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We'd rather spend our cash elsewhere in the Android cosmos and hold out hope for the PlayStation Phone 2.0.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is a significant step forward in mobile gaming, but it suffers from key hardware limitations.

The Xperia Play is the phone for gamers, though it may not appeal to everyone else.

There are some great things about the Xperia Play.... but it's a shame that too many of the games aren't optimised for the device, and that there isn't a dedicated app and portal for delivering them.

With premium handsets offering dual core processors elsewhere, the Xperia Play will need careful software development, with an emphasis on gameplay, if it is to really take hold.

The gamepad works, and the premise of playing PS One titles while mobile is brilliant, but there’s still a disconnect between Sony Ericsson’s hardware and the games on offer.

If, however, you value the general smartphone experience first and the gaming second then you're better off with something like the HTC Desire S or Sony Ericsson Arc, or even one of the dual-core superphones such as the LG Optimus 2x.

The XPERIA Play sure costs a pretty penny and most of the price is down to the unique game control deck. The moment you start wondering what else you can buy for this kind of money, things start to look bad for the PlayStation phone.

Until there is some more compelling games, you might want to pass and look at some other Android options.

What's important is whether you can live with the Xperia Play as your everyday phone and if it's a sound investment of your hard-earned cash. On both counts, the answer is: not yet.

The current iteration is more a concept than a full-fledged gaming device and platform, though if you’re a hardcore gamer, you probably won’t be disappointed with the Xperia PLAY. For general consumers, I’d probably recommend waiting for the follow-up version, however.

If you are a serious gamer that doesn't mind low-quality exteriors than this is the device for you. If you are a more cautious consumer, than we suggest holding off until more game titles are released and Sony Ericsson uses higher-quality materials.