Sony releases Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia Play

Following the previously released ICS beta for Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S, Xperia Neo V and Xperia Ray, Sony Mobile released a beta version of the Android 4.0 ROM. The first beta ROM release was made available one month ago. Sony Ericsson communicated in November last year that all Xperia handset from 2011 eventually will receive the ICS update. In December last year, the company promised that the final Android 4.0 release would be available for download in end April/early May.

The developers over at Sony Ericsson wrote a comprehensive article about the mandatory steps needed before releasing a new version of the smartphone operating system. It all boils down to that the development itself is relatively quick process, but that certification and approval of the software takes time. For example: to use Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and modem, Sony needs to certify that the new software is compliant with these standards. This is something community developers such as those from XDA do not have to worry about. For a globally released Sony smartphone model, up to 80 local certifications approval might be needed. What this means is that the development of Ice Cream Sandwich for the Xperia range could have been ready as we speak but that Sony is waiting for the certification of the software before it can be released to its customers.

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