Mixed messages
Vodafone has stalled the launch of Sony Ericson's Xperia Play handset, following O2's lead.
While the handset is officially due to launch tomorrow, Vodafone has told its customers who have pre-ordered the handset that the PlayStation phone cannot be sent out on 1 April because of a supply problem, Reg Hardware reported.
Vodafone opened its pre-order books around a week ago and offered a free stand to some people to sweeten the deal, with the handset free for consumers that opt for a £35 a month 2 year contract.
VG24/7 reported that the delay is down to a freight issue that could limit the amount of Xperia Play handsets available in the UK at launch.
This is interesting as O2 shelved the launch of the handset as it found some software bugs playing havoc with the phone's performance.
In a blog post, O2's head of testing, Stuart Hibberd wrote: "We've been testing the phone non-stop for weeks and have found some bugs in the software that, if they're not fixed, means customers won't have a great experience."
He added: "We've been working with Sony Ericsson to get these bugs ironed out, but haven't been able to get them fixed in time for us to be able to launch the phone on April 1st as we originally planned."
O2 said it will work with Sony Ericsson over ‘the next couple of weeks' to fix the bugs.
Meanwhile, Orange's website said the handset is simply ‘coming soon,' while Three has reportedly said that 8 April is the earliest delivery date for the Xperia Play- a week-long delay after the planned release date. So far there is no news from T-Mobile.
All 5 of the UK's networks were due to offer the handset from 1 April and Sony Ericsson has told Reg Hardware that the launch is still going ahead tomorrow.
"We can confirm that the Xperia Play handsets are still planned to launch in the UK for 1 April, as originally communicated," it reportedly said.
Apparently The Carphone Warehouse will have the phone/handheld console hybrid available for consumers to snap up tomorrow.
Of course the Xperia Play is the first Sony PlayStation phone on the market and comes packed with Android Gingerbread, a slide-out gaming pad, touchscreen and 6 full games.
