Six must-see Sony Ericsson Xperia Play videos

I know this is a frivolous post, but I'm a sucker for good marketing -- and Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play promo videos are among the best seen for a long time. If you haven't tasted the fun, fury and frenzy, now is the time. If these videos can't help sell Xperia Play, Sony Ericsson should pack it up and go away.

Surely the handset manufacturer needs something to liven sales. During 2010, Sony Ericsson fell out of the top-5 cell phone manufacturers, as measured by end-user sales, according to Gartner. Market share fell from 4.5 percent in 2009 to a puny 2.6 percent in 2010. Unit shipments also declined from about 52 million units to nearly 42 million. How the mighty has fallen.

Xperia Play is one of the stand-out smartphones at CTIA Wireless, if for no other reason than being different. Is it a smartphone or PlayStation Portable? Buzz started months ago, but the PSP phone is finally coming to market in a big way -- hence the promo videos.

Some quick specs: 4-inch display with 854 x 400 resolution; capacitive touchscreen; 1GHz processor; 400MB of RAM; 8GB microSD storage (with support for up to 32GB); 5.1-megapixel back-facing camera with flash/video light; VGA front-facing camera; expected stuff like Bluetooth and GPS; and Android 2.3 "Gingerbread." The handset measures 119.0 mm x 62.0 mm x 16.0 mm and weighs 175 grams.

Last month, Verizon revealed that it will carry Xperia PLAY. The PSP phone is making the rounds at CTIA Wireless. Now there's the marketing, which I find enchanting. I'm not alone. In researching this post, I found a few bloggers or reporters were equally impressed. Sam Biddle writes for Gizmodo: "New Xperia Play commercials have enslaved my soul." At Boy Genius Report, Zach Epstein describes the marketing videos as "hilarious."

Yes, they're funny, but, more importantly, they have broad appeal -- particularly those featuring actress/comedian Kristen Schaal. Surely guys and gals will find something to like about her promos. Even more importantly, the Schaal videos hit on dual benefits, such as doing working -- "edit spreadsheets" -- or playing games.

The two videos above are older and they tell a shared story about the Android mascot's dramatic transformation. The four videos below feature Schaal. The work day is over. Take a break and enjoy them.