Sony Ericsson Xperia Play 4G heads to AT&T for $50

Back in July, AT&T revealed that, like Verizon, it, too, would offer the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, and now, the release of the gaming smartphone is near.

The carrier announced this morning that the Xperia Play 4G would be available starting September 18 for $49.99 with a two-year contract, which is both affordable and smart, considering the smartphone's been out for a little while and doesn't quite stack up to today's higher-end devices.

Of course, its main draw is the gaming capabilities. The PlayStation-certified handset offers dedicated gaming controls and comes preloaded with seven games, including Madden NFL 11, the Sims 3, Crash Bandicoot, Dungeon Defenders, and Asphalt 6 Adrenaline.

The Xperia Play 4G runs Android 2.3.3. Gingerbread and has a 4-inch, 480x854-pixel touch screen, a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera, and a front-facing VGA camera. The handset is also compatible with AT&T's HSPA+ network and is powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and Adreno 205 graphics processor.

To sweeten the deal, AT&T is also throwing in a charging dock and multimedia dock for the price. For more on the device, check out our review of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play.