It is a confusing time for consumers with the rapidly converging world of electronics. Not so long ago you bought a digital camera, cellphone, GPS and handheld gaming device, now you have the option of simplifying your life with multifunction devices like the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play has an impressive set of features and specifications, which to be honest are somewhat overwhelming unless you study technical acronyms for a living. What I can tell you about is what it is like to use this Google Android platform based device as a phone, a gaming device and a social media tool.

My prior forays with touch phones have been with the HTC Touch Diamond and more recently with the BlackBerry Torch. Neither device managed to tame the wild domain of the fully realised touch phone interface, and I was intrigued to see if the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play could deliver the product to rule them all.

You get a medium weight (175 gram) device with a beautiful LED screen which is clear and bright. The phone fits comfortably into your hand and the screen is very responsive to the touch. When you want to game just slide open the phone and you get a digital D-pad, two analogue touch pads, two shoulder buttons and the four PlayStation icons: circle, cross, square and triangle. Even if you have played games using this configuration before, it will take some time getting used to the two analogue touch pads. They work well enough, but they cannot reproduce the tactile feeling I’ve become so used to with real analogue sticks.

I found the built-in speaker sound distorted at times during gameplay, but worked well during phone mode and video playback. Using the supplied earphones the sound was good and it comes with a sensibly sized 3.5mm jack, should you want to connect your own set of headphones.

The charging cable doubles as your data cable for connecting to a PC with a simple USB connector interface. It is refreshing to see sensible design making it into products, as now there is only one cable you need to carry around for charging and transferring content.

The game selection currently available will keep you busy for some time, with over 50 titles like Minecraft, Dead Space, PES 2011, Assassins Creed: Altair’s Chronicles , Battlefield Bad Company 2, FIFA 10, Need for Speed: Shift HD, The Sims 3 and Guitar Hero on offer.

If you love tweeting, posting on Facebook and such then you’ll have no problem getting connected at all. The main challenge I see is making the transition to the touch keyboard for those of you who break speed records for words typed per minute. The touch screen is responsive but it is still a touch screen and I found myself typing slower than I would have liked. Given more time with the device I am sure I would have improved my accuracy and speed.

Oh, and it makes calls and takes photos too. As a phone I enjoyed the interface, address book and Android gadgetry immensely. It just works. The 5 mega pixel camera is okay but don’t think you are getting the same quality as you would from a dedicated 5 mega pixel camera. In terms of convenience of not having to carry a camera it wins in my book for those quick snaps that you want to share via social media.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is a capable phone, social media whizz kid and it is great for gaming on the go. Cellphones are a very personal choice, however, if you are in the market for a combination phone this one is well worth a closer look.