Sony Patent Suggest Xperia Play with Dual Keyboards

A patent that was filed back in 2010 got the green light from the folks over at the USPTO with regards to plans for a Xperia Play like phone with two different keyboards; one QWERTY-based and the other being a gamepad controller. According to the plans, both ‘keyboards’ will slide out together but if you do not want the extra thickness or only have use for one of them, you can push back the one you don’t want and it will be retracted into the body of the phone.

Judging by a report from the Engadget team, the default keyboard will be the QWERTY one. Of course now with the trend in smartphones heading toward more button-less designs this might be a moot point but for game centric devices like Sony’s Xperia Play, this might prove to be a huge hit. Of course the extra keyboard will add a few millimeters to the alleged phone’s thickness but if the extra functionality is your cup of tea, it is doubtful that you would mind the slightly stockier build.