2011 Xperia range finally gets a taste of Ice Cream Sandwich

After a protracted saga - which went something like, 'yes'-'maybe'-'no'-'yes' - Sony has finally announced on its blog that the 2011 range of Xperia smartphones is going to be updated to Android 4.0 (a.k.a. Ice Cream Sandwich).

In fact, the 2011 Xperia handsets will be updated to Android 4.0.4, which is the most stable build of the now-superseded operating system. Some devices in the Xperia range will already be running Android 4.0, and they will receive the incremental upgrade over the air.

Anyone still stuck on Android 2.3 (a.k.a. Gingerbread) will have to plug his device into a computer and install the update directly from Sony. There are details on how to do that here.

Starting this week, updates can be expected for the Xperia Arc, Xperia Arc S, Xperia Neo, Xperia Neo V, Xperia Mini, Xperia Pro, Xperia Active, and Xperia Ray, with the Xperia Mini Pro, Xperia Neo L, and Live with Walkman receiving the update in the coming weeks. Bear in mind that timings might vary depending on your service provider and where you are in the world.

Alas, there's no last-minute reprieve for the Xperia Play, but owners of the rest of the Xperia range should keep a close eye on their phone in the coming weeks, and be prepared for an Ice Cream injection.