Sony Xperia S phone to get Ice Cream Sandwich

The flagship phone to carry the Sony Mobile Communications name is heading up to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. "Xperia S is planned to get ICS somewhere around late May/early June. That's what's been said and that's still what we're sticking to," wrote Sony in an official forum post.

"The roll out is, as always, gradual and will not happen overnight for all phones. Some phones might get the update in late May whilst other will get in mid June etc," the post continued. The Xperia S contains a 12-megapixel camera, near field communication (NFC) technology for mobile payments and contactless interactions, and a 4.3-inch HD display.

It is the flagship phone for Sony Mobile Communications, which was developed after Sony bought out Ericsson's stake in its previous joint venture. With Sony Ericsson now becoming Sony Mobile, there is a lot more inter-departmental communication that will make future Sony phones more compatible with other Sony devices. Ice Cream Sandwich is one of the biggest updates to Android yet, and includes such features as scanning your face to unlock the phone, a much more robust speech-to-text software program, and an entire platform of data sharing that focuses on NFC.