic approach, enjoyment of exploring tech, gadgets, and gear, and her deep-diving, jargon-free reviews.