[Q] Xperia ARC vs Xperia PLAY - Xperia Arc Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello!
Please tell me which games are there which I can't play on ARC while I can on PLAY?
Please name such games if you can.
I am about to buy any one of these tommorrow, and don't know which to prefer; here is a little comparison, please correct me if I am wrong and also mention something I might have missed;
ARC :
Great body design
Great body material
Great Camera
Poor sound
No gaming Pad
Larger Screen
Not so good Web experience
Not so good Touch Interface
Radio
PLAY :
Average body design
Poor body material
Average Camera
Great sound
Gaming Pad
Average Screen
Great Web Experience
Great Touch experience
No Radio
Also tell me is there any difference between them as far as the user experience is concerned, I mean any application or function or anything that ARC has and Play don't or vice versa?
How much do they differ as far as the browsing experience is concerned?
So far Arc is winning, I guess, but now it all depends upon the games. That's is why I am contacting you all. I mean I am interested in Star Battalion and Asphalt (which from what I know can be played on ARC), and not much interested in Crash Bandicot.
Please reply soon.
Thanks in advance.

Can you tell me why you think the play has better web experience then the arc I think the specs of the same are they not ?

Torres77an said:
Can you tell me why you think the play has better web experience then the arc I think the specs of the same are they not ?
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I've never had a problem with the web experience on the arc .

Torres77an said:
Can you tell me why you think the play has better web experience then the arc I think the specs of the same are they not ?
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Hello!
I don't know really.
I guess I got the impression from the fact that SE's official site says that PLAY is a great web experience on top of great gaming experience. And also from a video which showcased some downsides of ARC's browser versus that of IPhone 4 but couldn't find any video doing the same for PLAY.

I have to Disagree on some of your Points there on Arc
Poor sound
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You must not say POOR in General because for a Single Loud Speaker Arc Speaker is One of the Best out there, Dont' compare Single to Stereo Speaker, but Yes Xperia Play's Speaker is The Best Speakers on Mobile Phone out there.
Not so good Web experience
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Of course Bigger screen means Better Web Experience IMHO, I don't see why Arc will not do better than Play?
Not so good Touch Interface
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All Xperia right now have The Same Excellent Touch Interface, but Most Xperia's out there are Applied with Shatter Proof Sheet on a Mineral Glass that protects the screen, that could slightly decreases Touch Performance
IMO Both Phones are Great except they are focused on Different markets
Arc as the Camera/Video Stylish Phone and Play as the Gaming Phone Equipped with Superb PS controls and LOUD Stereo Speakers
but overall Experience is Great
You can also visit my youtube channel to see Arc in Action for Games
Arc Youtube Video's

I think you forget to mention that play does not support Brave Engine and i think both device has pretty good sound too. Just get to the store and try it.

Hey lol im facing the exact same crisis! I've kinda decided on the arc. Some of your points are not true mate. The arc web browsing is better. What the play has that the arc doesn't are the dedicated gaming controls and stereo speakers. By no means are the arc speakers bad. Don't pay much attention to the SE website.. they promote their phones as much as they can. For the xperia x8 they say access to thousands of apps on the market. That doesn't mean the androids don't lol. Arc has a brilliant camera, based on personal usage better than the N8 I don't know how.. 12mp vs 8 and even the owner of the N8 reluctantly admitted the arc camera was better. Arc has the exmor sensor and BRAVIA engine while play has no sensor, but has a BRAVIA port. Doesn't Work that great imho. Very little difference. Also keep in mind though that in bright light, bravia might not be good. It overdoes things sometimes and you can't turn it off. I'd love some feedback to this thread from arc owners, IV already got some from play owners. I think I'm gonna go with the arc cos I'm not a hardcore gamer and the arc screen is big enough to support touch controls on normal android games. Fpse can be a problem but I doubt I'll ever use it. Also, I doubt the play can support ps2 and psp games.. so I'm reluctant to get one. There may or may not be any exclusive games being released for it.. would be a HUGE disappointment to play owners. When it comes to custom roms and kernels, it appears the play has a bit more support I assume.. this is just my 2 cents.. would value other opinions very much.
Edit- arc touch interface is awesome. It's bloody brilliant. And it can detect more that 2 fingers simultaneously. Only negative point I have about the arc- in SOME models, hairline cracks appear in the housing. Just google it. It's quite rare.. and you won't notice it in most cases. If this doesn't bother you, it's fine. It doesn't affect performance or anything at all. It wouldn't bother me.. I wouldn't even notice lol. Yea.. thats my 2 cents.

price is a constant too, the arc is cheaper

Pjay12 said:
Hey lol im facing the exact same crisis! I've kinda decided on the arc. Some of your points are not true mate. The arc web browsing is better. What the play has that the arc doesn't are the dedicated gaming controls and stereo speakers. By no means are the arc speakers bad. Don't pay much attention to the SE website.. they promote their phones as much as they can. For the xperia x8 they say access to thousands of apps on the market. That doesn't mean the androids don't lol. Arc has a brilliant camera, based on personal usage better than the N8 I don't know how.. 12mp vs 8 and even the owner of the N8 reluctantly admitted the arc camera was better. Arc has the exmor sensor and BRAVIA engine while play has no sensor, but has a BRAVIA port. Doesn't Work that great imho. Very little difference. Also keep in mind though that in bright light, bravia might not be good. It overdoes things sometimes and you can't turn it off. I'd love some feedback to this thread from arc owners, IV already got some from play owners. I think I'm gonna go with the arc cos I'm not a hardcore gamer and the arc screen is big enough to support touch controls on normal android games. Fpse can be a problem but I doubt I'll ever use it. Also, I doubt the play can support ps2 and psp games.. so I'm reluctant to get one. There may or may not be any exclusive games being released for it.. would be a HUGE disappointment to play owners. When it comes to custom roms and kernels, it appears the play has a bit more support I assume.. this is just my 2 cents.. would value other opinions very much.
Edit- arc touch interface is awesome. It's bloody brilliant. And it can detect more that 2 fingers simultaneously. Only negative point I have about the arc- in SOME models, hairline cracks appear in the housing. Just google it. It's quite rare.. and you won't notice it in most cases. If this doesn't bother you, it's fine. It doesn't affect performance or anything at all. It wouldn't bother me.. I wouldn't even notice lol. Yea.. thats my 2 cents.
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You can Turn Off Bravia Engine in the Display Settings

mhyke13ph said:
You can Turn Off Bravia Engine in the Display Settings
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Thanks! Did not know that
Hmmm.... are you satisfied with your arc? Any main advantages/disadvantages?
About price - the arc came out at a significantly increased price when compared to the play. However, prices around now are the same. (In my country at least)

Pjay12 said:
Thanks! Did not know that
Hmmm.... are you satisfied with your arc? Any main advantages/disadvantages?
About price - the arc came out at a significantly increased price when compared to the play. However, prices around now are the same. (In my country at least)
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No problem. Actually I also had my dilema choosing Arc or Play these were the phones available at that time when i was going to replace my X8, I read a lot about these phones, and their price is almost the same $520 Arc and $525 Play, but i bought the Arc instead with lots of personal preferences, and yes I play a lot.
Yes I am very pleased with my Arc, not just by the looks of it, Performance is great and par on most dualcore phones out there.
Drawbacks? Cracks appearing and chrome peeling that will show around 2 to 3 months, cracks can be serious issue to most people, it hit hard on Midnight Blue version, and rare on Misty Silver, and I chose Misty Silver because of that.
IMO Chrome peeling is not new to us, i Also had some Chrome peeling in my Previous phone.
My Arc was up for 267Hrs before i encountered a random Reboot, I think that's Normal
Sent from my LT15i using XDA Premium App

mhyke13ph said:
No problem. Actually I also had my dilema choosing Arc or Play these were the phones available at that time when i was going to replace my X8, I read a lot about these phones, and their price is almost the same $520 Arc and $525 Play, but i bought the Arc instead with lots of personal preferences, and yes I play a lot.
Yes I am very pleased with my Arc, not just by the looks of it, Performance is great and par on most dualcore phones out there.
Drawbacks? Cracks appearing and chrome peeling that will show around 2 to 3 months, cracks can be serious issue to most people, it hit hard on Midnight Blue version, and rare on Misty Silver, and I chose Misty Silver because of that.
IMO Chrome peeling is not new to us, i Also had some Chrome peeling in my Previous phone.
My Arc was up for 267Hrs before i encountered a random Reboot, I think that's Normal
Sent from my LT15i using XDA Premium App
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OMG! Im also looking to replace my x8! HA
Hmmm... I want to buy the midnight blue.. Silver doesnt look that great but the cracks are a problem.... Guess ill decide that when I go to buy it..
Do you regret not buying the Play? Or would you choose the arc over the play again? Also, what games do you play? HD? And are they completely lagless?

Pjay12 said:
OMG! Im also looking to replace my x8! HA
Hmmm... I want to buy the midnight blue.. Silver doesnt look that great but the cracks are a problem.... Guess ill decide that when I go to buy it..
Do you regret not buying the Play? Or would you choose the arc over the play again? Also, what games do you play? HD? And are they completely lagless?
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Oh yea you should replace that X8, too bad X8 was a great contender last year for Mid Range phones, but they didn't supported it well and it's like a Dead on Arrival Phone
Here is my Personal Youtube Channel
It Includes Unboxing, Quick Review(No voice though, Im Shy ) and lots of GAMES! Please Rate and Share too
I only encounter Lags when playing Asphalt 6, maybe because this game is not for Arc, and because this game is for Xperia Play Optimised, but still playable and it rarely lags.
If i could own Both that would be nice

Hmm.. Have you overclocked? Or it lags a little on stock rom with 1Ghz default clock

Pjay12 said:
Hmm.. Have you overclocked? Or it lags a little on stock rom with 1Ghz default clock
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No, I stayed on Stock Rom 2.3.3 and No Root , Still waiting for a Rootable 2.3.3 or 2.3.4 when time comes
Xperia Play Handles Games and Task very well because it is the only phone out there that uses a dual channel DDR2 memory working at 300 Hertz, that Improves Performances a lot and can perform Heavy Task.
Thats why Playing games on Play is Optimised and stayed @ 60FPS Refresh Rate.
One Very Big Pro for Xplay

athris said:
I think you forget to mention that play does not support Brave Engine and i think both device has pretty good sound too. Just get to the store and try it.
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The play has bravia engine since doomlord ported it

IMO the Play and the Arc are both excellent devices. But they are aimed at two totally diffrent markets. The Play has been heavly optimised for playing games. (stereo speakers, dual channel ddr2 memory). But unless you intend to play alot of games on your phone, i see no reason to buy a play over an Arc. I love playing games on my play. And could never go back to touchscreen games now

If you want to game a lot --> Play is for you because of the controla
If you want to use it as a normal smartphone, texting, browsing, gaming sometimes Arc is the way to go imo.
I don't regret getting my Arc and it's fast @ 1GHz but of course it's even snappier @ 1.2GHz
Mine midnight blue Arc has the crack but it's not that visable (most of my friends don't see it, even if you say them there's a crack).
Arc rocks, but both devices are great.
Day to day performance should be exactly the same on Arc and Play due same specs and same using experience.
Sent from my LT15i using XDA Premium App

Actually I Play a lot but I did chose Arc over Play because of these Factors
>Size
>Weight
>Screen Size
>Screen Brightness
>Clear Black Panel
>Bravia Engine
>8MP Exmor R
>HD Recording
>HDMI Port(Bonus for Me)
>Style
Over
>PS Controls with Touch pads
>Stereo Speakers
>Exclusive Games and PS Suite
>Dual DDR2 Memory Channel
>Front Facing Camera
Put Those Arc Features in Play, I will choose Play Anytime
They could easily put some of those features and make Play as their Flagship phone?
Just Imagine All those Arc Features(not the Size and Weight) in Play

Those of you who have the play- (AndroHero I think)
Will the play be able to support PSP and PS2 games? Its my biggest concern about the Play. I saw a video on youtube - Modern warfare for xperia play. I know it was fake but the graphics :O:O:O:O:O:O Will the play ever actually be able to do that? Or will there most probably be a play 2 that will..?
My conclusion (so far) - The Play's gaming controls make it an ultimate portable gaming experience and you can thrash other players in online/multiplayer FPS games. The DDR2 RAM eliminates the lags that you very very rarely see on an xperia arc. And you get a tiny not-very-good front camera that Ill never use. The games can be played on both devices extremely well. Day to day performance is the same.
So...
Camera (really awesome cam) vs gaming controls.
Great.. Im exactly where I started out :/
Thanks all for the help More opinions always welcome. Im begging for them actually... It'll be my first high end android and I dont want to regret buying it or later thinking damn I should have bought the <insert name of what I didnt buy>
Edit- how is the support for the 2 devices when it comes to custom roms, kernels, etc?
Ive searched the forums for both, theres one note-worthy kernel (doom), one FXP rom each and the play has 2 or 3 others. Are roms for the arc in progress? Or is the stock rom brilliant as it is? Sorry for the *noob* questions. But Ive done the searching and researching and I want confirmation and stuffs I didnt know. New to the forums here etc etc

Related

[Poll] How many use Xperia Play for Gaming (With the gamepad)

Just a question that came up in rom threads. To get more insight into things. How many of use really use the xperia play for its gaming ability. Meaning, you REALLY want the gamepad used correctly. Some people use just the touch screen more and dont care about the gamepad as much. So just thought I would make a poll for devs to use later to get insight on how people use their xperia.
The gamepad is the only reason I chose this phone over the other Android phones offered by Verizon. And so far, it hasn't let me down. Of course, I'm a retro gamer, I couldn't really care less about the touchpads.
I use it often. At the mo playing Zelda on the Gameboy Advance emulator and loving it
brought to you by the XDA app on my badass Android toy
I use it for every emulator , every game. The gamepad is the sole purpose of buying this phone.
Yea I am all about the emulators myself. However I think the issue comes up on non stock roms with android based games that "optimize for xperia play" and how some roms may not work right on a gamepad. I just know I love the gamepad. Too bad GTA3 isnt working right.
YES... i had been hunting down this phone since i heard rumors of it, 2 years before its release, so i started to save up cash, i waited a while for it to drop price, when i finally had enough money , i got the white one, because everyone here would have the black one, anyways as soon as i got the phone the works, Boot loader on locking, Rooting, Custom Rom, Emulators/ROMS, im an old school gamer, so all the Pokemons, all the Marios, etc etc.
What i loved about the phone is that my younger brother got a Iphone 3gs and he did not wanted to buy the Xperia Play because " it looks so cheap" and to be honest it does, it took him 30 seconds of playing my Play to Regret getting the Iphone 3gs, as like me he is also a hardcore gamer.
So Gaming pad.. hell Freaking yeah... its the only thing i can bark at work,"hey my phone has this much processor","mine has this much screen", etc then i go "well how many of you have gaming buttons?" and i just laugh.
My last two phones I had purchased the GameGripper for both. Bit when I saw the xplay I jumped for it and haven't looked back. Now version where the hell is the info on the ics update?
http://www.game-gripper.com/mobile/default.aspx#Home
Sent from my R800x using xda premium
The gamepad is great for playing fighting games
The gamepad is one mayor thing that brought me to buy the phone.
As I consider myself a hardcore and casually retro gamer.
Many other reasons:
Decent screen size
Incredibly loud stereo speakers
Supports epileptic led mode (32hz/2000bpm)
Autofocus camera
Awesome processor and GPU (overclockeable to 2GHz!!!1!11one)
512 MBs of RAM
Easy rooting and bootloader unlocking
Comes with the best OS in the world
Built-in integration with Facebook
Some drawbacks:
SEMC skin kinda sucks compared to cooler ones
Comes with lots of bloatware
Brightness is NULL in the outsides of a sunny day
Battery does not last more than three days under default settings
SEMC launcher only has 5 homescreen slots
Built-in theme chooser doesn't do much
Front camera only works in outsides and is a 1.3 MP one
But overall, much better phone than any of those I have found people using on the streets (at least in my country).
I mainly use the phone with Onlive. Ever since it got support I've been wasting my money on games my computer can handle, but it's on my phone <3.
Emulators work rather well, it's just say I'm playing Majora's Mask I have to keep the virtual keys on screen for the c-buttons due to lack of mapping.
I just don't use the touchpads
Sent from my Xperia Play using XDA App
Thats the whole bloody reason why I got the Xperia Play because of the gamepad !
It stands out from the crowd.
Just cannot wait for ICS on the Xperia Play !
Anybody else excited ?
sufy1000 said:
Thats the whole bloody reason why I got the Xperia Play because of the gamepad !
It stands out from the crowd.
Just cannot wait for ICS on the Xperia Play !
Anybody else excited ?
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ICS is good but miui is better in my opinion.. I still use the gamepad just don't play any games that use touch pads
Sent from my Xperia Play using XDA App
I use my Xperia Play only as a gaming device. I don't use it as a phone (no sim card). I got it used super cheap. Onlive, FPse, etc.
Sent from my R800at using XDA App
of course...bought it because of the game pad..i have a lot of time to play games...even at work...
i don't use the touchpad because i haven't game where i need it (only in mupen64 i need them, but i'm not an hardcore player)
Do some of you still use a BT Gamepad on your XP? Was thinking of getting the onlive universal gamepad. Still having a full set of trigger buttons would be nice.
I thougt the game pad was cool but i actully don't use it so much and actully have another android phone.
That's the main reason I got it and it's great for my retro gaming needs. I use emulators mainly and only use the pads when I need to, like with Mupen64.
I can say I'm a little disappointed in the r800x model (stupid Verizon). My parents still pay my phone bill so I can't complain too much.
I'm moving to Canada this summer and I plan on getting one from whatever carrier I end up with (not CDMA though, I'm done with that mess). They are free with most contracts which makes it even tastier.
BTW any recommendations for cell carriers in Canada? PM me
I'm mobile.. and I'm a gamer.. so, I bought Xplay because it's a Gaming Mobile Phone which had "gamepad" on it..
If I don't use the gamepad, I would prefer Arc S or Ray than this..

What do you think xperia play 2 specs gonna be?

I plan to buy xperia play possibly this week or next month.
But im afraid there will be a new xperia play coming soon with higher specs.
Or there will be no xperia play 2?
I doubt it though because there already a quad core phones in the market
Sent from my SK17i using XDA
i would like a quad core processor tegra 3 clocked maybe at 2ghz , at least 1 gb of dual channel ram, a 720p display, better backlight and 12 mega pixel camera
Moved to Q&A Section, hope you get good answers for making your decision!
I'm thinking xperia play 2 is 6 months to 1 year away. If you can wait that long for a new phone, then I would. Otherwise you'll get major phone envy when a new one comes out and you aren't due for an upgrade for another year past that.
ttiimm said:
i would like a quad core processor tegra 3 clocked maybe at 2ghz , at least 1 gb of dual channel ram, a 720p display, better backlight and 12 mega pixel camera
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You wish that to be on xperia play 2? That would be beast
Sent from my SK17i using XDA
crono141 said:
I'm thinking xperia play 2 is 6 months to 1 year away. If you can wait that long for a new phone, then I would. Otherwise you'll get major phone envy when a new one comes out and you aren't due for an upgrade for another year past that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lets see. But I'd probably wait.
What do you guys think? Is xperia play still worth to buy this year?
Sent from my SK17i using XDA
Izzy Stinson said:
Lets see. But I'd probably wait.
What do you guys think? Is xperia play still worth to buy this year?
Sent from my SK17i using XDA
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I bougth mine this year, abou 1,5 ago and i´m very pleased with my decision.
Got mine in August and still love it to this day
brought to you by the XDA app on my badass Android toy
I don't care about the specs as long as they put in a bigger battery and fix the defect in the slider design.
Sent from a Galaxy far, far away
i think that the new play shud have better specs than present play cuz really when i saw this phone i expected better graphics nothing else but graphics i saw that either an ipod touch has better graphics than a play or gameloft jus isnt trying for android
S4pro chipset would be best, dualcore krait with adreno 320. However i think it will probably be standard S4.
RealMcoy said:
i think that the new play shud have better specs than present play cuz really when i saw this phone i expected better graphics nothing else but graphics i saw that either an ipod touch has better graphics than a play or gameloft jus isnt trying for android
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i'm pretty sure gameloft doesn't care about android.
MrHaPpY66 said:
i'm pretty sure gameloft doesn't care about android.
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Click to collapse
Gameloft cares about whatever gives them the most money, which is iOS.
Sent from a Galaxy far, far away
RealMcoy said:
i think that the new play shud have better specs than present play cuz really when i saw this phone i expected better graphics nothing else but graphics i saw that either an ipod touch has better graphics than a play or gameloft jus isnt trying for android
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed. playing around with ipad 3 today and the graphics are like super hd
captain67 said:
Gameloft cares about whatever gives them the most money, which is iOS.
Sent from a Galaxy far, far away
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enough said.
im currently using an xperia mini pro and the specs are nearly the same as play except it has smaller screen. i noticed there are many android games lag on my mini pro therefore so does the play correct?
so my point is, should i wait for a new play comes out probably a dual core processor is enought at least ir should i just buy it cos there will be no xperia play 2 this year at least???
Izzy Stinson said:
enough said.
im currently using an xperia mini pro and the specs are nearly the same as play except it has smaller screen. i noticed there are many android games lag on my mini pro therefore so does the play correct?
so my point is, should i wait for a new play comes out probably a dual core processor is enought at least ir should i just buy it cos there will be no xperia play 2 this year at least???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, my new phone is dual-core and a lot of games perform just the same as on the play. Some are even worse. I think it depends heavily on the developers and the game itself.
The problem is that Android games in general aren't written in a very efficient way, and aren't optimized well for a wide enough range of phones. Some games run better on Qualcomm, some better on Samsung chips.. Nothing seems to be optimized across the board from what I've seen.
Sent from a Galaxy far, far away
i would really like to see a new Xplay be released from sony
sony ericsson really dissapointed me with the Xplay they brought out
If they're smart, they won't touch the resolution, because they should be keen enough to figure out that changing the resolution would compromise and sacrifice from the 300+ games Xperia Play already has under it's belt.
With Xperia Play already running everything buttery-smooth on it's 1GHz snapdragon, dual-core/quad-core isn't really necessary... but we all know that media outlets will assure it's publicly DOA with idiotic conjectures about how it'll be behind the curve at launch if they don't (if only the general public could see how well Xperia Play keeps up with the *beasts* like SGS2 in Android's highest-end games)... so might as well slam a spec-whore processor in there to shut them up.
Doubling or quadrupling the RAM wouldn't hurt as long as they keep their focus on quality over quantity as highly as they did by choosing the ELPIDA chip they chose this time around, and doing something about that absolutely puny internal storage would definitely aid us in the combat against Gameloft's phone storage-whoring bastards.
Otherwise, nothing should change. Bump up what needs to be bumped up without compromising what they've established.
TLRtheory said:
If they're smart, they won't touch the resolution, because they should be keen enough to figure out that changing the resolution would compromise and sacrifice from the 300+ games Xperia Play already has under it's belt.
With Xperia Play already running everything buttery-smooth on it's 1GHz snapdragon, dual-core/quad-core isn't really necessary... but we all know that media outlets will assure it's publicly DOA with idiotic conjectures about how it'll be behind the curve at launch if they don't (if only the general public could see how well Xperia Play keeps up with the *beasts* like SGS2 in Android's highest-end games)... so might as well slam a spec-whore processor in there to shut them up.
Doubling or quadrupling the RAM wouldn't hurt as long as they keep their focus on quality over quantity as highly as they did by choosing the ELPIDA chip they chose this time around, and doing something about that absolutely puny internal storage would definitely aid us in the combat against Gameloft's phone storage-whoring bastards.
Otherwise, nothing should change. Bump up what needs to be bumped up without compromising what they've established.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would be interesting if they did a retina display-esque exact double of the current resolution though
The display should be 720p at least, yes, it will probably break a few games, but the benefits far outweigh the cost, most of those apps will be updated for 720p, or should have been written in a way to upscale to begin with. Hardware will likely be S4 or S4pro from what I can see from Sony so far and would be a good choice in keeping compatibility with current titles.
TLR whilst your steadfast resolve in defence of the plays specs is very admirable, and I would echo them myself on occasion, updating the plays specs is a must, Sony themselves have said that they had to do a lot of rework on ics to run on phones with such low ram, whilst the play might be able to run current gen games fine, it wont have a chance at many future upcoming titles, ive played gta3 on a sgs2, ...whilst the controls are terrible, theres a massive difference in overall performance.
Most of these games run well on the play to begin with because they were built with the sgs/xplay 1ghz single core cpu/gpu in mind, because they comprise a large portion of the market, that wont be the case in 6 months, soon these phones will be relegated to the low end, and just like pcs, your phone will be too obsolete to run the current games. I havent seen any games made yet that really push the sgs2 or even higher end phones to anywhere near their potential.
Also, i would be quite happy to see the occasional lag and force kills of running apps disappear. I do agree that they need to continue the good work they have done so far, the form factor and controls are good, expandable memory, removable battery, all that jaz, all I could really ask for is proper analog sticks and larger/better positioned volume up/down for gaming doubleduty.

Do you like your Xperia Play?

As I read around the Internet, I see mixed reviews of the Xperia Play. However, if there is one thing i've learned through forum dwelling, it's that the unhappy are 10 times more likely to speak than the content.
If you don't want to answer any of those questions down below this, at least answer the poll <3
How well does it act as a phone? Are its texting/calling abilities acceptable?
How are the games? Are there emulators that take advantage of the control pad? Are there a reasonable amount of games that use the control pad? How often do you play games on it using the control pad? (I care so much about the control pad because it is the reason i'm considering buying it )
Is it exceptionally far behind recent phones? (Obviously it is behind as it isn't exactly a new phone, but will it still be useable 2-3 years from now?)
How well does Android run on it? Does it run more smoothly on the port of ICS or on its default Gingerbread? Do either of those OS's have a noticeable impact (good or bad) on gaming (compatibility, framerate, etc...)?
Would you buy your Xperia Play again?
Any other comments and experiences you have had are very welcome as well. Thank you for your time! I'm sure this thread will help at least one more person in the future.
Redjericho said:
How well does it act as a phone? Are its texting/calling abilities acceptable?
How are the games? Are there emulators that take advantage of the control pad? Are there a reasonable amount of games that use the control pad? How often do you play games on it using the control pad? (I care so much about the control pad because it is the reason i'm considering buying it )
Is it exceptionally far behind recent phones? (Obviously it is behind as it isn't exactly a new phone, but will it still be useable 2-3 years from now?)
How well does Android run on it? Does it run more smoothly on the port of ICS or on its default Gingerbread? Do either of those OS's have a noticeable impact (good or bad) on gaming (compatibility, framerate, etc...)?
Would you buy your Xperia Play again?
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1) The thing I like the best about Xperia Play is that it's not just good at being a game device. While I'm struggling to have any use for my PlayStation Vita, my Xperia Play's able to be an 'everything'.
2) The games are nice! Which is a very big deal for me. What I feared the most is that this would just be another OpenPandora, GP32, Dingoo A320, iControlPad or Gametel Controller; coming with all kinds of high tech, next-level hardware that people are wasting for all these old-ass games. I don't want to buy new technology for old software. I like seeing games that are actually able to take advantage of Xperia Play's full resolution and all it's methods of this-generation controls. What makes Xperia Play a winner to me is that it has all that. It's an excellent emulator, but you can get a good emulator anywhere... don't mean to be blunt, but that's nothing special. What makes Xperia Play special is that it's actually able to play the upper crust of this-generation smartphone games with dual analogs, high-res graphics and conventions of this generation. I'm playing games on it all the time... and shockingly enough, my shiny new PlayStation Vita isn't compromising that.
3) On paper, it seems like it would be far behind current phones because it's a single core. In practice though, it's running software (game and non-game) just as smoothly as the latest and greatest. Adreno 205 isn't very high-ranking on GPU acceleration, but practice always matters more than concept, and in practice I seldom see dips in framerate or hiccups in everyday use... and since it's got game controls, it's got a merit that those powerhouse phones don't. By all means, it should already be obsolete, yet everytime the next big 'benchmark' game comes out, Xperia Play has it's hands all over it. Then again, the same group of oblivious spec-counters talk **** about how every iPhone released is behind the curve at launch... yet single cores still hold their ground.
4) Android runs pretty silky smooth for me. What I will say is that you may not get the smoothest performance with that crappy standard launcher Sony puts on it's phones. With LauncherPro or ssLauncher, you see the Xperia Play being ridiculously smooth (those two launchers in particular also are a huge battery life savers).
5) I'd definitely buy it again. When I initially got this, it was a toss up between this and the Motorola Atrix. Now I see people with GS2's, Atrix, G2x, Atrix 2, GNotes that all fall in love with this single core phone I have (a few have even offered to trade their stronger phone for my weaker one that has game controls). I'll be able to upgrade again soon, and I'll likely just be using that for eBay fodder. As long as my Xperia Play continues being silky smooth and keeps providing a gaming experience that nothing else parallels, I don't see myself caring how strong phones get.
Do you like your Xperia Play?
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Well, the things that I don't like about it are cpu, gpu and ram because they are not appropriate for a gaming device.
but will it still be useable 2-3 years from now?)
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As a gaming device, I think it will not be usuable for games because games in the future will require Android 4.1 + more than good hardware like (1GB RAM - Snapdragon S4 CPU ... etc)
Would you buy your Xperia Play again?
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da
TLRtheory said:
1) The thing I like the best about Xperia Play is that it's not just good at being a game device. While I'm struggling to have any use for my PlayStation Vita, my Xperia Play's able to be an 'everything'.
2) The games are nice! Which is a very big deal for me. What I feared the most is that this would just be another OpenPandora, GP32, Dingoo A320, iControlPad or Gametel Controller; coming with all kinds of high tech, next-level hardware that people are wasting for all these old-ass games. I don't want to buy new technology for old software. I like seeing games that are actually able to take advantage of Xperia Play's full resolution and all it's methods of this-generation controls. What makes Xperia Play a winner to me is that it has all that. It's an excellent emulator, but you can get a good emulator anywhere... don't mean to be blunt, but that's nothing special. What makes Xperia Play special is that it's actually able to play the upper crust of this-generation smartphone games with dual analogs, high-res graphics and conventions of this generation. I'm playing games on it all the time... and shockingly enough, my shiny new PlayStation Vita isn't compromising that.
3) On paper, it seems like it would be far behind current phones because it's a single core. In practice though, it's running software (game and non-game) just as smoothly as the latest and greatest. Adreno 205 isn't very high-ranking on GPU acceleration, but practice always matters more than concept, and in practice I seldom see dips in framerate or hiccups in everyday use... and since it's got game controls, it's got a merit that those powerhouse phones don't.
4) Android runs pretty silky smooth for me. What I will say is that you may not get the smoothest performance with that crappy standard launcher Sony puts on it's phones. With LauncherPro or ssLauncher, you see the Xperia Play being ridiculously smooth (those two launchers in particular also are a huge battery life savers).
5) I'd definitely buy it again. When I initially got this, it was a toss up between this and the Motorola Atrix. Now I see people with GS2's, Atrix, G2x, Atrix 2, GNotes that all fall in love with this single core phone I have (a few have even offered to trade their stronger phone for my weaker one that has game controls). I'll be able to upgrade again soon, and I'll likely just be using that for eBay fodder. As long as my Xperia Play continues being silky smooth and keeps providing a gaming experience that nothing else parallels, I don't see myself caring how strong phones get.
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Thank you so much for your review! You basically covered everything that I have been searching far-and-wide to find. It's good to hear that it can also handle current generation games (for the most part) because it's always nice to have one or two pick-up-and-play mindless games, and the current mobile market excels at that.
I too believe that a device's specs don't mean much unless they are real world, so it's nice to hear from an actual user that it performs well. The main complaints I have read are lag of android and battery life, so to learn that I can improve it (at least a bit) is a very big plus.
Thanks for taking the time to help me out! Where there is one satisfied customer there is bound to be more, but I will stick around to see what others have to say as well.
Xperia-Play said:
Well, the things that I don't like about it are cpu, gpu and ram because they are not appropriate for a gaming device.
As a gaming device, I think it will not be usuable for games because games in the future will require Android 4.1 + more than good hardware like (1GB RAM - Snapdragon S4 CPU ... etc)
da
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I don't really see it as a replacement for a true gaming device. If I wanted to play polygon-packed, particle effect oozing games, I would spring for a Ps Vita (which I probably will get some day). As long as it can run a reasonable selection of game pad optimized games/emulators, i don't mind the lack of specs.
I don't really see it as a replacement for a true gaming device. If I wanted to play polygon-packed, particle effect oozing games, I would spring for a Ps Vita (which I probably will get some day). As long as it can run a reasonable selection of game pad optimized games/emulators, i don't mind the lack of specs.
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I think you are right
I've
Sent from my R800i using xda premium
How well does it act as a phone? Are its texting/calling abilities acceptable?
Excellent. 100% a good PHONE.
How are the games? Are there emulators that take advantage of the control pad? Are there a reasonable amount of games that use the control pad? How often do you play games on it using the control pad? (I care so much about the control pad because it is the reason i'm considering buying it )
Games for Android are great. SO many games are Xperia PLAY optimized. Emulator games, imo, are where it's at. Most emulated games just downright play better with physical controls. I <3 <3 <3 playing my PS1 roms on it.
Is it exceptionally far behind recent phones? (Obviously it is behind as it isn't exactly a new phone, but will it still be useable 2-3 years from now?)
I think so. Yeah it will lag a bit, especially as newer Android versions will require newer hardware, but imo we're safe for another year and a half or two. Possibly more.
How well does Android run on it? Does it run more smoothly on the port of ICS or on its default Gingerbread? Do either of those OS's have a noticeable impact (good or bad) on gaming (compatibility, framerate, etc...)?
For me using a custom rom (TrueAncestor) it's *butter*y smooth. Plays my games excellently.
Would you buy your Xperia Play again?
I most certainly would. Actually, I just did, and I am NOT regretting that desicion AT ALL. I had bought a beat up used one first and it died, but I liked it so much I bought it again.
i'll buy it ,
if one day , xperia play 2 comes , i'll buy that too , for any price
game pad is really really special H/W on phone , all i need is game and game support
I brought my play specifically for gaming as I'm sure so did everyone who has got this phone, I think it is a really good phone for gaming although it does struggle with some larger games like nova 3 but all in all the games seem to run lag less and have yet to have any issues with gaming myself, the phone itself excluding gaming is great it runs smooth, looks nice and its awesome when u show it to ur mates then flip out the controller lol, I wasn't sure about buying this phone at 1st as it does have some bad reviews and with it only having a 1ghz single core processor it didn't seem that revealing, anyway I went ahead and brought it and im yet to see any faults with it in fact after seeing mine my bro sold his iphone4 to buy one and my mate sold his sensation xe to buy one aswel which on paper is a huge downgrade, like I said some large games like nova 3 for example do lag but personally I think thats not because the phone can't hack it but that the game itself is just made crappy but a little lag on some games is worth bearing for the fact that u have a controller. This is the phone for anyone who likes gaming and if u install a custom rom and kernel its even better, I love this phone and won't ever change it unless an Xperia play 2 comes out
Sent from my R800i using xda premium
Hi, for me it's the best phone out there not only for gaming cause it can everything what a modern android phone should can. I use it every day as a normal phone and everything is fine and if you are a gamer and retrogame fan like me then there isn't something better.
Of course there a lot of more powerfull phones but as said they're just phones, and yeah i tried to play on others but with touch it's impossible to play a good game!!

should i buy xperia play today when the rivals have dual core???

m thinkin of getting xperia play but the phones of the same price range got dual core processors... only thing for which m considering xperia play is obviously its gamepad... so wat do u guys say... should i get a xperia play or just move on to other phones? se didnt gave ics update to it... can i expect jellybean workin on this device or its hardware is outdated for tat?
If you're more a gamer than a phone user, buy the Play. If you're more a phone user than a gamer, buy a different phone.
This device is designed with gamers in mind, that's why they included a gamepad with it. And do not worry about cores, most games that are Xperia Play-compatible work pretty good on it.
Devs are hard at work porting Jellybean to the Play. Amazingly, Jellybean is much faster than ICS and possibly even faster than Gingerbread (but we'll see if that one holds up). I think you should get the Play, if you want to play games on it. Dual core phones just don't hold a candle to physical buttons
Plus u can laugh at people who need to touch their phone screen to play games. Even if their hardware is powerful n all, i consider touching screen to play games is LAME!!!
i rather use a play than s3. SERIOUSLY.
I love my phone so much I have no interest in another touchscreen only phone. Truthfully... when my contract end in 6 months I plan on getting the AT&T play and using it on T-Mobile. I don't care if there is a galaxy s4 out or not. This phone rocks and the devs are doing a fantastic job with the PLAY.
Sent from my R800x using xda premium
actually , if you are looking for childish gsmeloft's games ( i never like gmelotf's games ) , yeah ' time to buy a dual core phone
but if you like the consoles game ,snes,MD,n64,ps1,GBA, SCUMM engine games like monkey island ... don't hesitate , buy a xperia play and enjoy , cause you never will have fantastic experience (like xperia play ) on other smartphones (( if you are a gamer ))
i, personally will wait till end of the world for xperia play 2 , or a smartphone like that ...
Don't buy the Xplay as an upgrade. You're going to regret it. If anything, get it from eBay or Craigslist. It's totally not worth using an upgrade for it. Save up for a good much newer phone that will actually last you and keep up with times for the next 2 years.
It's good for games and emulators, but with lots of play expect to stay plugged in somewhere or have your phone drain pretty quick.
And no, you will not get jellybean. You will get ICS from here, but expect few things to be broken. Sony will probably release a newer Gingerbread rom but that's it.
sdojoin said:
Plus u can laugh at people who need to touch their phone screen to play games. Even if their hardware is powerful n all, i consider touching screen to play games is LAME!!!
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Haha I agree. Games for me don't have to look graphically good. I am happy with the games that are on the Xperia PLAY at the moment.
And as everyone says you can't beat physical buttons !
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And as everyone says you can't beat physical buttons !
Sent from my R800i using xda app-developers app[/QUOTE]
That's what she said!! BAM! Just had to say it.....maybe its the food coma.......stupid dinner.
Sent from my R800x using xda premium
I really wonder is there ever gonna be a device with high end hardware + gamepad other than play...
Be or not to be that's the.......
If you're a gamer and like all the retro stuff than of course take the PLAY. I think till today this little wonder handle all games not much more bader then the dual cores. Of course in the future threre wiil be more havier gAmes which the PLAY can't handle and for that reason there's only one opportunity "HOPE"
for a second more powerfull device with an gamepad (tried to play with touchscreen but that isn't gaming for me just ****). But if such an device never come then my PLAY still is andwill be the best mobile emulator machine!!!
cyraxx84 said:
If you're a gamer and like all the retro stuff than of course take the PLAY. I think till today this little wonder handle all games not much more bader then the dual cores. Of course in the future threre wiil be more havier gAmes which the PLAY can't handle and for that reason there's only one opportunity "HOPE"
for a second more powerfull device with an gamepad (tried to play with touchscreen but that isn't gaming for me just ****). But if such an device never come then my PLAY still is andwill be the best mobile emulator machine!!!
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Kudos!!!

Should I get an Xperia play?

Well I bricked my rezound so I'm looking for a replacement for about a year until I sign a new contract. I found an Xperia play new for $125. I've read lots reviews and I'm good with everything but I still have one question. Is 512 ram enough? Is the phone responsive as far as the android side of it goes?
jksell07 said:
Well I bricked my rezound so I'm looking for a replacement for about a year until I sign a new contract. I found an Xperia play new for $125. I've read lots reviews and I'm good with everything but I still have one question. Is 512 ram enough? Is the phone responsive as far as the android side of it goes?
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Click to collapse
512 ram is enough if you only do just gaming nothing running in the background including facebook. I loved my xperia play so much I bought another on ebay. As far as custom roms go I tend to stick with gingerbread. So far there are alot of xperia play optimized games in the google marketplace. As time progresses our xperia play may become a fossil to run on the newer games but I seriously doubt it will happen until the next 3 years. If your tired playing touchscreen based games the xperia play will leave you a smile on your face thats what I felt when I was playing on my play. In my honest opinion the xperia play miles ahead of the competition on gaming even on its 1 ghz cpu.
Yeah it's a good phone - if you like gaming, if you're not a bigger gamer this is probably not the phone for you. After all the selling point of this phone is the game pad. The samsung Galaxy S3 is pretty cool with it's dual core CPU and other fancy stuff but without a game pad those precious HD android games don't mean s*** (to me at least). Plus it's a novelty, when the S4 comes out no one will want the S3. The Xperia Play on the other hand is the only phone with a game pad. It has that unique look and that want factor.

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