CES 2012: Sony overviewIntroduction CES 2012 marks the end of Sony Ericsson and the birth of Sony as a leading smartphone maker. The first two Ericsson-free smartphones are the AT&T-bound Xperia ion and the international Xperia S (previously known as Nozomi) and they both look worthy of the occasion. Sony Xperia ion Sony Xperia ion Sony press conference at CES 2012 The Xperia ion is an AT&T exclusive and the first LTE-capable Xperia smartphone. The Xperia S on the other hand is a well familiar gadget - it leaked countless times before under the codename Nozomi. It's the global version of the Xperia ion and while it is based on the same platform, it looks quite different. Xperia ion is the bigger of the two gadgets, with a 4.6" HD Reality display (that adds up to about 320ppi), while the Xperia S uses a 4.3-ich display of the same resolution (about 342ppi). Both devices are powered by the Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon - featuring a 1.5GHz dual-core Scorpion processor, Adreno 220 GPU and 1GB RAM. Sony Xperia ion Sony Xperia ion Sony Xperia ion official images There is more impressive stuff in the shared DNA - the 12 megapixel Exmor R camera sensor with 1080p video recording as well as the 1.3MP video-call camera with 720p video support. The list continues with 16GB of internal storage, PlayStation certification and Android Gingerbread that should be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich soon after launch. Sony Xperia S official photos The Xperia S will launch this March, while the Xperia ion is going to hit AT&T network in Q2 this year. The Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich updates are supposed to come by Q2 2012 as well.Introduction CES 2012 marks the end of Sony Ericsson and the birth of Sony as a leading smartphone maker. The first two Ericsson-free smartphones are the AT&T-bound Xperia ion and the international Xperia S (previously known as Nozomi) and they both look worthy of the occasion. Sony Xperia ion Sony Xperia ion Sony press conference at CES 2012 The Xperia ion is an AT&T exclusive and the first LTE-capable Xperia smartphone. The Xperia S on the other hand is a well familiar gadget - it leaked countless times before under the codename Nozomi. It's the global version of the Xperia ion and while it is based on the same platform, it looks quite different. Xperia ion is the bigger of the two gadgets, with a 4.6" HD Reality display (that adds up to about 320ppi), while the Xperia S uses a 4.3-ich display of the same resolution (about 342ppi). Both devices are powered by the Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon - featuring a 1.5GHz dual-core Scorpion processor, Adreno 220 GPU and 1GB RAM. Sony Xperia ion Sony Xperia ion Sony Xperia ion official images There is more impressive stuff in the shared DNA - the 12 megapixel Exmor R camera sensor with 1080p video recording as well as the 1.3MP video-call camera with 720p video support. The list continues with 16GB of internal storage, PlayStation certification and Android Gingerbread that should be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich soon after launch. Sony Xperia S official photos The Xperia S will launch this March, while the Xperia ion is going to hit AT&T network in Q2 this year. The Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich updates are supposed to come by Q2 2012 as well.

Introduction

CES 2012 marks the end of Sony Ericsson and the birth of Sony as a leading smartphone maker. The first two Ericsson-free smartphones are the AT&T-bound Xperia ion and the international Xperia S (previously known as Nozomi) and they both look worthy of the occasion.

Sony press conference at CES 2012
The Xperia ion is an AT&T exclusive and the first LTE-capable Xperia smartphone. The Xperia S on the other hand is a well familiar gadget - it leaked countless times before under the codename Nozomi. It's the global version of the Xperia ion and while it is based on the same platform, it looks quite different.
Xperia ion is the bigger of the two gadgets, with a 4.6" HD Reality display (that adds up to about 320ppi), while the Xperia S uses a 4.3-ich display of the same resolution (about 342ppi). Both devices are powered by the Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon - featuring a 1.5GHz dual-core Scorpion processor, Adreno 220 GPU and 1GB RAM.

Sony Xperia ion official images
There is more impressive stuff in the shared DNA - the 12 megapixel Exmor R camera sensor with 1080p video recording as well as the 1.3MP video-call camera with 720p video support. The list continues with 16GB of internal storage, PlayStation certification and Android Gingerbread that should be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich soon after launch.

Sony Xperia S official photos
The Xperia S will launch this March, while the Xperia ion is going to hit AT&T network in Q2 this year. The Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich updates are supposed to come by Q2 2012 as well.

Samsung Galaxy Note up for pre-order on AT&T and Best Buy

The Samsung Galaxy Note has finally landed on US shores and is now available for pre-order through AT&T and Best Buy stores for $299 and a two-year contract. Orders are said to start delivering starting Saturday, February 19.

The phone will be available in two colors, Carbon Blue and Ceramic White, and will have a bunch of optional accessories to go with it, such as a desktop docking station, spare battery charger and flip cover case and pen holder.
The AT&T version of the phone looks a bit different due to the four control keys below the display instead of the two touch keys and a physical Home button on the international model. It will also be different on the inside, carrying a 1.5GHz, dual-core Qualcomm MSM8660 Snapdragon processor instead of the Exynos processor in the international version. Apart from this, both the AT&T and the international models are identical.
It will be running Android 2.3 at launch but hopefully Samsung and AT&T will upgrade it to Ice Cream Sandwich along with the international version.