In general, phones that have slide out parts, like the recently released Xperia Play and the Xperia X10 Mini Pro that was released last year, are harder to find cases for than the regular “candybar” styled phone, whether it has a touch screen or not. Last year we saw many cases for the Xperia X10 and X10 Mini Pro, many of which allowed you to change the look of your phone but, also protect it. The X10 Mini Pro however didn’t have as many cases on the market and still hasn’t.
So finding a case for the Xperia Play that doesn’t hinder the style of the phone yet, protects it has been a hard job. The majority of cases you’ll find will be generic cases or sleeves. This isn’t a bad thing but, you may find some of these cases don’t fit the Xperia Play, I’ve already had a couple of these cases. While other cases will be far too big. After using a couple of cases and looking at even more, I’ve found one that, while it is a generic case, it fits the Xperia Play extremely well, doesn’t bulk the phone out in your pocket and more importantly, protects it.
I received my case from King Of Gadgets. The case is leatherette and protects the phone well and is rather sleek looking, no hideous cases here. Unlike some other cases on the market, pulling or sliding the Xperia Play out of the case is a breeze as there is a hole in the case at the bottom, which lets you push the Play out easily, so you can grab your phone in a hurry. Unlike other cases where you need to pull the phone out, often missing phone calls, as has been the situation with my second favourite case for the Play.
The case features a magnetic clip feature, so there’s no buttons or poppers to press down which could cause damage to the four inch touch screen of the Play. On the back of the case there’s a belt holder bit, so you have the option of having the case on your belt, or in your trousers pocket. Some trouser belt hoops make the case bulkier but, I haven’t found this to be an issue with this case.
Overall, I’m very happy with the case. There is a slight gap at one end when the phone is in, which I was concerned about initially but, the phone is secure in the case and doesn’t move about. The only way I could see it being improved, is if a new generation of cases moved the hole at the bottom away from the center as it doesn’t fit with the design of the Xperia Play for charging. You can however just put your phone in the other way and leave the case open but, the phone still protected. You can buy the case here for £4.49.
It’s also worth noting that the case also fits the Xperia X10 comfortably. As of yet I haven’t been able to try the Xperia Arc in the case.
