When the Xperia Play from Sony Ericsson was announced last year there was an awful lot of excitement and hype for the first PlayStation certified gaming smartphone although sales didn’t take off as expected. Today we have news on the possibility of a new Xperia Play phone, which could have double sliding mechanisms, as suggested by a patent that has just been granted.
Last year before the actual release of the Xperia Play the idea of a PlayStation phone seemed like a dead cert hit but the specs and gaming experience didn’t seems to live up to expectations and it wasn’t long before prices were being slashed. However, we have to point out that many of those who actually purchased the Xperia Play were quite happy with their smartphone choice and may be interested in an updated version.
A new Sony patent has now come to light, which was originally filed back in 2010 as reported by Engadget but has apparently only just been granted by the USPTO. It could be that this design idea has long since been forgotten then but another possibility is that a new Xperia Play could be on the way featuring two sliding mechanisms, one for a gamepad and the other for a keyboard.
From the designs it appears that a keyboard would be the default slideout, which would then engage the other sliding unit. However, once open either one of the slideouts could be disengaged leaving one available to use. It’s certainly an intriguing idea and we have a feeling that even the possibility of a new Xperia Play phone will be enough to get many people interested.
What about you? Are you interested in the idea of a brand new Xperia Play handset? Does the idea of two sliding mechanisms seem like a good idea to you or maybe you think a new Xperia Play will never happen? Let’s have your comments on this