Before we even begin, I’ve got to mention, since this sort of thing is contested quite often, that when we say “Which is Better?” we of course mean “Which is Better for You?” Below we’ve listed the specs on both the XPERIA Play (aka the PlayStation phone) and the Sony NGP (revealed today to essentially be the second generation PlayStation Portable.) What you’ll find is two surprisingly different experiences, one device able to bring you the superior gaming experience, the other offering you the additional pluses of the Android Marketplace, a smaller footprint, and more. Choose your destiny!
Inside
NGP: 2GHz ARM Cortex A9 CPU, SGX543MP4+ GPU
XPERIA Play: Adreno 205 GPU, Single Core Processor
Dimensions
NGP: 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5 mm
XPERIA Play: 119 x 63 x 13 mm (approximately)
Display
NGP: 5-inch OLED, 960x544px
XPERIA Play: 4-inch LCD, 854 x 480px
Connectivity
NGP: 3G, b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1
XPERIA Play: 3G, 802.11n b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR, and FM receiver plus transmitter
Controls
NGP: 5-inch OLED 960 x 544 multitouch-capable touchscreen on the front, multitouch pad on the back for what Sony describes as “touch, grab, trace, push and pull” gameplay gestures, standard triangle, square, x, and circle buttons on the right front, directional pad on the left front, two analog joysticks, two buttons on top, six-axis motion control system with gyroscopes, accelerometer, and electronic compass.
XPERIA Play: 4-inch 854 x 480 LCD multitouch-capable touchscreen on the front, standard triangle, square, x, and circle buttons on the right front, directional pad on the left front, two touchpads in the center (for joystick functionality,) and two buttons on top.
Audio
NGP: Stereo speakers and mic
XPERIA Play: Stereo speakers, mic, and 2nd mic (possibly for noise cancelation.)
Games
NGP: Flash memory, PlayStation Suite, LiveArena / Near (social gaming)
XPERIA Play: microSD card, internal memory, PlayStation Suite, LiveArena/Near (social gaming,) Android Marketplace, 3rd party apps.
Imaging
NGP: Front and rear-facing cameras (specs unknown.)
XPERIA Play: Rear-facing 5 megapixel camera with 800 x 480 video recording (these numbers are up for dispute.)
So what’s it gonna be, folks? It’s a little bit difficult to judge at the moment since most of these specs (especially on the XPERIA Play,) are still technically unannounced. We’d like to say you’d be better off with the phone if you’d like more across-the-board functionality, going with the NGP if you want games specifically, but it’s not that simple. If you could find a way to connect the NGP to a 3G or 4G network, it appears as though it’d be a superior machine as far as social interaction goes (isn’t that strange?) But when it comes to apps further reaching than what PlayStation and its affiliates are going to offer, it appears that the XPERIA Play might be better suited to your needs, especially since it’s got a MUCH better chance of being jailbroken within the first 10 minutes of its release, leaving you open to thousands of not only games, but apps that can do much more than skateboarding on a screen.
What do you think? If you’re planning on purchasing, which one are you looking at to grab? Here’s some additional media to help you decide:
Neither, Sony’s handheld support simply sucks balls. I’ll wait till Christmas and install the Playstation app on my Desire.
well played, kiezel
Especially true considering the AT&T X10 is still running Donut.
lemmings!!!!!
Display
NGP: 5-inch OLED, 960x544px
XPERIA Play: 119 x 63 x 13 mm
Comparing resolution to dimensions: Fail.
Speaking of fail, I failed to notice there were dimensions listed for both devices, not just the Xperia.
woops! fixed. thanks for the catch
Please re arrange NGP dimensions it scared for a bit
I can’t see this device gaining traction or become successful. It’s such a niche device. You’d have to be a die hard gamer to purchase it.
I say I want both!!!
I don’t see how they expect the PSP Phone to compete with the Nintendo 3DS. If they don’t brand it as the PSP Phone it wont get that much attention, and even then they do two different things people will be like this is my phone… and this is my nintendo 3ds. Where is the competition? Sony seems like theyre going downhill imo. I hope they dont screw this up.
don’t forget ngp which will kill not only 3dks but even 3fixme face it ngp just has too much power but even xperia play will kill 3dks simply because it can do more… and i wouldn’t be surprised if there would be some form of 3ds emulator released for both of them
when will xperia play be released? does anyone else hope it can play psp games and not just ps1 classics from the psn store? does it enough horsepower to play full psp games?
Sadly Sony only very minimally states the device specs at their own product/support webpages. I am lucky that I found this info here! But for buying decisions I MUST RELIABLY know: Are the following sensors REALLY included?Gyroscope + Accelerometer + Compass
(FYI: I would like my Android Smartphone to be able to run the Augmented Reality mode of the app FlightRadar24 Pro, which requires a compass.)
Anyone which can CONFIRM what sensors are in the Sony Xperia Play?
gps, compass and gyroscope are included in it (can use google map, it indicates which direction I am pointing and I can play you know that game with a ball going through a labyrinth with holes only by tilting the phone) as for the Accelerometer, I wouldn’t know how to test that or know if its included or not. All in all it’s a great phone, same as any regular android phones, except that it has a freakin gamepad on it (= !
What I’m wondering though is if there is a big difference between the 3G and 4G, from what I’ve seen so far, it looks like just some improvement in the batery usage and a 4G connection. Same specs other than that though.
Dear Dominique! Thanks for your confirmation! Your info comes at the right time, as I want to make my buying decision next week. Merci!
Sadly Sony only very minimally states the device specs at their own product/support webpages. I am lucky that I found this info here! But for buying decisions I MUST RELIABLY know: Are the following sensors REALLY included?Gyroscope + Accelerometer + Compass
(FYI: I would like my Android Smartphone to be able to run the Augmented Reality mode of the app FlightRadar24 Pro, which requires a compass.)