Sony Ericsson rolls out Wii-style gaming phone

And another with PS3 support

Sony Ericsson has unwrapped a gaming-focused phone with Wii-like motion-sensing technology. It also introduced a second handset, with PlayStation 3 support.

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Yari’s been described as the first "gesture gaming" handset available outside of Japan. Based on accelerometer technology, the phone has several Wii-style games, such as boxing and tennis, that require you to move, shake, rattle and roll the phone to control the on-screen action.

Quite how easy it is to play such games while not even looking at the screen remains to be seen. But by the looks of SE’s Yari promo video, shown above, bowling’s a great sport to play on the bus.

Sony Ericsson's Yari (left) and Aino

SE also unveiled Aino, which uses the PS3’s Remote Play feature to let you control the Sony console and access its media content over a wireless connection.

You can’t play PS3 games remotely on Aino, though.

However, UK users can use the phone to access PlayTV on the PS3 and a PC application called Media Home which automatically “pulls media content from your PC over Wi-Fi to your phone”.

Aino has an 8.1Mp camera

But aside from Yari’s Wii-like games and Aino’s PS3 entertainment connectivity, both devices are basic phones.

The 100 x 48 x 15mm Yari has a 2.4in display and the media-centric Aino – which measures 104 x 50 x 15mm - has a 3in screen. Aino’s 8.1Mp camera with 16x digital zoom also outranks Yari’s snapper: a 5Mp model with 4x digital zoom.

Both phones' cameras feature face detection and geo-tagging, but only Yari is equipped with the ability to stop the shutter firing until it sees the subject is smiling.

Yari: The Wii mobile phone?

All the standard music features are included on both phones, such as MP3 and AAC format support, stereo Bluetooth and PlayNow compatibility – SE’s music download service. Yari’s the only one of the pair to include TrackID, though.

It’s nice to see that both phones come with Micro SD memory cards: a 1GB card with the Yari, and an 8GB one for Aino buyers.

Expect Yari and Aino to appear in UK shops during Q4. Prices haven’t been disclosed. ®