Sony Ericsson launches Xperia Play, Xperia Neo and Xperia Pro

Posted: 20 Feb 2011 08:02 AM PST

Original article: Sony Ericsson launches Xperia Play, Xperia Neo and Xperia Pro
From Machines that go Bing

Sony Ericsson has launched three new smartphones that will flesh out the Xperia range of Android phones. London journalists and bloggers got an early viewing of the new phones at Kyashii courtesy of Brando, SE’s UK consumer relations agents. The Xperia PRO combines intuitive and fast messaging with multimedia features from Sony, the Xperia Neo gives consumers a new way to experience Android and Sony multimedia, and the Experia Play brings PlayStation gaming to mobile phone users.

You might be nervous about buying a Sony Ericsson at the moment, and with good reason after their treatment of X10 buyers. Barely a year after the release of their flagship product in 2010 SE have announced that they will not be releasing any further Android updates for the phone, and thereby killed it. Dead.

However, if you can overlook such a corporate bitch-slap to its own loyal market read on…

The Xperia Neo

Xperia neo builds on the design language for which Sony Ericsson has become known with a pleasing shape that not only looks good, but is ergonomically designed to fit in the user's hand, especially when taking pictures. It’s a little like the Arc but substantially heavier and although the Neo looks neat, it feels built down to a price compared to the other phones here.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo – Key features

Exmor R. Better stills and videos even in low light
Reality display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine
Built-in HDMI. Your stills and videos on HD TV

Sony Ericsson Xperia™ Neo will be available in selected markets from end Q1 2011.

The Xperia Pro

As well as top-end imaging and display technology from Sony, the Xperia pro combines a slide-out ergonomic keyboard with smart functions to create a fast messaging experience. Sony Ericsson has focused on integrating the hardware with messaging functions. These include the ‘Type & Send’ functionality eliminating the need to open a dedicated application for each type of message, and ‘Smart Keyboard’ that triggers predictive messaging actions when the user slides out the keyboard.

The Pro is is pitched as a business phone for Android fans coming complete with a set of Android functions such as syncing your email, calendar and contacts in a secure way and the pre-loaded Office Suite Pro lets consumers view and edit office documents directly on the phone.

Steve Walker, Head of Marketing, Sony Ericsson said,

"We want to be a leader in Android and with Xperia neo and Xperia Pro, we are now are offering excellent, innovative Android choices for consumers. These latest devices combine stunning design with state-of-the-art Sony technology and a new faster messaging experience on the Xperia™ pro, creating an entertaining smartphone experience."

Sony Ericsson Xperia pro – Key features

Touch phone with perfect slide-out keyboard and smart functions for fast messaging
Synch your email and edit office documents on the go
Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine and Exmor R for mobile
HDMI. Connect to an HD TV or a projector

The Sony Ericsson Xperia pro will be available at the end of Q1 2011.

The Xperia Play

In portrait mode the Xperia Play offers all the features that an Xperia customer has come to expect include a collection of games built into the phone.

In landscape mode slide out the game controller from the underside of the phone and the traditional PlayStation dials come into view. The controller pad includes:

A digital D pad
Two analogue touch pads
Two shoulder buttons
The four PlayStation icons: circle, cross, square and triangle.

Qualcomm's optimized Snapdragon processor with a 1Ghz CPU and embedded Adreno GPU graphics processor deliver 60fps play-back 3D mobile gaming and Web browsing with minimal power consumption so Xperia Play users can enjoy more hours of battery life and game time — expect to charge it daily, though.

The Xperia Play runs on Gingerbread (version 2.3), the latest version of Google's Android platform. The Xperia Play will also be the first PlayStation Certified device. This means it will have access to PlayStation game content provided through the PlayStation Suite initiative, currently under development by Sony Computer Entertainment and due to launch later this year.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play will be available globally in selected markets from March 2011.