Xperia Play 4G Arriving on AT&T Next Week

Sony Ericsson's PlayStation-certified Xperia PLAY smartphone is heading to AT&T next week sporting a new coat of paint and support for the network's 4G service.

Gamers jealous of Verizon Wireless customers and their fancy, exclusive PlayStation-certified smartphone now have something to cheer about: Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play is heading to AT&T on September 18. Even more, it will be 4G compatible, sport a "stealth blue" color, and feature an introductory, limited-time pricetag that should leave current Verizon customers screaming in the streets with fury: $49.99 USD with a two-year agreement.

But wait: there's more! "The smartphone package is complete with bonus accessories including the Sony Ericsson Multimedia Dock DK300 and MC100 music cable," the company teases. "In addition to providing a convenient charging station, the DK300 converts the Xperia PLAY's screen to a large clock display, and the music cable lets you connect to external speakers. The DK300 and music cable come in the Xperia PLAY box, only from AT&T."

As before, AT&T's version of the Xperia PLAY will come packed with pre-installed games including Dungeon Defenders, Asphalt 6, Star Battalion, Madden NFL 11, The Sims 3, Tower Blox: My City and Sony's PSOne classic platformer, Crash Bandicoot via the PlayStation Suite. AT&T customers will also have access to 150 Xperia PLAY optimized games including Minecraft Pocket Edition, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Dead Space 2 for download and purchase through the "Get Games" recommender screen.

Outside supporting AT&T's 4G network and sporting a new paint job, the phone itself seems unchanged. The list of specs include Qualcomm's 1 GHz Snapdragon II CPU and the Adreno 205 GPU, a 4-inch 480 x 854 FWVGA screen, a 5MP rear-racing camera and a VGA front-facing camera, 512 MB of RAM, a microSD card slot supporting up to 32 GB of storage (an 8 GB card is already installed), Bluetooth v2.01 + EDR, a slide-out gamepad, a 1500 mAh battery, and Google's Android v2.3.3 "Gingerbread" OS. Unfortunately, one of its major drawbacks is a lack of HDMI-out support... maybe this will appear in the next model.

"Gamers and smartphone fans alike will delight in the Xperia PLAY 4G's instant access to gaming and entertainment," said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Devices, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets.  "We're excited to offer a device that allows consumers to have fun while still staying on top of everything in their life."

Naturally, a two-year agreement with qualifying voice plan and a minimum $15 a month smartphone data plan is required.