By Cristina Porter
25th December 2011.
00:24
Yearly Archives: 2011
Today is Christmas eve… It is still afternoon in Mexico, where I am, and it is still time for a short post about the latest games you can download to play while you wait to open more presents tomorrow… or tonight!
If you like to complete missions for the mafia while running around stealing cars and escaping the police, then Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto 3 is for you. I used to play this game years ago on my PlayStation 3, so I am definitely playing it now on Xperia PLAY!
As previously communicated we will update the entire 2011 Xperia portfolio* to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) as part of our next software upgrade. Our developers are now busy merging our current Xperia™ software with the new features in Android 4.0.
With the holiday season around the corner, we’re happy to confirm that the first 2011 Xperia™ smartphones will be upgraded to Android 4.0 starting from end March/early April 2012. The first smartphones to get the upgrade are Xperia™ arc S, Xperia™ neo V and Xperia™ ray. Soon after, starting from end April/early May, Xperia™ arc, Xperia™ PLAY, Xperia™ neo, Xperia™ mini and mini pro, Xperia™ pro, Xperia™ active as well as Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman™ will get their upgrades.
This will be a phased roll out over several weeks and all kits for a specific phone model will not get the upgrade at the same time. For more information about what’s going on during the process of an Android software upgrade, please check out this blog post from our Developer World team. It gives a comprehensive overview of the steps we need to take to ensure great software qualityonce it reaches the phone in your hand. Below is a summary of the process:
- It starts with public push when we as a manufacturer get access to the new Android release from Google
- Our developers take the existing Xperia™ software and combine it with the new Android release
- Once the coding is done we want to make sure the quality of the new software meets our, our partners and your expectations
- Now we feel the new software is ready but we also need to make sure it’s approved by our external partners
- All good. We’re all set to roll-out the new software. The story continues in your Xperia™ smartphone
As you can see, there are many steps involved and it’s a comprehensive upgrade in terms of number of products.
So, how do you know when the new software is available for your Xperia™ smartphone?
Owners of 2011 Xperia™ smartphone will receive a notification in the phone instructing them to download the software over the air via 3G or WiFi. Alternatively, they will have the option to connect to a computer and download it via PC companion.
Over the next months we will be keeping you up to date on progress and we will also share video demos of the new software running on 2011 Xperia™ smartphones.
* “2011 Xperia™ Portfolio” refers to the following products: Xperia™ arc and arc S, Xperia™ PLAY, Xperia™ neo and neo V, Xperia™ mini and mini pro, Xperia™ pro, Xperia™ active, Xperia™ ray as well as Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman™
A couple of weeks ago, I misplaced my Xperia™ ray for a day. Being without a phone for a day (and the video Xperia™ my day), made me think in all the things I do with it during my day, and how much I rely on it for everything.
My day actually always starts with my Xperia™ ray waking me up. I usually have at least two alarms set, as I´m not a morning person and I actually press the snooze button at least 3 times.
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of announcing that we plan to upgrade the entire 2011 Xperia™ portfolio to Android 4.0, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich, here at the blog. Although I’m looking forward to this upcoming upgrade, I’m already really enjoying our latest Xperia™ upgrade (Android 2.3.4) and I’m happy to see all the positive comments on the blog about the new features and entertainment experiences available through the upgrade. Actually, some of the experiences I like in my Xperia™ ray are Android 4.0 features already available through our latest Xperia™ upgrade. I’ll highlight some examples: (more…)
We know what it’s like, Christmas is coming and we are all beginning to dream about feverishly ripping the wrapping off some lovely treats from under the tree in just a few weeks time. For some people though, that must seem like an eternity away, so to get things started we wanted to give our lovely Xperia customers a little festive treat of our own to get the celebrations under way.
