Sony Xperia S gets Ice Cream Sandwich at last

By Luke Westaway on 21 June 2012, 4:55pm

The Sony Xperia S is finally getting its mitts on Ice Cream Sandwich, bringing a dose of up-to-date Android to Sony's flagship mobile.

Sony writes on its blog that the latest software will be winging its way to Sony smart phones today, though it will take several weeks for the update to arrive on every phone.

If you can't wait to see what the new software will look like, Sony's made a demo video, which I've embedded below. Sony's also putting together a list of Xperia S devices by sales item number, so you can check if the update is available for your phone yet.

The update introduces new music, photo and video apps, called 'Walkman', 'Album' and 'Movies', along with interface tweaks that arrive with Ice Cream Sandwich.

That includes a new lock screen that lets you drag down a notification bar from the top of the screen, displaying texts, upcoming events and the like. Ice Cream Sandwich also brings the ability to control your data usage, tracking how much Internet you're consuming and setting limits to prevent your Xperia S from guzzling more than it should.

Face Unlock gets you into your phone using your phizzog, and you can get to the camera app from the lock screen by swiping to the left, or holding the camera button down for a moment.

Tabs come to the browser, and a new button lets you force websites to go to the desktop version rather than a mobile version.

Welcome additions all, though it's daft that Xperia S owners had to wait so long to get their hands on the latest version of Android. Then again, Sony has praised Android's older Gingerbread software, saying that it's "not a bad idea to stay," rather than upgrading to Ice Cream Sandwich.

It briefly looked like Ice Cream Sandwich would arrive on the Xperia S back in May, but Sony said that estimate was an error, caused by a support staffer mixing up his Xperias.

The Xperia S itself offers a high-res screen and a decent camera, but the design feels a tad clunky. Check out our video review below, and let me know if you've seen the Android update popping up on your Xperia S.

Are you a fan of Sony's mobiles? How do you think they rate against Samsung's Galaxy smart phones? Let me know in the comments or on our Facebook wall.

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Matteo Paparoni 21 June, 2012 17:11

My Xperia Neo (O2) which came out well over a year ago is waiting for this upgrade :/

hmstar 22 June, 2012 07:11

thanks for the great review! looks great but i still have to go with Galaxy

anonymous 22 June, 2012 21:54

The ICS update has started for xperia s and feedback is very positive for it. I like mine so far - 3 months in and its all good. The screen is very good for browsing and reading, but it does take its toll on battery life, needs charged most days. very easy to use and the app store (google play) certainly has a great variety of apps / movies. The clever thing is that if you see a new phone with a built in feature yours doesn't have, check for an app chances are it will be there. A 1.5ghz dual core processor 1gb ram and 32gb storage makes it fast, though some are complaining about the lack of expandable memory and no user replaceable battery. I've always liked sony products playstations, hi-fi and tvs, this is a very good phone/ walkman/ pc/ mediaplayer and almost 1/2 the price of some fruity branded phones

anonymous 28 June, 2012 17:55

Im just waiting for my update 4.04 on my EXCELLENT PHONE XPERIA S 32GB whoop whoop !!

anonymous 29 June, 2012 12:48

why i can t upate,,it s still on 2.3 and can t update ics..?never sony and nokia again...life to learn........

anonymous 12 July, 2012 21:33

"why i can t upate,,it s still on 2.3 and can t update ics..?never sony and nokia again...life to learn........"

The delay probably has more to do with your network provider than Sony or Nokia. Most networks take their time to add their branded rubbish and test, as well as use updates as a sales tool, regardless of the handset manufacturer.

The only way around it is usually with either a Google Nexus phone but you will "only" get standard Android, or with an iPhone, if you want to pay the extra.