Competing with the likes of Samsung’s Galaxy S2 cell phone and HTC’s Sensation 4G cell phone is no easy feat, and the Sony Xperia Play doesn’t even come close. Sony was late to enter in to the smartphone market, and it’s attempt to finally do so fell a little short due to the previous releases of Apple and Android phones. It’s recent release, the Xperia Play is also bound to fail in U.S. markets, as the phone doesn’t even seem as advanced as a second grade Android phone.

When people heard about the release of a new Sony gaming smartphone, they immediately correlated the up-coming device with the PlayStation’s. For years, the PlayStation has been offering excellent graphics and complete gaming experience. A smartphone released by Sony would be the perfect smartphones for gamers, right? Nope.

In fact, the HTC Sensation does a much better job.

While the Sony Play does allow users access to PlayStation Certified games, there really isn’t a gaming experience that even complements the PlayStation experience. The keypad is nice; designed to mimic a controller, it does provide gamers with at least the feel of the gaming experience.  But that’s about it.

On the actual phone side of things, it is a little large. Because it was designed with gaming in mind, it has a larger screen and overall size because of the built in controller. At 4.7 x 2.4 x .6 inches and 6.2 oz, it’s a bit of a heavyweight. Other gaming oriented phones are actually smaller, but don’t have the keypad feature.

The screen is a nice 4 inches, which is becoming the industry standard, but the display itself is a little weak. It’s not as bright as other smartphones, and only has a 854 x 480 resolution. While the screen was probably reduced to save battery life while gaming, it doesn’t make doing so less enjoyable. Gaming is all about graphics, and it the Xperia drops the ball with them. However, the battery life is impeccable, and the phone can go for an astonishing 9 hours – which is unheard of for a smartphone of this size.

The sound on the Xperia is also good, and there is a camera on the phone as well. So the Xperia doesn’t have to be about gaming all the time, and it is available at both Verizon and AT&T which is good for those wanting high speeds.

Overall, the Sony Xperia Play is mediocre at best. For a company that is renowned for gaming, any gaming smartphone released by them should have been incredible. Unfortunately, the Xperia play simply isn’t.