Android developers announced that Ice Cream Sandwich has a completely new look, redesigned user interface with improved support for multitasking, Wi-Fi hotspot, NFC and Web browsing. Lock screen, home screen, phone application and everything associated with these, was fundamentally rethought and refined to make Android-based devices simple, beautiful and useful.

Ice Cream Sandwich also has a new application called ‘People’, which allows you to find friends, family and colleagues, and see their pictures in high definition, check their latest status updates in Google + and other social networks. The new version of Android on Samsung Galaxy Nexus also features new camera functionality – new panorama mode, full HD movie mode (1080p), very quick shutter, and a host of new special effects, including “silly faces” and background changes.

Another cool new feature of the Android 4.0 is ‘Face Unlock’ – it uses the camera to recognise your face before unlocking the device, which is an interesting alternative to the usual pin codes and passwords.  Using the NFC technology, Android Beam allows you to quickly share Web pages, applications, and YouTube clips with friend’s phone  simply by holding two devices close to each other. In addition, you will be able to use camera and its effects in Google Talk application.

Galaxy Nexus is designed in accordance with the ‘pure Google’ principles, which means that the device will not have any third party use interface features installed. As with all other Nexus phones, Galaxy Nexus users will be the first ones to receive latest updates of the operating system and applications as they become available.

This device includes the full suite of applications and services from Google: Android Market, Gmail, Google Maps 5.0 with 3D maps and turn-based navigation, Google Earth, Movie Studio, YouTube, Google Calendar, as well as redesigned Google +.

GALAXY Nexus will be available in the U.S., Europe and Asia starting in November.

GALAXY Nexus Technical Specifications:

Communications standards: 3G/HSPA + 21Mbps/HSUPA 5.76Mbps 850/900/1900/1700/2100 MHz, GSM / EDGE / GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 MHz; LTE
Dimensions: 135.5 x 67,94 x 8,94 mm
Weight: 135 g
Platform: Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
Processor: 1.2 GHz dual-core
Display: 4.65-inch, HD Super AMOLED, resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels
Main camera: 5 MP with autofocus and LED flash, supports Full HD (1080p) video
Front camera: 1.3 MP
Memory: 1 GB of RAM, 16/32 GB of internal memory
Connectivity: Wi-Fi IEEE802.11 a / b / g / n (2,4 / 5 GHz), Bluetooth v 3.0, USB 2.0, NFC, 3.5 mm audio jack
Sensors: accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, light sensor, proximity sensor, barometer
Battery: Li-Ion, 1750 mA/h

Below is a hands-on video from Engadget:

Droid RAZR is equipped with a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display with qHD resolution and protective Corning Gorilla Glass coating. It has 1 GB of RAM and 8 MP camera capable of taking Full HD videos.

Motorola DROID RAZR technical specifications:

- Communications standards: CDMA 800, 1900 MHz, LTE B13 700 MHz (for Verizon Wireless)
- Dimensions: 130,7 х 68,9 х 7,1 мм
- Weight: 127 gr
- Platform: Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread)
- Processor: 1.2 GHz dual-core
- Display: 4.3-inch Super AMOLED
- Main camera: 8 MP with LED backlight
- Front camera: 1.3 MP
- Memory: 1 GB RAM, 16 GB ROM, 11.5 GB is available to the user, microSD memory card slot (16 GB card included)
- Communications: Wi-Fi IEEE802.11 b / g / n, Bluetooth v4.0 LE + EDR, 3.5 mm audio jack, BOTA, Corporate Sync, DLNA, MML, Phone Portal, HDMI, USB 2.0HS, aGPS, sGPS, GLONASS , electronic compass
- Battery: 1780 mA/h

The phone should hit the shelves in the next month, and it will be available in North America, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. In Australia it will be availabe on Optus.

Design, size, controls

In this section I will evaluate Xperia Play from the viewpoint of everyday phone usage, and will review its gaming components in another post. Before you read this post, please read the first part of the review – Sony Ericsson Xperia Play positioning.  The phone turned out to be quite big in size, all because of the gaming controls. The size of the device is 119x62x16 mm and it weighs 175 grams. In the hand the unit felt quite heavy compared to the modern phones. To be honest I can’t remember when I last used such a heavy phone. Although this is something most people will get used to rather quickly, some users may still feel a bit of a discomfort. Most Android smartphones weight much less and are usually twice thinner. Therefore, based on size and weight, I would say that phone’s ergonomics is pretty average.

Sony Erricsson’s engineers must have tried to reduce the weight of the unit by not using any metal in the body of the device. It is made entirely of plastic. Manufacturer used glossy plastic, which looks very nice. The model comes in two colours – black and white. I liked both colour combinations.

On the left side of the device you will find a micro-USB port, and a 3.5mm jack for headphones or headset. On the right side – two gaming keys and a volume button between them. This button is not very easy to use because of its location, but it is a necessary measure, as if it was placed elsewhere gaming keys would not work.

At the top of the device there is an on/off button, which has a built-in LED. It glows green when the  phone is connected to the main power. There is a proximity sensor above the screen. Front facing camera is located next to the sensor. Four mechanical keys are located under the screen.

On the back you can see a 5-megapixel camera, LED flash and second microphone. Two speakers can also be seen on the back cover.

The build quality of the phone is good. Plastic is easy to mark, so I would recommend to carry the phone in a case, which is included in the package.

Screen

These days Sony Ericsson does not have access to modern displays; so, the matrix used in the Xperia Play lags behind even today’s TFT-screens by several generations. I don’t know what to say about the screen in Play, technologically it is years behind the market.

Screen specifications are fairly generic:

• Diagonal – 4 inches
• Resolution – 480 x 854 pixels
• Capacitive multi-touch
• Displays up to 16 million colours
• Supports automatic screen rotation

There is no brightness control, and overall screen is very dim. Automatic brightness control also does not exist. This was probably done to increase the battery life of the device, especially in game mode. And finally, it is very hard to see what is displayed on the screen in the sun.

Battery

Xperia Play has a 1500 mAh Li-POL BST-41 battery. According to the manufacturer, the phone can work up to 425 hours in standby mode, and up to 8 hours in talk mode.

In my tests phone worked for about half a day with moderate use (up to one hour of calls, about 30 minutes of games, 20 minutes of web browsing, and a couple of hours of music). Full battery recharging takes 2 hours (1.5 hours to charge it up to 80%).

Battery life in games depends on whether you play in headphones or not, and what kind of game you have selected. The average time of continuous play ranges from 3 to 4 hours. This is extremely small for a gaming device. If you’re going to use this device for games, you should buy a second battery; otherwise you will be without a phone by lunchtime.

Communications

• USB – Data transfer speed depends on the memory card used. In my case, the 16GB SDHC card showed the rate of 10 MB/s, which is more than enough.
• Bluetooth – The phone supports all common profiles. File transfers and stereo are supported in Android 2.3 itself.
• Wi-Fi – Phone supports all common encryption standards, as well as automatic network search.

Memory and Processor

The phone has 512MB of RAM and around 400MB of space for user data. Given that Android Gingerbread allows applications to be installed on a memory card, this memory is more than enough for every usage scenario.

Few words about the processor used in the phone. Sony Ericsson has always preferred Qualcomm. Xperia Play utilises the 1GHz QSD8255 processor. This was a popular speed of last generation’s devices. It is really not possible to compare it with this year’s flagship devices, built on dual-core processors.

Camera

The phone has a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash. Quality of the pictures is acceptable if taken on a sunny day, but is not that good if shot indoors or in low light conditions.

Maximum resolution for video recording is 800×480 pixels. Second microphone is not used when shooting video. Video quality can be better, but it’s not much worse than other phones.

In early 2000s Sony Ericsson created new directions in the mobile phone world. For example, they saw huge potential in built-in phone cameras, started to develop them, and became market leaders and real trendsetters. Another interesting direction – their music phones under the Walkman brand. Let me remind you that the camera phones were produced under the CyberShot brand, which also belongs to Sony – the parent company of Sony Ericsson.

Mobile phone sales grew incredibly fast. Sony Ericsson’s competitors were copying solutions, looking for reasons for the success of its products, but were years behind in terms of technology. This was the peak of Sony Ericsson’s success. In 2004 the company announced its first game phone project. And this model was eventually released – the well-known Sony Ericsson S500. This model hit the market in 2005.

Dedicated gaming keys were the main distinguishing factor of that model, but considering the use of Sony Ericsson’s own A100 platform, which was limited to Java, no one expected great success for this phone. It would be wrong to claim that this was the company’s first attempt to test mobile gaming market. In 2003 company released gaming manipulator Gameboard EGB-10 specifically for the Z600, which featured familiar Playstation-like controls. However, due to the high price and lack of quality games, this combination never reached popularity.

Even after the first few unsuccessful attempts, Sony Ericsson continued to work on a gaming phone, which would utilise the Playstation brand. They were working to create not a single unit, but a variety of gaming devices, designed for different audiences. Quality games would be the key feature of these devices, therefore, company saw only one possibility for development – integration with Sony’s Playstation platform. Sony Ericsson offered a very simple interaction model – games get additional functionality, which allows them to be played both on the phone (with limited features and poorer graphics) and on the console. People using both types of devices would receive additional bonuses. Unfortunately, this idea ran into implementation problems, and, in addition, game studios showed no particular interest. Sony itself were not willing to give their games and their brand to Sony Ericsson. This was a classic situation where Sony counted on consoles, and felt that game phones could kill the market for them. It was a conscious decision.

The reason that forced the company to revive research of game projects is rather prosaic. Profitability has become the key business indicator for Sony Ericsson and it is now obvious that the market is widely enjoying various games on their phones, which are producing healthy margins for their producers. Sony Ericsson decided to use their excellent capabilities of producing gaming devices again.  As such, a new gaming smartphone project was started in 2010. Moreover, Sony Ericsson’s deplorable situation led to Sony’s permission to use the Playstation trademark.

The company’s flagship Xperia Arc was used as a basis for the new gaming smartphone, with the addition of the Sony PSP Go controls. The device is smaller in size, which consequentially worsened its ergonomics. It must be said that the PSP Go was not very popular among the players, due to ergonomics issues. The difference between company’s approaches in 2010 and five years ago is striking. In 2005 the company was willing to create such a device from scratch, build a huge niche and become a leader in it. Today Sony Ericsson created a game smartphone from the marketing viewpoint, trying to maximize profits and minimize costs (same components as Arc, minimal number of unique games, weak hardware and so on). Two different approaches – two different worlds.

You might ask – Who is this smartphone for? I think that it is for those who like Sony Ericsson and want to support the company in difficult times. Playstation brand itself is experiencing hard times and real players are waiting for Sony PSP2, which will hit stores in late 2011. For hardcore players Xperia Play offers very little, and we will discuss why this is the case in more detail later. In my opinion the device does not offer sufficient functionality as a combined gaming platform – there are plenty of smartphones on the market with similar characteristics; its gaming component is better than other phones. However for the Playstation phone to be a hit, there should be more unique games. Another important fact is that these days people prefer to use tablets, not phones, as gaming devices.

Sony Ericsson Xperia™ PLAY is now available on Optus and Telstra networks, and from leading smartphone retailers in Australia.

Xperia™ PLAY is the world’s first powerful and cool smartphone, with the added bonus of a slide-out PlayStation certified game control. It is powered by the latest version of Google’s Android platform (Gingerbread, version 2.3), which provides access to over 200,000 applications. Xperia™ PLAY comes with six games pre-installed: Star Battalion (Gameloft), FIFA 10, Madden NFL 11 and SIMS 3 (EA Games), Bruce Lee (Digital Legends) and Crash Bandicoot (Sony Computer Entertainment).

In addition to the above mentioned games, more than 60 games will be available for download at the time of launch in Australia, including top franchises Assassin’s Creed™ – Altaïr’s Chronicles, Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, Worms, Need for Speed, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction™ and Guitar Hero.

“We believe that the XperiaTM PLAY is a game changer and now we’re able to provide Australia with the chance to make its own mind up,” said Brendan Johnston, Managing Director, Sony Ericsson Oceania. “XperiaTM PLAY provides a first of its kind gaming experience on the latest version of Android. What more could you need or want?”

Technical specifications:

• Supported communications standards: UMTS HSPA 800, 850, 1900, 2100 MHz; GSM GPRS / EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
• Dimensions: 125 × 63 × 8,7 mm
• Weight: 117 gr.
• Display: Extra wide 4.2” multi-touch Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine to ensure ultimate multimedia viewing experiences
• Camera: 8.1 megapixel with autofocus, Sony Exmor R (CMOS) sensor and support for HD (720p) video recording
• Communications: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, aGPS, HDMI, DLNA, 3.5 mm audio jack
• Processor: 1 GHz Qualcomm
• Memory: 512 MB, microSD slot

8.1 megapixel camera delivers exceptional image capture through its bright f/2.4 lens and Sony’s award-winning Exmor R™ sensor. This sensor has been designed specifically for mobile devices and allows unparalleled low-light photography and video capture.

The phone is sleek, lightweight and very appealing.

Brendan Johnston, Managing Director for Oceania at Sony Ericsson commented: “Xperia™ arc is a premium smartphone that will appeal to users who want an exceptional entertainment experience, visual brilliance and the latest version of Android – all in a striking design. Our 2011 Xperia™ devices are the only smartphones that gives customers access to the worlds of Android and Sony in one stylish device and we’re proud to be bringing that to Optus and Vodafone customers in Xperia™ arc.”

Along with the announcement of the HTC Flyer, HTC also announced a new web video service HTC Watch, which will be first available on this device. The company has also entered into an agreement with OnLive Inc. to create a cloud gaming service for mobile devices.

Technical Specifications of HTC Flyer:

• Network Support: HSPA / WCDMA: 900/AWS/2100 MHz; GSM / GPRS / EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Dimensions: 195.4 x 122 x 13, 2 mm
• Weight: 415 gr
• Operating System: Android 2.2, HTC Sense
• Display: 7” touch screen (capacitive) Super LCD screen with resolution of 1024 x 600
• Processor: 1.5 GHz
• Camera: 5 MP
• Front camera: 1.3 MP
• Communication Standards: Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b / g / n, Bluetooth v3.0, GPS
• Connectors: 3.5 mm audio (stereo), micro-USB 2.0
• Sensors: accelerometer, light sensor, digital compass
• Memory: 1 GB (RAM), 32 GB (Flash), microSD slot
• Battery: 4 Ah

The new smartphone is a side slider. When folded, the smartphone offers a 4” multi-touch screen, four hardware keys and a 5MP camera on the back of the device. When the smartphone is open, its owner gains access to the gaming controller, similar to those used in other Sony products (e.g. Sony PSP). The slide out game pad reveals a digital D pad, two analogue touch pads, two shoulder buttons and the four PlayStation icons: circle, cross, square and triangle.

Brendan Johnston, Managing Director for Oceania at Sony Ericsson commented: “Today is a very proud moment for Sony Ericsson as we bring something truly revolutionary to the market. Xperia™ PLAY will forever change the way people think about smartphones and mobile gaming. Living up to our Xperia™ vision of providing the most entertaining smartphone experience, Xperia™ PLAY allows people to enter a new world of immersive mobile gaming.”

To take full advantage of gaming capabilities of the Xperia PLAY, developers have used 1Ghz Snapdragon processor with a built-in Adreno graphics accelerator. According to Sony Ericsson, this allows to play 3D games with a refresh rate of 60 frames/sec, and browse the web with minimal energy consumption.

Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY will be the first PlayStation certified smartphone, and will come with Android 2.3 installed. In addition to that, it will provide access to the PlayStation content using PlayStation Suite. This software is currently being developed by Sony Computer Entertainment, and will be released by the end of 2011 calendar year.

Sony Ericsson advised that a number of leading gaming franchises will be coming to Xperia PLAY includes EA’s Need For Speed, Sims 3 and a world-first multiplayer version of FIFA 10 for mobile. GLU Mobile/Activision will be bringing Guitar Hero, while Gameloft’s titles include Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell. Sony Ericsson is also partnering with Unity Technologies, using its award-winning development platform, to ensure a continuous flow of high quality 3D game titles.

Technical Characteristics of Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY:

• Supported communications standards: UMTS HSPA 800, 850, 1900, 2100 MHz (or CDMA2000, cdmaOne, EVDO; UMTS HSPA 900, 2100 MHz); GSM GPRS / EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
• Dimensions: 119 x 62 x16 mm
• Weight: 175 gr.
• Display: 4-inch touch screen (multitouch, capacitive), TFT, resolution 480 x 854 points
• Camera: 5.1 megapixel camera with autofocus
• Memory: 400 MB, microSD slot
• Processor: 1 GHz ARMv7
• Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB 2.0 HS, AGPS, DLNA, 3.5 mm audio jack

According to Sony Ericsson, the smartphone will be coming to Australia in Q2 (April – June) 2011.

Sony Ericsson have also announced a docking station DK300 for the Xperia Play. When pluged in, the smartphone will automatically start the clock application.

The new Galaxy Tab has a 10.1-inch screen as you would imagine, but it is still quite light. It is powered by a dual-core Tegra 2 chipset. This processor is capable of delivering a 1 GHz punch with a 1280 x 800 resolution and will have no problem launching apps, multitasking or playing detail-rich 3D games.

There are no physical buttons on the face of the new Galaxy Tab, as it is now part of the OS user interface. There’s a SIM card on the right spin if you’re holding it in landscape mode and it joins the speakers (there are two on each side) on the sides. The power/unlock button is on the other side and the volume rocker rests on the top of the tablet.

We’ve already taken Android 3.0 Honeycomb software for a spin and we like what we’ve seen so far. It’s easy to customize the home screen with widgets and app shortcuts and it just has an overall level of polish that will make it comparable to the iPad and other tablet competitors.

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