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Sony dishes ICS update plans for Xperia line, excludes Play

Sony is prepping almost all of its Xperia phones for Android Ice Cream Sandwich, with a notable exception.

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Headshot of Jessica Dolcourt
Jessica Dolcourt VP, Content Operations and Commerce, CNET Group and CNET Labs
Jessica is a passionate content strategist and team leader across the CNET family of brands. She leads a number of teams, including commerce, performance optimization and the copy desk. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on the iPhone and Samsung devices. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began her leadership role managing CNET's How To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones to home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick in the UK.
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Jessica Dolcourt
Sony Xperia P
The Sony Xperia P will be Sony's second phone to update to Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

Sony confirmed today in a blog post that it will give the people what they want: updates to the Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS in a handful of Sony Xperia smartphones.

The Sony Xperia S will start off the pack at the end of June, followed by the Xperia P, and later in the third quarter, the Xperia U.

Update plans don't end there. Starting next week, Sony will also pull the Xperia Arc, Xperia Neo, Xperia Mini and Mini Pro, Xperia Pro, Xperia Active, and Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman phones from 2.3 Gingerbread to 4.0.4

Last month, Sony began an Ice Cream Sandwich rollout phase to the Xperia Arc S, Xperia Ray, and Xperia Neo V.

Owners of the Xperia Play gaming smartphone won't be as lucky. After testing ICS on the device, Sony determined that a "consistent and stable experience, particularly with gaming, cannot be guaranteed for this smartphone on Ice Cream Sandwich," so it'll be left out of the update pool.

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