14 DAY TRIAL // Almost two months have passed since Sony Ericsson announced the global rollout of its highly-acclaimed Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread update for Xperia phones.
Well, it appears that the update has finally reached Canadians shores and is now available for download for several Xperia models.
Sony Ericsson Canada confirmed yesterday that it has begun rolling out the Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread for Xperia Pro, arc, PLAY and mini pro smartphones.
We’ve received mixed reports from users with branded Xperia phones who got the update, while others did not, so it’s still unclear whether or not the update is only available for unbranded handsets.
Xperia phones owners might be a bit disappointed that this is not the Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade, but it’s way too early for Sony Ericsson to be able to deploy the Android 4.0 update.
Some may even consider Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread an obsolete operating system, even though this might be the last update that some of these Xperia phones will get.
Although Sony Ericsson confirmed plans to deliver the Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade to all Xperia phones launched in 2011, there’s no telling what it will happen next year.
The Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread update will bring Xperia phones several new features, as well as performance and stability improvements.
First of all, Xperia phones with a secondary front facing camera will be able to take advantage of the Google Talk with Video Chat feature that allows users to make video calls.
Android 2.3.4 also adds the “Updated Facebook inside Xperia” functionality for enhanced like, share and discover abilities, as well as the 3D Sweep Panorama feature powered by Sony.
Other new features introduced with this update include: 16x video zoom, WiFi DLNA function, gesture input, and the screen capture feature that allows users to share a screen grab from anywhere in the phone.
