XPeria Pro, Neo And the PlayStation Phone Announced


If you’re wondering why Sony’s advertising those year old XPeria 10 in India, Here’s why.
As usual whenever a new product is announced in the US, older products are dumped to India(3rd world countries).  This time it’s Sony which announced the latest in the XPeria series – XPeria Play, XPeria Pro and XPeria Neo at the Mobile World Congress 2011.

Sony-XPeria-Play-Open

I hate the fact that that, despite having an open operating system like Android  the hardware companies have gone back to slimy way of categorizing each of their phones as “gaming only”, business ready and entertainment/music phones. Didn’t they learn enough already that one phone – which “does-it-all” can take over the a major chunk of the market? (in case you’ve not figured it out, I am talking about the Apple iPhone here).

XPeria Play is also well known to every one as the Play Station phone and the first Android phone to come with a dedicated gaming keypad. It features

  • 4″ inch screen FWVGA screen resolution
  • 1Ghz Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor
  • Dedicated Adreno GPU for those amazing games at 60fps
  • Gaming buttons – you’ll not miss your gaming controller now.
  • Will run Android 3.0.
  • 5.1 Megapixel camera.
  • Can run/download PlayStation games through the PlayStation suite (being developed right now)
  • Don’t keep your hopes high, the phone will only be available by March 2011.

Sony-XPeria-Playing-Soccer

XPeria Pro (advertised as a business phone)

  • Slideout QWERTY keyboard
  • 3.7″ screen size
  • Runs on Android 3.0 Gingerbread Operating system.
  • The Usual 1Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor
  • Built in 8GB MicroSD card.
  • HDMI Output
  • 854  x 480pixels (FWVGA) screen resolution
  • EXmor 8.1 megapixel camera
  • Available in colors – Blue Gradient, Red & Silver.
  • Will be available by the end of Q2 2011.

Sony-XPeria-Pro-Snap

XPeria Neo (an entertainment phone, coz it doesn’t have a physical keyboard)

This phone is a stripped down version of the XPeria Pro, the features are very similar except the following.

  • No Smart keyboard – Predicts what you’re typing. This isn’t the first and won’t be the last to do so.
  • Document Viewer only, no editor – So editing documents isn’t your piece of cake.
  • No physical keyboard – That’s for people who like blind landscape typing, the rest of the world still loves soft keyboards.
  • Weighs less than XPeria Pro – As it doesn’t have a physical keyboard.
  • Available in colors – Black, Silver & Red.
  • Will be available by the end of Q1, 2011.

Sony-XPeria-Neo-Front-2

The detailed comparison between Xperia Neo and XPeria Pro is below

Sony Ericsson Xperia™ neo Sony Ericsson Xperia™ pro
Screen Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine 16,777,216 colour TFT Capacitive touchscreen 3.7 inches 854 x 480pixels (FWVGA) Scratch-resistant Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine 16,777,216 colour TFT Capacitive touchscreen 3.7 inches 854 x 480 pixels (FWVGA) Scratch-resistant
Music Album art Bluetooth™ stereo (A2DP) Media player Music tones (MP3/AAC) PlayNow™ service* TrackID™ music recognition application* Album art Bluetooth™ stereo (A2DP) Media player Music tones (MP3/AAC) PlayNow™ service * TrackID™ music recognition application*
Web Android Market™* Bookmarks Google™ search* Google Voice™ Search* Pan & zoom Web browser (WebKit) Android Market™ * Bookmarks Google™ search* Google Voice Search* Pan & zoom Web browser (WebKit)
Communication Call list Conference calls Facebook™ application Google Talk™* Noise Shield Polyphonic ringtones Sony Ericsson Timescape™ Speakerphone Twitter™ (Timescape™ integration) Vibrating alert Call list Conference calls Facebook™ application Google Talk™* Noise Shield Polyphonic ringtones Sony Ericsson Timescape™ Speakerphone Twitter™ (Timescape™ integration) Vibrating alert
Messaging Conversations Email Google Mail™* Instant messaging Picture messaging (MMS) Predictive text input Text messaging (SMS) Conversations Email Google Mail™* Instant messaging Picture messaging (MMS) Predictive text input Smart Keyboard Text messaging (SMS) Type & Send widget
Design Auto rotate Keyboard (onscreen) Picture wallpaper Touchscreen Wallpaper animation Auto rotate Keyboard (onscreen) Picture wallpaper Slide-out keyboard Touchscreen Wallpaper animation
Entertainment 3D games Motion gaming Radio (FM) Video streaming Video viewing YouTube™ * 3D games Motion gaming Radio (FM) Video streaming Video viewing YouTube™ *
Organiser Alarm clock Calculator Calendar Document readers Flight mode Google Calendar™* Infinite button Phone book Set-up Wizard Alarm clock Calculator Calendar Document editors Document readers Flight mode Google Calendar™* Infinite button Phone book Set-up Wizard
Connectivity 3.5 mm audio jack aGPS Bluetooth™ technology DLNA Google Latitude™* Google Maps™ with Street View* HDMI support Media Transfer Protocol support Micro USB connector Modem Synchronisation via Facebook™ Synchronisation via Google Sync* Synchronisation via Sony Ericsson SyncSynchronisation: Exchange ActiveSync® USB mass storage USB High speed 2.0 support Wi-Fi™ 3.5 mm audio jack aGPS Bluetooth™ technology DLNA Google Latitude™* Google Maps™ with Street View* HDMI support Media Transfer Protocol support Micro USB support Modem Synchronisation via Facebook™ Synchronisation via Google™ Sync* Synchronisation via Sony Ericsson Sync Synchronisation: Exchange ActiveSync® USB mass storage USB High speed 2.0 support Wi-Fi™
Google™ services* * These services may not be available in every market Android Market™ Client Gmail™ Google Calendar™ Google Gallery 3D™ Google Latitude™ Google Maps™ with Street View Google Media Uploader Google Music Player™ Google Search widget Google Sync™ Google Talk™ Google Voice Search Set-up Wizard YouTube™ Android Market™ Client Gmail™ Google Calendar™ Google Gallery 3D™ Google Latitude™ Google Maps™ with Street View Google Media Uploader Google Music Player™ Google Search widget Google Sync™ Google Talk™ Google Voice Search Set-up Wizard YouTube™
Accessories In-Box:

  • Xperia™ neo
  • Battery
  • Stereo portable handsfree
  • 8GB microSD™ memory card
  • Charger
  • Micro USB cable for charging, synchronisation and file transfer
  • User documentation
In-Box:

  • Xperia™ pro
  • Battery
  • Stereo portable handsfree
  • 8GB microSD™ memory card
  • Charger
  • Micro USB cable for charging, synchronisation and file transfer
  • User documentation
Facts Size: 116 x 57 x 13 mm Weight: 126 grams Phone memory: Up to 320 MB Memory card support: microSD™, up to 32 GB Memory card included: 8GB microSD™ Operating system: Google™ Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) Processor: 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 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* *According to GSM Association Battery Life Measurement Technique. Battery performance may vary depending on network conditions and configurations, and phone usage. Size: 120 x 57 x 13.5 mm Weight: 140 grams Phone memory: Up to 320MB Memory card support: microSD™, up to 32GB Memory card included: 8GB microSD™ Operating system: Google™ Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) Processor: 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 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* *According to GSM Association Battery Life Measurement Technique. Battery performance may vary depending on network conditions and configurations, and phone usage.
Availability and versions Networks UMTS HSPA 900, 2100 GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS HSPA 800, 1900, 2100 GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 Networks UMTS HSPA 900, 2100 GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS HSPA 800, 1900, 2100 GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900
Colour Blue Gradient Red Silver Black Silver Red

[Via SonyEricsson Press, BGR & PCMag]


2 responses to “XPeria Pro, Neo And the PlayStation Phone Announced”

  1. I have few points Swaroop,
    1) about “does-it-all”, I still think there is a need for limited customization like slider keyboard and gaming specialized and price variant (NEO) and premium(ARC). I think SE is hitting all the spots here. wouldn’t it be awesome playing NES or PSOne classics on this XPlay! even apple is coming with a firm factor variant of iphone(rumored though)
    2) except for Pro version .. rest of the phones will be available from march.

    • Chandu,

      I agree that specialized phones sometimes appear cool. But who knew Apple iPhone becoming a great gaming device without having tons of buttons.

      Yes the SE Play, Neo will be out by the end of Q1 2011 as you said. Correcting it.. Thanks

Leave a Reply to Swaroop Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Read previous post:
Androidify Is Undoubtedly The Cutest Android App Ever

Google's Androidify is undoubtedly the cutest Android app you've ever seen. The app lets you create an Android-like Avatar of...

Close