Sony Pushes Ice Cream Sandwich to Xperia go, Xperia U and Xperia sola

On Friday, mobile phone maker Sony announced the immediate availability of a new software update for its Xperia go, Xperia U and Xperia sola smartphones.

The new update brings along the long-awaited Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, along with a series of media applications unique to these devices.

The deployment will be a staged one, set to continue over the next few weeks to all markets around the world where these handsets were made available for purchase.

Some of the enhancements packed inside the new update include:

- New ways to experience your tunes, images, videos and films with Sony’s media applications – “WALKMAN”, “Album” and “Movies”
- Extended standby mode, increasing standby time by up to four times (depending on user-profile and data consumption)
- Lock screen with improved functionality
- Resizable widgets for improved personalization
- Improved control of your mobile data consumption
- Recent Apps button for a clear overview of your applications

According to Sony, the rollout has started on Friday and will ramp up over the weekend. Starting with the middle of the next week, users will receive specific info on software kits via Sony’s support community.

These kits will be customized for the specific wireless carrier and handsets that users own in the various markets around the world.

Users interested in performing the update will need to connect their handsets to a desktop, be it a Windows PC or a Mac.

“I’m also excited to tell you about ‘Glove Mode’ – a sweet feature in the software upgrade for Xperia sola (known as Xperia sole in some markets),” a Sony employee notes in a blog post.

“It’s an extension of our ‘floating touch’ technology that makes it possible to use your Xperia sola in the cold whilst wearing gloves… just in time for the winter months.”

Stay tuned for more info on how the rollout of these updates progresses.