Sony Ericsson Yari: All in the game

The Sony Ericsson Yari is kind of like the Wii of phones. Or it could be, when the games are better and people have figured out what it actually does

Richard Trenholm

Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.

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Richard Trenholm

May 28, 2009 6:43 p.m. PT

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As Iggy pop, Ringo Starr and Bruce Willis recently implored, a name change is no bad thing. So the Idou becomes the Satio, and the Sony Ericsson gesture-gaming phone becomes the Yari.

The Yari is the first gesture-based gaming phone. It draws on the arm-flailin', good time-havin' concept of the Nintendo Wii for its control ideas.

The Yari boasts a 5-megapixel camera that allows the phone to track your movements when you're playing games. You can dock it on a bundled stand for side-to-side tennis and dancing games, or wave it in the air like you just don't care for other stuff.

Like the Sony Ericsson Aino, the Yari handset is currently only a prototype, but will most likely be troubling Father Christmas this year. Once you have the Yari, with its selection of preloaded games, you'll be able to access PlayNow, a kind of app store for games and music. If it's not clear how exactly you play with the Yari, click through our quick gallery for more.

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The Yari is a slider phone with little in the way of frills, but that just means there's less to distract you from your gaming.

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The Yari includes a 5-megapixel camera, which gives an idea of its mid-range market placement.

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The gesture-based games function is somewhere between the PlayStation EyeToy and the Nintendo Wii. The camera records your movements when playing tennis or dancing, as here.

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It's cooler than it looks, honestly. Look out for the boxing game, coming soon. This is still a prototype, but it'll probably be out in time for Christmas.