Image gallery: Xperia Play handset teardown

SAN FRANCISCO—Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play Android smartphone—which hit U.S. shelves Thursday (May 26)—features a 1 GHz Qualcomm Inc. Snapdragon processor, an 8-Gb NAND flash memory device from Micron Technology Inc., a 2-Gb LP DDR2 DRAM from Elpida Memory Inc. and Broadcom Corp.'s combo Bluetooth, WiFi, FM radio IC, among other components, according to a teardown analysis performed by UBM TechInsights.

The Xperia Play is the first smartphone to be "PlayStation certified," meaning that it is optimized for videogames with a focus on graphics, sound and a gaming controller found in the phone's sliding cover, according to UBM TechInsights, which is owned by UBM plc, the parent company of EE Times.

Xperia Play runs Android 2.3, also known as Ginerbread, and comes pre-loaded with "console-quality" games, according to carrier Verizon Wireless. It features a 4-inch display, a 5-megapixel as well as a VGA front-facing camera, as well as a genuine gaming controller, according to Verizon. The phone is available in the U.S. through Verizon for $199 with a two-year service contract.


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According to UBM TechInsights—which is based in Canada and was able to get a Canadian market model Xperia Play prior to Thursday's U.S. launch— the phone features 512 MB of RAM and 1GB of internal storage memory with a memory card slot that can expand the storage up to 32GB with through the use of a MicroSD card.

The Xperia Play operates on GSM/GPRS/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA networks. Currently there is no CDMA version on the immediate horizon, according to UBM TechInsights.

UBM TechInsights analysts reported that, upon opening the smartphone, the largest visible IC was an Elpida memory IC.  The Elpida B4064B2PD-6D 2Gb low-power DDR2 DRAM is found on a package-on-package orientation, which indicates that the baseband processor is located immediately underneath it, according to the firm. 

Below the Elpida LPDDR2 is the heart of the Xperia Play, the Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon processor, UBM TechInsights reported.  This single-core ARM v7-based 1 GHz processor is manufactured at 45-nm and is the first of three major IC wins for Qualcomm, according to the firm.

Joining the MSM8255, UBM TechInsights also found Qualcomm's QTR8200 transceiver and the company's PM8058 power management IC, the firm said.

The primary components found in the handset by UBM TechInsights include:

• Qualcomm MSM8255 – 1 GHz Snapdragon baseband processor
• Qualcomm QTR8200 – RF Transceiver
• Qualcomm PM8058 – Power Management IC
• Micron MT29F8G16ADBDAH4 – 8Gb NAND Flash
• TriQuint TQM7M5013 – RF Power Amplifier
• Synaptics T1320A – Capacitive Touchscreen Controller
• Elpida B4064B2PD-6D-F – 2Gb LP DDR2 DRAM
• austriamicrosystems  AS3676 – LED Light Management
• Maxim MAX17040 – Compact, Low-Cost 1S/2S Fuel Gauge
• Avago ACPM-5001-TR1 – UMTS Band 1 Power Amplifier
• Avago ACPM-5008-TR1 – UMTS Band 8 Power Amplifier
• AKM Semiconductor AK8975 – 3-Axis Electronic Compass     
• Broadcom BCM4329 – 802.11n Low-Power with Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and FM (Tx and Rx)