Back at CES in January we got a first glance at Sony's latest flagship phone, the Xperia Ion. In our time with it, the device made an impression with its 720P display and 12 megapixel camera. As expected, this device is finally showing up on AT&T with an announcement today of the device's availability later this month.

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As you can see, this is a phone with some serious media credentials. The 4.6" 'Reality display'  allows you to view HD content on the go, including content from the Sony Entertainment Network (SEN). The Xperia Ion is also PlayStation certified, so the SEN's selection of games will be available to you in addition to music and video. The Xperia Ion also has a dedicated camera button, allowing you to rapidly launch the camera application and take shots in quick succession with the phone's Exmor R sensor.

The kicker is that the Xperia Ion was demonstrated running Android 2.3.7, with a view to being upgraded to Android 4.0 after release. Nothing seems to have changed in Sony's plans since then, so this will be launched with a disappointingly last-gen OS. While Sony's track record of phone upgrades is pretty decent, it's still a gamble on Sony's part as to whether or not users will buy a phone with out of date software and a somewhat nebulous promise of an update.

Key Specs:

  • 4.6" (measured diagonally) 720p HD Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine for unbeatable HD viewing
  • HD imaging excellence from Sony: 12MP camera with Exmor R™ for Mobile camera sensor, 1080p HD video recording on primary camera, 720p HD front-facing chat camera
  • Easy multi-screen connectivity with HDMI and DLNA®
  • 1.5Ghz dual core processor
  • 16GB internal memory with microSD™ expansion slot supports up to 32GB
  • PlayStation Certified for high quality mobile gaming

AT&T will be selling the Xperia Ion through all AT&T channels starting June 24th, for $99.99 on a two-year contract.

Source: AT&T Press Room Sony Mobile