[Xperia Play General] hasaan6545:
I found that quite a number of people online were critical about Xperia PLAY, so I decided to write this to drive away the misconceptions!

There are several reasons why Xperia PLAY is the perfect gaming and multimedia smartphone, as given below:

1. Advantages of Snapdragon SoC (Scorpion Processor and Adreno GPU):

Xperia Play has a single-core 1GHz Snapdragon processor and an Adreno 205 GPU, however this doesn't put it behind the other SoC's out there (explained below)

Many people believe Adreno to be weaker than NVIDIA Tegra2 or PowerVR, but that isn't the case!

The truth is that the latter two seem good on paper and benchmarks, but their practical performance isn't up to the mark.

i. Adreno GPU is efficient and powerful:

Game developers find Adreno a better GPU when it comes to complex game effects. It handles them in a faster, better and power efficient way.

ii. Adreno is friendly to the battery:

Consider NVIDIA's Tegra2 GPU, which requires a heavy dependance on the CPU for it's optimal performance, and that reduces it's battery efficiency.

Follow the link in Techdread's thread to find a thorough comparison from Game developers' point of view.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1243036

iii. Snapdragon SoC has hidden tricks up it's sleeve

Adreno GPU and Scorpion CPU has some really cool optimizations up it's sleeve, which makes it better in most tasks than the other options.

e.g. Adreno has support for Hardware acceleration in Flash content. In a video test result, Snapdragon on Xperia Arc played a 720p Youtube video perfectly, whereas other major dual-core devices lagged!

See video below:

http://phandroid.com/2011/06/15/qua...re-tegra-2-for-flash-content-supremecy-video/

Paul Jacobs, Qualcomm's boss says that Single core snapdragon with latest drivers outperform the current dual core processors.

"Looking at benchmarking tests for our single core product, it outperforms against dual core products from our competitors,’ said Jacbos.

He added: ‘The performance that you can get is literally much more than just counting the number of cores on a chip - it about how these cores work together seamlessly and efficiently. Compared to our competitors' [dual-core chips] they use 50 to 75 per cent more power to deliver the same perfomace compared to our single-core CPUs.’

iv. Snapdragon has DEVELOPER SUPPORT

Snapdragon is widely being supported by developers and alot of games for it are being made.

What hardware advantage does any SoC give the device if it has little developer support??

How many times have you seen these words on game threads: Make this for SGS2 please!!

v. Xperia series has the latest drivers for Snapdragon and Adreno, getting the most out of them.

(vi. BONUS : Custom kernel from DoomLord can boost the already-so-efficient CPU to 1.9 GHz B-) )

2. Dual-Channel RAM:

Xperia Play is the currently the only device that possesses a dual channel DDR2 memory working at 300 Hertz. This increases the performance as data can be passed much faster between components such as the CPU and the GPU, and enables it to perform heavy duty tasks optimally, and to keep a constant 60fps refresh rate in games.

3. PlayStation Controls:

Of course everyone knows what this is about :)

The physical controls are of great advantage in gaming for obvious reasons.

The virtual analog controls got mixed reviews, however they are awesome in my opinion. I always find myself using them rather than the buttons.

Moreover, they can also be used for key mapping in emulators, giving a great plus value!

4. Havok Game Engine:

Don't miss out this beast!

Havok game engine has debuted on Android via Xperia Play. This helps developers make great games with accurate physics and realism!

About Havok:

Havok™, an Intel® company , was founded in Dublin, Ireland in 1998, and is the premier provider of interactive software and services for digital media creators in the games and movie industries. Havok works in partnership with the world ’s best

known game developers, including Microsoft®, Nintendo®, and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Havok’ s cross- platform, professionally supported technology is available for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation ®Portable), Xperia™ PLAY, Wii™, PC Games for Windows.

Havok’s combination of superior technology and dedication to delivering for its customers has led to the company’ s technologies being used in over 300 of the world’ s best known game titles, including Halo Reach, Assassin’ s Creed Brotherhood, Epic Mickey, Fallout New Vegas, Uncharted 2 , Demon’s Soul and Bioshock 2 . A further 130 games are in development. Havok products have also been used to drive special effects in movies such as Clash of the Titans, Watchmen, Quantum of Solace, Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix, and The Matrix. Havok has offices in Dublin, San Francisco , Copenhagen, Calcutta, Munich, and Tokyo.

5. 3d Stereo speakers with xLoud

Gaming isn't fun without good sound effects. Many people entirely depend on their headsets for gaming and multimedia, due to the lack of good speakers in the phone.

Xperia Play's speakers, especially after the xLoud update, are AWESOME. You wouldn't need to depend on your headsets for gaming anymore, the speakers really take care of all!

They are also perfect for watching movies or listening to songs.

6. Xperia PLAY exclusives and game library

Sony Ericsson has made deals with a great number of game companies, including Gameloft, EA, Glu and Polarbit. A great number of games are out in no time at all, and more are on their way.

Often, Xperia Play gets the game a month or two earlier than the other Android models.

Xperia Play also has PlayStation titles coming to it, and Sony Ericsson recently announced more AAA titles to be on their way.

Xperia Play's massive game library is much larger than Tegra's.

7. Sony Ericsson's multimedia and entertainment experience:

Sony Ericsson provides a unique, unparalleled experience in multimedia and entertainment fields. It has got a great deal of experience from Cybershot and Walkman products, and has always been ahead of the other brands in these categories.

Xperia PLAY, with it's awesome sound quality and a decent camera reflects these results. The camera, though not SE's best, is still decent overall and faster than the other Android models.

I have the experience of developing top camdrivers for SE's cybershot series, and find that Xperia Play's camera is pretty decent.

Other SE goodies like TimeScape, Facebook inside Xperia etc. are also great if you use them.

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This is enough to prove that Xperia PLAY really is what it's supposed to be - the perfect gaming and multimedia smartphone!