G4Games » Gadgets » Sony Xperia Ion Worldwide Release Date Scheduled For This Summer

Sony Xperia Ion Worldwide Release Date Scheduled For This Summer

by Catalin Mengheris on March 4, 2012


Sony has been really on a high roll this year (at least as far as announcements are being concerned) and the manufacturer has finally spilled the beans on the Xperia Ion release date. The device first showed up in January at the Consumer Electronics Show where it was announced that AT&T called dibs on the device. We first thought that the Sony Xperia S would launch internationally while the Ion is the US only variant.

That information changed quickly and now both handsets will be available worldwide. If you’re eagerly waiting for the Sony Xperia Ion release date stay with us as we will share the latest info and also take a look at Ion’s specs.

Sony Xperia Ion Release Date

Sony’s Mobile President, Bert Nordberg, recently announced that the worldwide Sony Xperia Ion release date is scheduled for this summer. If you have been postponing your purchase of a new device in favor of the Ion, it seems you will have to wait a few extra months.

The first announcement stated that the Xperia Ion release date is scheduled for Q2 with AT&T but seeing as the device would go live globally, we wonder if that could affect ATT’s schedule.

Sony Xperia Ion Worldwide Release Date Scheduled For This Summer

Sony Xperia Ion Worldwide Release Date Scheduled For This Summer


Sony’s Xperia Ion comes in with a 4.6-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. A 1.5GHz dual-core processor provides the power and the Xperia Ion also comes with NFC support. The main camera clocks in at 12 megapixels and a front-facing camera is also tossed in.

For the time being however, we don’t know if the initially announced LTE capabilities will carry on to the international version of the device.

The only issue I had with the Xperia Ion is in regards to the OS version it runs, namely Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Sony did say that it would update it to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, but we don’t know when just yet. For more info on this handset check out our Sony Xperia Ion Overview.

Thanks TheVerge for letting us know about the Sony Xperia Ion release date.

Tagged as: sony xperia ion, sony xperia ion att, sony xperia ion availability, sony xperia ion international, sony xperia ion release date, sony xperia ion specs

  • stri

    AMAZING NEWS!!!
    I’m eagerly awaiting the release of the ion.
    It’s the only smart phone I find interesting enough to replace my current services.
    I truly hope Sony doesn’t decide to change the specs for the international release devices. Regardless if LTE is used initially upon launch(for me in Canada), I still want the available feature.
    There’s nothing more irritating than feeling like a second rate customer simply because I’m not a resident of the United States of America.
    I feel that I’m entitled of the FULL device design specs, regardless of need.
    Better to have more and not need, than less and want.

    I will anxiously await any future announcements posted here on this site location.
    …and if it’s not too much trouble, perhaps forward any relevant information to my email. If you don’t have time, I’ll understand of course.
    I’m just extremely interested to learn when I’m able to make the jump to a new amazing cellular experience.

    Thanks for reading this and have a nice day.
    stri

  • neilrued

    I live in Australia, and I fully agree with all of stri’s remarks.

    Sony should keep the momentum going with the introduction of the Sony Xperia S, through to the Xperia ion, and make sure all features are supported including LTE and the NFC tags.

    If Sony skimps on any features with the international release of the Xperia Ion, I would expect they’d lose market share to the Apple’s iPhone. During these tough economic times, most people are looking to make the most from their smart ‘phone dollars, and I’d strongly advise Sony not to turn off their international customers by offering a sub-standard version of the Xperia Ion, otherwise there’ll be an international customer backlash. The average Australian technology user before purchasing a product, looks carefully at what we are buying and if there’s some feature lacking on a particular local product compared to a product sold in the USA or Japan, we find such compromise unacceptable and prefer to buy a competing product that will do what we want.

  • neilrued

    Addenda to my previous post:
    I was not impressed with the lack of a microSD slot in the Xperia S model; that was the deal breaker for me, so I will never upgrade to an Xperia S model. I could not understand why a manufacturer, with a long time excellent reputation with consumers for delivering products with an impressive list of features, would deny smart ‘phone users the option to add a microSD/HC memory card? With the Xperia Ion, the user can install up to a 32GB microSD/HC card for a total storage of 48GB. Had the Xperia S allowed for installing a 32GB microSD/HC card, the total storage would’ve been 64GB, giving consumers better storage options.

    Most of the Xperia S product reviews explain how the videos and images are transferred from this smart ‘phone to a PC; I can only assume this is done through the mini HDMI port? This may mean transferring up to 32GB of data to a PC for backup or editing will take hours! From my own experience using memory cards and USB 2.0 for transferring HD video and 10 Megapixel still images, a memory card inserted into my laptop’s card reader, allows for much faster uploading than using a comparatively slower cable interface; I am talking about seconds versus minutes, or minutes versus almost an hour or more. Using a cable to transfer videos and images not only ties up the smart ‘phone, but also consumes valuable battery power, either from the ‘phone’s or laptop’s battery. If you happen to be some place where the nearest power outlet is half an hour or more away, and you were hoping to capture some rare natural event, the cable becomes the weakest link.

    For me, using a cable interface is inconvenient because it is time consuming. Also the ability to use a memory card in a laptop’s memory card reader, saves the inconvenience of having to remember to pack a cable, when travelling. If a cable is left behind at home or in the office, or in the hotel/motel, this means spending some time and money trying to find a replacement cable, but if you travel to a far away place where the nearest technology products’ shop is hours away by car or airplane, then you’re out of luck.

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