httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i189IkIvJc0

Sonys flaggskepp Xperia S, som till mångas förvåning lanserades med Android 2.3/Gingerbread under skalet, har idag fått den efterlängtade uppdateringen till Android 4.0/Ice Cream Sandwich. Närmare bestämt får Xperia S version 4.0.4, och ovanpå detta finner vi naturligtvis Sonys egna gränssnitt Sony UX (v6.0).

Xperia S är utrustad med bland annat en 4.3 tum stor 720p-upplöst (720×1280 pixlar) LCD/TFT-skärm, en kompetent kamera på 12 megapixlar och en dubbelkärnig processorplattform ur Qualcomms S3-serie och blev snabbt en av de populäraste telefonerna bland Swedroids besökare.

Sony skriver själva på sin blogg:

Today, we bring you some exciting news! As planned, we’re now starting our software rollout for Xperia S including, Ice Cream Sandwich Android 4.0.4 upgrade and new unique media applications.

First off, we’re excited to introduce a completely new way to experience your media – your music, images, videos, movies and films – with our new “WALKMAN”, “Album” and “Movies” applications:

The “WALKMAN” application blends the best of signature Sony audio technology with social features; to discover the music your friends like and share personal favorites. Facebook integration gives you a visual way to interact with content – accessing album art, artist images and information, directly from Gracenote®
The “Album” application brings new intuitive ways to sort and browse high quality photos and videos in blazing speed, as well as providing instant viewing, commenting and sharing of photos on Facebook and other online albums, leveraging the great camera capabilities of Xperia S
The “Movies” application streamlines the playback and viewing of movies in high quality audio and video, whilst using intelligent database search to grab movie posters and information for a richer experience

And now for the software upgrade to Android version 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich– some of the cool features you can look forward to are:

Lock screen with improved functionality
Resizable widgets (improved personalization)
Improved control of your mobile data consumption
Recent Apps button for clear overview of your applications

Be sure to check out our video above for a look at some of this new functionality!

The update will be directly accessible in your phone over mobile networks and WiFi, but also with the option of upgrading using a computer – either with our web-based Xperia Update, PC Companion or Bridge for Mac.

If you’d like or need help on installing the software, we’ve pulled together a step-by-step run through video on our Xperia support YouTube channel.

All Xperia S users will get a notification when the upgrade is ready, but direct availability in the phone may vary across different carriers.

It’s also worth noting that the software package required for download is around 200MB, so you might want to consider using WiFi, if directly upgrading from your Xperia S.

The rollout will continue over the next few weeks* and as usual, we will continue to keep you up-to-date with our progress, handling as much of your feedback along the way as possible.

Just as before, you’ll also be able to see the released software kits (customized software specific to your operator) on our support community; https://talk.sonymobile.com – please continue to check in if yours is not yet listed, as it’ll be updated when new kits become available.

I’ve enjoyed getting to grips with my Xperia S over the past few weeks and I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to taste this sweet software treat :-)

Vi vet att uppdateringar till Android 4.0 har inneburit lite varierade framgångar – vissa telefoner rapporteras bli långsammare, inte minst enkelkärniga telefoner med ”blott” 512 MB RAM – medan andra upplever en klar prestandaförbättring och ett bättre flyt.

Vi har själva inte haft möjlighet att utvärdera 4.0-uppdateringen för Xperia S, så vi vänder oss till er läsare som äger och via officiella vägar har uppdaterat Xperia S till Ice Cream Sandwich; vilka är era första intryck? Problem, glada överraskningar, udda beteenden eller allmänna förbättringar. Allt är av intresse.

Vi på Swedroid vill slutligen passa på att önska er alla en glad midsommar!
Sony Mobile Blog. Tipstack till alla er som tipsade!