I am certainly not qualified to talk in-depth at the Xperia Play gaming experience but I was certainly quite excited to see the hardware controls and game quality. In the video you hear me talking to a Sony Ericsson representative about the product. We discuss battery life, pricing, availability, get a gaming demo and take a look round the device.

The Xperia play runs Android 2.3 on a Snapdragon 1Ghz CPU (MSM8255with Adreno 205 GPU) with a 4 inch ‘Reality’ display at a true 16:9, 854 x 480 resolution. Note that Android 2.3 brought in some touch responsiveness extensions and enhancements.

What’s important to me is that another major company is now switching to the ARM/Android chassis for another product category which means Android is now in phones, tablets, media players, cameras, gaming devices, TVs and smartbooks. What’s category do you think Google are looking at for it’s next ‘device-specific ‘ branch of Android? Set-top-boxes is something I’ve been keeping an eye on.

The HTC Flyer is in no fit state to be assessed right now and I wonder why HTC actually bother showing such a critical device in their portfolio at such big events. The pen system doesn’t work, the software is not complete and even the design of the device is changing. I expect to see this sort of activity from, lets say, 2nd-tier ODMs but not someone like HTC.

So what is there to say about the product? It’s got a 1.5Ghz Snapdragon processor (single-core, apologies for the error in the video) and Android 2.4. Google applications are available and it’s a similar size to the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

IF the pen feature works for both handwriting and ‘snipping’ it’s an interesting idea but the pen has no silo and even requires batteries. I can’t see anyone remembering to take the pen with them or even bother to get it out of their bag when needed. There’s no voice, SMS and MMS capability either.

Yes, the processing speed is good. Yes the HTC Sense adds value to many. Yes, the price will drop soon after launch.

Is it enough to tempt people away from the Galaxy Tab which is likely to be half the price in Europe when the HTC Flyer launches in May or June.

More photos in the gallery including images of the applications and a look around the device.

Here’s the video….

Shuttle already make a couple of tablets as an OED but there’s a few more on show today including two 10″ Tegra devices with different designs. Both of these are available to the OEM with a choice of processing platforms including Tegra 2. There’s a choice of screen resolution too. The new devices are due to be ready in May along with the 7″ device, a non working sample, shown in the image below.

Posted from WordPress for Android with the Galaxy Tab

The ASUS Eeepc 1215B might be outside the 10 inch and 1KG limit we generally apply on UMPCPortal but there’s a few things to note. 1 This could be one of the lightest, and cheapest devices you could use for mobile 720p video editing and 2 The technology could filter into high-end, if quite large, UMPCs.

I didn’t get a chance to do a Crystalmark test for a quick overview of the system performance but I did check out the Windows performance score. The CPU is the lowest of the scores, pegging the index at 3.8

Gallery here.

Available with the C-30 or C-50 AMD Fusion platform this is the Eee PC 1015B.

Max 2GB RAM breaks the mould a bit and we suspect this could come with Windows 7 OS options unlike many 10″ Netbooks

Posted from WordPress for Android with the Galaxy Tab

Targeted for end of May with  a €499 entry price, this is the Asus Eee Pad Memo running dual-core, 1.2Ghz Snapdragon and showing the Bluetooth handset. Voice apps also feature on this device.

Posted from WordPress for Android with the Galaxy Tab

ECS, an ODM who designs products for others to brand and market have interesting 10″ and 7″ Oaktrail products here among the dust on day 0 at CEBIT.

800gm for the 10 Tablet feels quite nice. Availability (for ECS customers) is planned for April. Here are some pics and specs. We’re back for some video-time tomorrow.

Posted from WordPress for Android with the Galaxy Tab

CeBIT is a very traditional, business-like show. Suits dominate and after-show parties are few and far between. Companies like Microsoft often present purely business-focused products and strategies and if you’re expecting another huge pile of consumer tablets, you’re probably going to be disappointed.

For readers of UMPCPortal, our pro-level site (that has, I admit, been pretty dry on news lately) it’s good news because products like the Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 get a chance to shine.

We’ve got the full, official specs in the database now and wow, this is not your average tablet PC.

 Full specifications, links etc. Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 TabletPC

A 400-nit screen IPS screen, 2GB RAM, remote security, capacitive/digitiser input, fast-charge, removable battery options, 4 USB ports, Gobi 3G option, SSD, docking port and an array mic are just some of the advanced features you’ll find which indicated a pro-level, industry focused solution. It also gives you clues to the price.

The price isn’t available right now but the Q550 has already launched in Japan with a availability stated as March/April. A CeBIT launch is also planned and we hope to get a pricing indicator next week. A guess around the 1000 Euro mark for entry-level configuration is probably not far off.

All images in the gallery.

Note that there’s a lot of talk about 8 hours battery life but a Fujitsu sales site in Japan makes it clear that this is with the extended battery (38wh) in a JEITA (largely idle) test. Take 30% off that for real world figures. With the standard battery, a 19wh unit, you’re looking at 3.5hrs max. That isn’t going to impress many but at under 900gm for a 10 inch PC, it’s good.

We hope to get some good testing time in with the Q550 and bring you information on graphics, SSD speed and more battery life thoughts.

Hat-Tip: Gottabemobile