Hasta La Gadget!

Well, that was quick. It was just two days ago when the elusive PlayStation Phone popped up on a Hong Kong forum, and now it’s back again in full exposure thanks to Chinese website IT168. It’s now confirmed that said Xperia-branded device is powered by a Qualcomm Adreno 205 GPU, along with what’s likely to be a 1GHz Snapdragon QSD8255 as featured on the HTC Desire HD. Interestingly, Neocore is reporting an impressive 59.1fps benchmark, which is a huge improvement from our exclusive look back in early December. Quadrant also reports a high score of 1,733, but hey, there’s no saying that this is the final build, so the graphics performance may get even better.

Other tidbits found in the latest leak include the generous battery capacity of 1,500mAh, the 854 x 480 resolution on a 4-inch LCD, a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash sans 720p video recording (although it’s probably just that the leaksters didn’t look in all the submenu in the camera app), 512MB RAM, 512MB ROM, a microSD slot, SIM slot, micro-USB, and a second mic on the back for active noise cancellation à la Nexus One. Interestingly, the still-empty game launcher app is now called “PlayStation Pocket.” We’re still unclear just what the app will run; will it be PSOne games (the company has written an emulator before), PSP games, or an entirely new lineup? (In contrast, the PSP Go has a 333MHz processor, 64MB RAM, and a 3.8-inch 480 x 272 display — albeit on different, not-quite-comparable architecture.) Hopefully we’ll know soon enough, eh Kaz? Anyhow, you can peruse some pictures and videos below, and definitely check out IT168 for the full skinny on this (somewhat tick) device.

[Thanks, Dave]

Continue reading Sony’s PlayStation Phone gets in-depth preview in China, PlayStation Pocket app in tow

Sony’s PlayStation Phone gets in-depth preview in China, PlayStation Pocket app in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony Ericsson isn’t being shy about hyping the Xperia Arc‘s new Reality Display, so we naturally had to take a head-to-head shot with the iPhone 4’s Retina Display. They actually compare quite well in person, even though the Arc actually has the same 854 x 480 resolution as the Droid X — you can definitely see some pixels up close, but since the panel is a hair smaller than the X at 4.2 inches, the pixel density is a little tighter. The real noise behind the Reality Display is Arc’s Bravia Engine, which Sony claims will enhance colors and detail just like on Bravia TVs, but we didn’t get to play with it too much beyond finding the option in settings to turn it off. We’ll obviously be diving deep on that once we score a review unit, but for now check a macro shot and a Droid X comparison after the break.

Continue reading Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Reality Display vs. Retina Display… fight!

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Reality Display vs. Retina Display… fight! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Russian site Gagadget seems to have scored pictures of a phone that matches up perfectly with the teasers Sony Ericsson has placed strategically around the CES show grounds this week — which, in turn, look a whole lot like the Anzu we’ve been seeing leaked for a few months. The site’s saying this bad boy will come to market as the Xperia Arc, so called thanks to a concave backside. The specs, if legit, are decent: 1GHz Qualcomm processor (single-core, it seems), 4.2-inch 854 x 480 display, Gingerbread, 8 megapixel back-illuminated Sony sensor with HD video capture, and a body that measures just 8.7mm at the thinnest point. Sony’s CES press conference is later today, so we might not have long to wait to get all the details on this one; in the meantime, follow the break for a quick promotional video Gagadget seems to have turned up.

[Thanks, SillentTroll]

Continue reading Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc breaks cover, announced at CES this week?

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc breaks cover, announced at CES this week? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 10:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve heard of the mysterious, still-totally-unofficial PlayStation Phone running Android 2.2 in the past, but we’d also heard it could run 3.0 — thing is, that was back before we knew Gingerbread would be 2.3, so it’s possible that those 3.0 rumors ended up materializing as 2.3. Capiche? Anyhow, this is the first time we’re seeing the Xperia Play (or Zeus Z1, or whatever it’ll end up being called) running 2.3 in the wild, doing its thing next to a white Xperia X10 to give you an idea of scale. The lucky poster actually has two of the phones available, so they seem to be leaking out of factories in sufficient quantities now to suggest that it’ll likely be announced soon — or so we hope, anyway. CES? MWC? We’ll know soon enough. Follow the break for the 2.3 evidence up close.

Also notable: these appear to be new hardware builds that feature refined touch surfaces — notice the engraved circles — along with PlayStation-themed and Xperia logos at the bottom (notice the telltale square, triangle, X, and circle shapes). The screen shots call out a model number of R800i, which has previously been associated with the Zeus… so this is definitely lining up nicely.

[Thanks, Sze]

Continue reading Sony’s PlayStation Phone finally gets Xperia, PlayStation logos

Sony’s PlayStation Phone finally gets Xperia, PlayStation logos originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 11:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In case you needed any more evidence that Sony is ramping up to launch a gaming system on a phone in the next few months, here you go: Japanese rag Asahi Shimbun says that the PlayStation Phone — which could be known as the Zeus Z1, Xperia Play, or something else altogether by the time it’s on store shelves — is expected in the spring of 2011 for a North American and European release. That lines up with virtually everything we’ve been hearing lately, and it’s also fortuitous timing considering that both CES and MWC are right around the corner; we don’t know what Sony Ericsson might have on tap for CES, but we definitely know they’re planning some new Xperia-branded models for MWC. There are many questions left unanswered — how (and if) any of this ties into the standalone PSP2, how gaming titles will be purchased, and how many models will be available that support the platform, just to name a few — but hopefully Sony can clear all that up here within the next few weeks.

Japanese paper pegs PlayStation Phone for spring launch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 12:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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