VGBA is a Game Boy Advance Emulator available on the Android Market. A new version has just been released onto the market that has support for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play’s control pad. Other emulators already work very well on the Xperia Play where it’s possible to manually map the controls to physical buttons. So one with Xperia Play specific support should be even better.
As well as adding support for the Xperia Play, the touch controls have been improved along with accelerometer support and music recording. You can download the Nintendo Game Boy Advance Emulator from the Android Market for £3.22 here.
Earlier this week we reported that Sony Ericsson had begun pushing the Android 2.3.4 update earlier than expected and it had been received on Xperia Neo handsets with Nordic or Dutch firmware. We can now confirm, that the Android 2.3.4 update has now been rolled out to the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and Sony Ericsson Xperia Play.
The Xperia Arc and Play update is available to those with Nordic firmware again, or those with Global firmware. As of yet there’s no sign of the update any where else but, it should be with other regions in due course.
Now that the update is live, we can confirm that not only does the camera add a 3D panoramic setting but, also allows you to take standard panoramic photos. You can change to 3D panoramic through the camera’s settings but, there is also a link to the 3D camera as well as to the 3D photo gallery.
Another Xperia Play optimized game has been added to the Android market in the form of retro horizontal scrolling shoot-em-up title R-Type. A demo of the Android version of the game is shown below:
Developer DotEmu have updated the game and enhanced it to use the Xperia Play‘s unique control system and to connect to the OpenFeint social gaming network although, the gameplay itself is as per the original release. Players will also find they will be fighting against the same ‘baddies’ as in the original game too, as they fight through the easy levels and onto the hard difficulty that the game offers.
R-Type is available to download for UK £2.57 at the following link to the Android market: R-Type Xperia Play Enhanced
Yesterday we learned that a representative from Sony Ericsson had confirmed that the Xperia family would receive an update to Android 4.0. Sony Ericsson have now said however, that despite the comments from the representative, there has been no official decision made with regards to Android 4.0. The official line from Sony Ericsson is:
“When it comes to future platforms of the Android OS, we will make them available to consumers in a timely manner, as long as they improve the user experience and are viable from a hardware point of view.”
Some commenters and bloggers take this to mean that the 2011 range of Xperia handsets won’t receive Android 4.0 and that they haven’t learned from their Xperia X10 mistakes. However, with not all that many details known about Ice Cream Sandwich, it’s perhaps wise to not get too far ahead until they know the handsets can definitely run the software without any problems. Sony Ericsson have already proved they’ve learned from their past mistakes. Since the release of the Xperia Arc and Xperia Play, the handsets have already been updated to Android 2.3.3 from 2.3.2 and 2.3.4 is promised for release this year. They haven’t just updated the Android version though either but, have added additional features, such as Facebook inside Xperia and the next update will bring FiX up to version 2 and we will see the inclusion of the ability to take 3D panoramic photos. Hopefully when Android 4.0 is released, Sony Ericsson will be able to provide an official update then.
A representative from Sony Ericsson confirmed to SoMobile that the 2011 range of Xperia models will receive an update to Android Ice Cream sandwich, aka Android 4.0. Google recently announced that Android 4.0 would be out in October or November.
Sony Ericsson’s timeline for Android 4.0 isn’t known but, they have already promised the Android 2.3.4 update to Xperia owners and that’s due out around October time. The 2.3.4 update will also add a 3D panoramic feature to the camera, allowing you to capure photos in 3D and view them on a 3D enabled TV.
Sony Ericsson have announced that the 2011 range of Xperia handsets will be upgraded to Android 2.3.4 in October. Currently the phones are running Android 2.3.3 and the October upgrade will be the second Android upgrades for the phones which were launched with Android 2.3.2.
The Android 2.3.3 update added Facebook inside Xperia and when 2.3.4 is released, the Facebook inside Xperia functionality will be enhanced when it comes to sharing, liking and discovering content. You will now be able to like apps or games and share them on your Facebook wall.
The added features don’t stop there though, Sony Ericsson will be adding a 3d sweep panorama feature, which will allow you to capture 3D images and view them on a 3D TV through the HDMI output. With that in mind, it’s likely the Xperia Play won’t get that feature. Sony Ericsson have confirmed the following list of features to be included:
Xperia™ smartphones to be upgraded to the 2.3.4 version of the Gingerbread platform with new features including Google Talk with Video Chat for smartphones with front-facing cameras
Updated Facebook inside Xperia™ functionality for enhanced like, share and discover abilities
Xperia™ smartphones introducing world’s first 3D sweep panorama functionality powered by Sony.
The software upgrade enables consumers to turn their Xperia smartphone into a mini-mobile PC by connecting USB peripherals (mouse, keyboard or game controller) to Sony Ericsson LiveDock™ multimedia station. Connect the smartphone to a TV via HDMI to get a big screen experience.
Swipe text input - text input by swiping the finger from one letter to the next
Screen capture – allows the user to share a screen grab from anywhere in the phone
Following on from the recent announcement by Sony Ericsson and Electronic Arts regarding the exclusive Xperia Play and Fifa 12 release deal, the mobile phone company has added to the list of expected titles that are coming to their Xperia Play handset in the future.
Some of the games that have been announced at Gamescom include the previously announced Fifa 12, Dead Space and Need For Speed Hot Pursuit by EA along with titles from Gameloft, Polarbit, Orange Pixel and Hexage such as Let’s Golf 3, Reckless Getaway, Reckless Racing 2, EVAC HD and Radient HD.
List of announced releases so far:
Reckless Getaway, Reckless Racing 2 and Tanks by Polarbit
Let’s Golf 3 by Gameloft
Townsmen 6, Guns & Glory WW2 and Clouds and Sheep by HandyGame
They Need To Be Fed by YoYo Games
Lame Castle by Be-Rad Entertainment
Hyperlight by Catfishblues Games
Diversion and Crazy Snowboard by Ezone PTY LTD
Gibs & Gore Micronytes
Protoxide and Battle Boats 3D by Herocraft
EVAC HD and Radient HD by Hexage
PewPew 2 by Jean-Francois Geyelin
Stellar Escape by Orange Agenda
Jumpy, INC and Meganoid by Orange Pixel
Death Worm by PlayCreek LLC
No Gravity by Real Tech VR
Crusade of Destiny by Divide Arts
Desert Winds by Southend Interactive
A huge commitment has been shown by game publishers and Sony Ericsson to boost the number of available games for the Xperia Play to over 150 titles. These are games specifically tailored to the control system used by the Xperia Play.
A new update has began rolling out from Sony Ericsson for the Xperia Arc and Xperia Neo. The update has been made available for a few countries already and even network branded handsets. Over in the UK, the update has been released for unbranded handsets but, users with Orange branded handsets are also reporting being able to update.
Firmware 4.0.A.2.368 adds several new features to the Xperia handsets, including the ability to zoom on the camera. The DLNA media server has been renamed to Connected Devices and there are several themes to choose from, instead of the default blue background which we first saw on the Xperia X10. The update also includes the latest home launcher which we recently saw leaked.
Other features include:
xLoud: Audio is enhanced during playback via speakers
Landscape mode: The homescreen is now available in landscape mode
Stereo recording: shoot video with high quality stereo sound
Data monitor: Monitor how much data you are using on your phone during the month
New apps: Xperia Hotshots, Extension search, Qriocity video, Neo reader, Get apps, Get games, Update center, UEFA.com
Widgets: TimeScape widget has been updated. There is also a new weather widget
For anyone that has seen the new Sony Ericsson Xperia home launcher on the yet to be released Xperia Ray handset and been curious as to when it might become available for the current Xperia handset range, then news of the leak of the home launcher itself may be welcomed.
Working on the Xperia X10, Xperia Arc, Xperia Play and the Xperia Neo, the home launcher can be installed using a file manager to transfer and install the leaked .apk file. It adds quirky new features to the current home launcher including the ‘floating’ widgets when in the widget screen and shaking the phone – the widgets move around the screen, activated by the movement. Also featured is the ability to uninstall apps more easily.
The home launcher .apk file can be found here for anyone that wants to experience the new home launcher for themselves.
Sony Ericsson were a bit premature by releasing information regarding the Android 2.3 update for the Xperia X10 on their website. We saw a message appear saying that the update was now available for the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, when in fact it wasn’t. However the release was, as they promised imminent. The release of Android 2.3.3 with Facebook inside Xperia is now rolling out for the X10, for real this time.
Like previous updates from Sony Ericsson, the update is being rolled out in phases, a few European countries have confirmed that the update is available, including the UK. The update is available initially for unbranded handsets and hopefully network providers will also begin rolling out the update but, what networks which will do this is currently unknown unfortunately.
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