Patent suggests the Xperia Play once packed a slide-out QWERTY keyboard as well as gamepad
PlayStation Phone was intended as flagship Android device
In October 2010, Sony Ericsson filed a patent for 'electronic devices having multiple keypads and related methods'.
That may sound like techno-gibberish, but illustrations included in the patent application clearly show an Xperia Play handset featuring a slide-out QWERTY keyboard as well as the handset's signature slide-out gaming controls.
Before you get all giddy with excitement, though, the patent likely describes a scrapped design for the existing Xperia Play rather than the potential outards of an Xperia Play 2.
What might have beenWhat's more, it would seem that the Xperia Play was once intended as a flagship Android device.
The Verge has unearthed slides - released as part of Oracle and Google's ongoing legal wranglings - which list the "PlayStation phone" as the flagship handset for Android 2.3, otherwise known as Gingerbread.
In combination, these two documents provide a tantalising glimpse at the product the Xperia Play might have been - a double-sliding, keyboard-toting PlayStation Phone released to enormous fanfare.
