Xperia Play finally lands at O2 UK, available in black or white

It took a while, but that O2-exclusive white Xperia Play is finally with us. Earlier this month, the UK carrier had promised to deliver the Play in June, but evidently things have gone better than expected, as we now see "in stock" signage next to both the black and white models of Sony Ericsson's gaming phone. Pricing is identical for both color variants, starting at "free" when attached to expensive (£34 per month) two-year contracts and peaking at £430 ($702) on pre-pay deals. O2 also throws in a matching multimedia dock plus three bonus games to sweeten the deal. We're guessing that Android 2.3.3 update that Sony Ericsson just rolled out for the Xperia Play might finally have allayed O2's software concerns, which has allowed it to now start selling the device in earnest.

dialtosave.co.uk

O2 (White), (Black)

Dell XPS 15z available in Australia and Asia, fits Sandy Bridge in under an inch of thickness

The XPS 15z, true to Michael Dell's word, is now with us. Provided "now" is May the 24th in whatever part of the world you happen to live in. Laptop shoppers in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan -- a group of nations already enjoying the glories of Tuesday -- can now buy the 0.97 inches-thick 15z for prices starting at just under A$1,400. That buys you a Core i5-2410M from Intel (2.3GHz default speed, 2.9GHz with Turbo Boost), a generous 6GB of DDR3 RAM, backlit keyboard, GeForce GT 525M graphics with 2GB of dedicated memory, a 750GB hard drive, and a 64WHr battery. The screen spans 15.6 inches diagonally and offers 1920 x 1080 resolution. Stepping up to A$1,700 gets you a Core i7-2620M (2.7GHz default, 3.4GHz TB) and 8GB of RAM. Juicy specs, we must admit. Now when's midnight coming?

Dell (Australia), (Malaysia), (Hong Kong), (Taiwan), (Japan)

Dell XPS 15z coming tomorrow for $999?

The thinnest 15-inch laptop "on the planet" is coming tomorrow, costing a measly $999, according to the Wall Street Journal. In a profile of Dell's recent history and forthcoming plans in the consumer electronics market, the financial paper twice makes reference to an ultrathin, $999 laptop that is set to launch on Tuesday of this week. Pairing that intel with the abundance of leaks surrounding the slinky 15.6-inch XPS 15z -- including a Michael Dell tweet promising it's "coming soon" -- leads us to the conclusion that we've finally gotten ahold of the price and date for Dell's next big thing. Interestingly enough, the WSJ article goes on to say that Dell had canned a similar set of slim laptops earlier in the year, which might give us greater hope for the quality of the 15z -- it survived where others didn't.

Other disclosures in the piece include a quote from Michael Dell, saying that he "didn't completely see" the tablet boom coming, which might explain why sales of his company's Streak tablets have been low enough to be described as "immaterial." There's also a discussion of the abortive Zing music service and related MP3 players that never were, but you'll have to hit the source link to learn more about them.

Wall Street Journal

HTC Flyer lands at Best Buy on May 22nd for $500, Magic Pen sold separately

The 16GB-equipped, 7-inch Flyer from HTC is making its way west this week. Best Buy, which gets the honor of exclusively launching the WiFi-only Android tablet in the US, has revealed Sunday as the official first day of availability for the Flyer, at a price of $500. As you'll recall, the stylus that ships in the retail box just about everywhere else will be markedly missing from the Best Buy bundle, costing an extra $80 to those who simply must have it. You'll be able to purchase your Flyer online and at all brick-and-mortar Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores, but if mobile connectivity is more important to you, we'd advise holding out a little while longer for the 3G- and 4G-capable Evo View variety on Sprint.

BGR

Best Buy

NEC's dual-screen LifeTouch W tablet shipping in Japan this June

NEC caught our attention at CES with a dual-screen Android tablet / e-reader that, at the time, it was calling the LT-W Cloud Communicator. Well, it's since been rebranded the LifeTouch W and it will officially hit shelves in Japan this June. Under the hood nothing has changed -- it's the same pair of 7-inch, 800 x 600 resistive touchscreens, 384MB of RAM, and Cortex A8 CPU of unspecified speed we played with in January. Sadly, that also means we're looking at the same dated Android 2.2 OS and paltry five hour battery life. No word on cost or whether this will ever appear outside of Japan, but we'd be surprised if this ugly stepsister of the Kno actually makes its way across the Pacific.

Akihabara News

NEC