Alongside the other two ‘hardware’ additions to the Sony Xperia Smart Extras range, Sony have also announced the arrival of exciting new product – Xperia SmartTags into the Smart Extras family.

SmartTags are basically tags that use NFC (near field communication) technology to communicate with any Android smartphone capable of using NFC. The Xperia SmartTags can be configured to change the profile on a mobile handset when the phone touches the tag. As an example, you could take one tag and configure it so that when you swipe it with your phone, the tag changes the phone profile to turn on WiFi, turn the phone onto silent, open an app and so on.

Well, NFC isn’t a fast food restaurant thats for sure. The acronym stands for Near Field Communication and is a technology that allows wireless communication between devices. Sony have added NFC technology to their latest range of handsets and have also designed a range of NFC tags to enhance the use of those handsets.

More new products from Sony have been announced, in the form of three ‘smart’ accessories that will not only be compatible with the new Xperia NXT range of handsets but, with any Android smartphone with bluetooth or NFC support enabled.

Following on from the official announcement of the Xperia S handset, Sony have also prepared a demonstration video of the handset in action, showing some of the exciting features of the handset and whetting the appetite of those of us who can’t wait for the handset to be released, which can be viewed after the jump:

Announcing it’s arrival as their ‘flagship smartphone’, Sony have now confirmed the release of the Xperia S handset, their first foray into the mobile phone market since splitting with former partner Ericsson recently.

The Xperia S comes packed with a 1.5 GHz dual core, 1GB RAM, a fantastic 4.3-inch 720×1280 resolution reality display, NFC support and a 12 MP Exmor R camera. Sony have also confirmed that the Xperia S is to be their first handset release in their new ‘Xperia NXT series’ and will come preinstalled with the Android 2.3 operating system although, sources tell us that Ice Cream Sandwich should be coming to the Xperia S in Spring 2012.

What will become Sony’s first LTE smartphone release in the US has now been officially confirmed by the company. The all new Xperia ion handset will not only be an AT&T exclusive but, a US exclusive release.

Specifications are confirmed to include a huge a 4.6-inch 720×1280 reality display, a powerful 1.5 GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 Processor, 1GB of RAM, NFC support and a 12 MP Exmor R camera. Android 2.3 will come preinstalled with an expected update to Android 4.0 soon. Obviously the handset will feature full 4G LTE connectivity and the modem is configured to work with AT&T services.