Sony Ericsson releases Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for some Xperia models

The official Sony Ericsson product blog has release detailed instructions on how to update some of Xperia handsets to version 4.0 of Android Ice Cream Sandwich. The ICS ROM released by Sony Ericsson earlier this week is an alpha edition and only developers would install this version on their Xperia smartphone. It lacks network support, WLAN, Bluetooth so any device updated to v4.0 now will not be able to communicate with the outside world.

Anyone having a Xperia Arc S, Xperia Neo V or Xperia ray can install the alpha version. Because of different partition layout in Xperia Arc, Xperia Neo or other Xperia models, only the three mentioned devices can be used.

To install the software the boot loader must be unlocked which is relatively easy to if you follow the instructions over at the Sony Ericsson developer unlocking site. By unlocking a Xperia smartphone, you will prevent the device from downloading the ICS software from Sony Ericsson when they releases a final version.

Installing this alpha software is hardly of interest to anyone except developers with special needs. As Sony Ericsson said it: it is for demonstration purposes only. What you do get is a new Roboto font, new Holo theme, music player control from lock screen, updated UI in the Settings menu, web browser and action bar. What you will miss are all the Google services such as Gmail, Google Maps, etc. And the model will be turned off so you can't make any calls. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ANT+ and FM-radio is also turned off.

By releasing an alpha ROM to the developer community, Sony Ericsson are looking for feedback from the developer community as well as showing the world that the company are willing to support the open developer community.

source