The much-vaunted PSP phone has been churning around the rumour mill for years. But the Sony Ericsson Aino, while hooking up with the PS3 via Remote Play, is not the gaming phone the world’s been waiting for. However, with video streaming skills and a host of added extras, will it tide you over while you wait for that full-on gaming phone? Read our full Sony Ericsson Aino review now to find out.
There’s no denying the tinge of disappointment we felt when we found out the Sony Ericsson Aino was not a full-blown PSP phone. It won’t let you play PlayStation games, either under its own steam or via Remote Play with a PS3 at home. What it will do is tap into media on your PlayStation 3, no matter where you whip it out of your pocket. That’s enough to make this a cracking multimedia phone with the sturdiness and skills expected of a Sony Ericsson phone.
Access to PS3 Remote Play is the Sony Ericsson Aino’s biggest draw and one that we found was great, once up and running. Hooking it up to your PS3, however, is not an easy process and you’ll need to be patient while wading through myriad menus on both your telly and the phone itself before you can take your stashed videos out on the road.
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Once you do get it working, however, you’ll find the Sony Ericsson Aino is a killer movie maven. The 3-inch screen is more than ample for snacking on TV shows and getting video access while you’re out is far easier than setting the whole thing up. Just use the dedicated lock screen media bar by swiping up and across. All your clips appear right there for you to choose. It’s at this point that a full touchscreen would have come in handy, but we’re willing to forgive Sony Ericsson this oversight.
Away from the PS3 Remote Play, you’re looking at a solid, if somewhat average, Sony Ericsson slider. It says a lot about how far phones have come that an 8.1 megapixel camera, GPS and Google Maps now do little to send our jaws to the floor. That said they’re great additions and ensure the Sony Ericsson Aino isn’t just a one trick pony.
The slider action, however, is a major concern. Handle the Sony Ericsson Aino for any length of time and you’ll feel as if you’re about to drop it it’s so top heavy. It’s a design quirk that at first feels strange before becoming downright infuriating after a few days’ play.
The Sony Ericsson Aino isn’t the PSP phone. But then access to hundreds of hours of video from your PS3 is enough to sway us into saying it’s worth a serious look. If you want more smartphone extras, look elsewhere, but if mobile TV is your poison, the Aino is for you.
