Yesterday we reported that the Android 4.0 update for the Xperia S would be released in late Q2 and we can now confirm one of the reasons why the Xperia S is receiving the Android 4.0 update later than the 2011 range of Xperia handsets.

The Android Ice Cream Sandwich update for the 2011 Xperia phones has updated the handsets to Android 4.0.3, with 2.6.32 kernal. The Xperia S however, is most likely to be updated to Android 4.0.4, with a kernal version of 3.0.8. A snapshot of a leaked ROM from the Xperia NX shows the phone running a later kernal of 3.0.8 and 4.0.3 with a build number of 6.1.A.0.405.

Earlier this month, news came in that The Xperia S handset was to recieve it’s anticipated Android 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich update a little earlier than expected. A member of the Sony forum support team had posted saying that the ICS update for the Xperia S was coming out late May early June.  This news brought much excitement amongst Xperia S owners. Unfortunately, the information given on the official Sony Mobile forums at this time was incorrect and the company have moved to rectify this information. The support staff member himself has changed his original post and reposted giving the correct details that the Android 4.0 update for the Xperia S is actually due in the latter part of Q2. See the image post below for his full explanation:

For a limited time, Carphone Warehouse have an exclusive contract with Vodafone for the Xperia S. Instead of the usual £26 a month tariff to get the Sony Xperia S free, from now until May 24th, the handset is available for free on Vodafone’s £20.50 a month tariff.

The deal is available through Carphone Warehouse online or in store. The contract is with Vodafone for 24 months and your £20.50 a month gives you 100 Minutes, 500 texts and 250MB of data. Which while it isn’t a huge allowance any any front, if you’re a light user and Vodafone is your preferential network, this is a great deal.

Sony have announced that they have partnered with several case and accessory makers, such as CaseMate to bring more case options to the Xperia range of Sony handsets. While some people prefer their handsets without any cases on, I personally prefer to give my phone some extra protection to keep it shiny and scratch free and with this partnership, it will bring a wider range of cases which, should mean there is something to suit every one.

Although Sony haven’t offered up definite information regarding the release of Android 4.0 aka Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) for their Xperia S flagship smartphone lately, at least there is ‘news’ filtering down from support staff on the Talk Sony Mobile forums of a potential date for the update rollout of ICS for the Xperia S.

The recently announced Xperia S is now available to pre-order in the UK. The Xperia S is the first phone to be released from Sony following their buy out of Ericsson from the joint venture and looks set to continue in the steps of the 2011 Xperia range.