14 DAY TRIAL // Shortly after an official Android 4.0 ROM for the Samsung Galaxy S II leaked into the wild, Sony Ericsson took it further and released its own version of Ice Cream Sandwich for a few unlocked Xperia models.
Although this is just an alpha ROM, the company wanted to show it support towards the developer community and get some constructive feedback at the same time.
This is the first time that the company releases an unfinished ROM, which probably means that the company is trying hard to stop the exodus of Sony Ericsson fans towards other brands.
This Ice Cream Sandwich alpha ROM is only available for Xperia arc S, Xperia neo V and Xperia ray. If Sony Ericsson says so, then it’s better not to try and flash it on other Xperia models unless you know what you’re doing.
In fact the company informs those who want to download and install it, that “this ROM is strictly targeting advanced developers, and it will not work for ordinary everyday usage, as it only has a limited set of features working.”
Given the fact that some of the features of the alpha build have not been certified yet, the phone will have limited usability. Some of the features that have been turned off as they are still under development, as well as the features that are simply not working, include:
- Google Mobile Services (GMS) apps are not included (for example, Gmail, Google Maps, etc.);
- Modem is turned off and SIM card will therefore not be recognised (this also means you can’t make any phone calls);
- Bluetooth is turned off;
- Wi-Fi is turned off;
- ANT+ is turned off;
- FM-radio is turned off.
Just like Huawei’s demo ROM, Sony Ericsson is trying to show some of the Ice Cream Sandwich features on the Xperia phones. However, the following features have been included for demonstration purposes:
- New “Roboto” font;
- New “Holo” theme is supported (you are able to test apps written to make use of the Holo theme);
- Music player control from lock screen;
- Updated UI in the Settings menu;
- Updated UI in the web browser;
- Updated UI and interaction with the new messaging action bar;
- Updated UI for improved multitasking;
- Swipe to dismiss notifications, tasks and browser tabs in the Notification menu.
Tech-savvy Xperia users can find more details along with instructions to download and install the alpha ROM here.
