There must be something weird going on with manufacturers lately - first Huawei released an alpha build of ICS for the Honor, and now Sony Ericsson (soon to be just Sony) has released an ICS ROM for certain unlocked Xperia devices, including the Arc S, Neo V, and Ray.

[EMBED_YT]https://youtu.be/QoIsNYR7XJ8

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Since it's an alpha ROM, it's not made for day-to-day use, as it is limited to just a few functions at the moment. As far as things that aren't working are concerned, here is the list, as provided by SE in the official blog post:

  • Google Mobile Services (GMS) apps are not included (for example, Gmail, Google Maps, etc.).
  • Modem is turned off and SIM card will therefore not be recognized (this also means you can’t make any phone calls).
  • Bluetooth™ is turned off.
  • Wi-Fi® is turned off.
  • ANT+ is turned off.
  • FM-radio is turned off.

As you can see, the main uses of the phone are disabled at this point. Still, you can get a feel for what SE's version of ICS will be all about. Here is a look of what you'll get to check out in this build:

  • New "Roboto" font.
  • New "Holo" theme is supported (you are able to test apps written to make use of the Holo theme).
  • Music player control from lock screen.
  • Updated UI in the Settings menu.
  • Updated UI in the web browser.
  • Updated UI and interaction with the new messaging action bar.
  • Updated UI for improved multitasking.
  • Swipe to dismiss notifications, tasks and browser tabs in the Notification menu.

In order to flash this build, you must have an unlocked device from the aforementioned list; for full instruction, head over to the SE Developer's Blog.

Have fun!

Thanks, Ben and Dahlström!