Sony Xperia P gets Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

THE SONY Xperia P is the latest phone to get Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), with Sony announcing the rollout today.

"Today, we're starting our Ice Cream Sandwich Android 4.0 software upgrade for Xperia P, with the rollout continuing over the next few weeks in markets globally," Sony said in a blog post, sticking to its promise of a release this month.

"All Xperia P users will get a notification when the upgrade is ready, but direct availability in the phone may vary across different markets and carriers."

The update, taking the phone from Android 2.3 to Android 4.0, will furnish the mid-range Sony Xperia P with a number of new features. These include Sony's new media applications - Walkman, Album and Movies - an enhanced lock screen, resizeable home screen widgets and the addition of Recent Apps view for better multitasking and improved control of mobile data consumption.

The Android 4.0 ICS update isn't available to download over-the-air (OTA), and users will instead need to download it using Sony's PC Companion or Bridge for Mac software.

Sony has also announced that the update will soon be coming to the Xperia U, Xperia Go and Xperia Sola handsets, although it has given no specific release dates.

It's still unclear whether Sony will upgrade these handsets to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. µ