Sony Ericsson Xperia (Zeus/Z1/Playstation Phone)

[virodeath]

Here is the latest news from Engadget.com

"
Sony's PlayStation Phone finally gets Xperia, PlayStation logos

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."

To view the rest of the pictures got to Engadget or click this link.

Viro

 

[mad_max]

It looks pretty cool, but I am not sure how they will manage the support with updates, games etc. and given the fact that previous SE smartphones had a terrible support I am not convinced until I see it being successful.

 

[virodeath]

I am willing to bet that now because Sony has done a bit of consolidating and also moved the OS to Android the support will be better. The PsP Go was the gutz of an Ericsson phone already so really the OS which I believe was shown in earlier pics as Android 2.3 will be the hinging point of success (provided the quality of the phone isn't total crap.

So far as of this evening no mention of it at CES 2011 and when asked the Sony rep. would not comment on the rumors of it's existence.

I just hope that it is available on Verizon.

Viro

 

[jonmorris]

When SE showed the arc to us yesterday, they confirmed this phone (without confirming the name!) will be at MWC. I think everyone has probably guessed that anyway, as they want arc to be the phone for the CES (especially as it will be out in Q1).

SE didn't let on how many devices they'll have this year - but we knew about the X12 and Zeus, and the tablet, so assuming they're slowing down a bit (besides the low-end stuff that they said they're still going to do) then they'll want to space things out a bit.

I know nobody can get to where Apple is and have just one or two handsets a year, but I can see the likes of Motorola, Samsung and LG (who are investing hard in Android and Windows Phone 7 in 2011) trying to move away from the days where they released 20-30 handsets a year. It's totally unsustainable. I suppose SE may also have some 4G stuff, but given the UK won't be getting that for a while yet - I'd be quite happy for them to take their time.

Now that SE has made it clear that they've changed the development and made Timescape and Mediascape more like widgets, so not so integrated with the OS, it doesn't really matter what it will ship with - 2.3 or 3.0. They have stated on record that they're going to keep the phones updated as quickly as possible. If they honour that promise, there's less risk than buying - say - a Motorola phone where the company reneges on its promises six months down the line.

 

[Curt941]

This phone is going to be behind the times by the time it gets released if it only has a single core processor and 512 ram...they should wait and throw a dual core in it and 1gig of ram if they want to be competitive...but that's just my opinion.