Sony is now rolling out Ice Cream Sandwich updates for the Xperia Go, U and Sola.

In terms of software updates, I think Sony is now the top Android manufacturer in this regard. Sony does not just take care of its top of the line phones, but even humble offerings like the Sony Live with Walkman got upgraded to Android 4.0 ("Ice Cream Sandwich").

Sony is now rolling out Ice Cream Sandwich updates for it mid-to-entry level range 2012 phones, the Xperia Go, U and Sola.

Hello everyone,

Today we’re starting our software rollout for Xperia go, Xperia U and Xperia sola including Ice Cream Sandwich Android 4.0 upgrade and new unique media applications. The rollout will continue over the next few weeks in markets globally.

Some of the cool features and functionality you can look forward to include:

• New ways to experience your tunes, images, videos and films with Sony’s media applications – “WALKMAN”, “Album” and “Movies”
• Extended standby mode, increasing standby time by up to four times (depending on user-profile and data consumption)
• Lock screen with improved functionality
• Resizable widgets for improved personalization
• Improved control of your mobile data consumption
• Recent Apps button for a clear overview of your applications

I’m also excited to tell you about “Glove Mode” – a sweet feature in the software upgrade for Xperia sola (known as Xperia sole in some markets). It’s an extension of our “floating touch” technology that makes it possible to use your Xperia sola in the cold whilst wearing gloves… just in time for the winter months. My colleagues at Developer World have taken a closer look – head on over to check it out!

We’re kicking-off the rollout today, and ramping it up over the weekend – from mid next week you’ll be able to see software kits as they’re released (customized specific to your operator and handset) on our support community. Please check-back then for the direct link and continue to do so, as the list will be updated when new kits become available.

It’s worth noting that in order to upgrade, you will need to connect to a PC or Mac – please visithttp://www.sonymobile.com/update and follow the instructions.

Thanks for all your questions so far and as always, feel free to drop a comment or question below.

Ant.

*The availability and scheduling of this software upgrade and specific models upgradeable to Android 4.0 will vary by market and carrier requirements

Source: Quote and Image from the Sony Xperia Product Blog

Samsung Galaxy S Advance and Galaxy Ace 2 to get Jelly Bean

Samsung has had two pieces of very interesting hardware I have been ignoring in my buyers guides, because they did not have commitments for Ice Cream Sandwich updates, the Samsung Galaxy S Advance and Galaxy Ace 2 to get Jelly Bean.

Well now they are lined up for a Jelly Bean update!  

The Galaxy S III, Galaxy S II, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Chat, Galaxy Beam, Galaxy Ace Plus, Galaxy Mini 2, and Galaxy S Duos and four tablets: the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and  Galaxy Note 10.1 are all also confirmed by Samsung for Jelly Bean updates.

Source: The Verge

Where in the World is Mary Grace? (Or, why Apple Maps makes the iPhone and iPad dumb devices in the Philippines)

Smartphones are wonderful, if sometimes creepy things. They are aware of where we are and that allows them to give us information relevant to us. The most useful of these features is maps and locations. Last Saturday night I tried to search for the nearest Mary Grace Cafe branch, and Apple Maps proved to be rather useless. 

This something that everyone else gets right. An Android phone using Google Maps has no problem finding every single branch for you. A simple "mary grace" search, gives you the cafe and other places similarly named, with the cafe, being the most prominent Mary Grace in the Philippines, being highlighted in the results. 

Clicking the results list allows you to scroll through all the hits.

Google Maps or Locations (whichever app you decide to use) will also give me directions.

Windows Phone

When Windows Phone joined the fray, it biggest disadvantage in the Philippines was Bing Maps. With Nokia Maps, a Windows Phone can not compete with Google Maps and Locations. Not always having a Windows Phone device to I asked @levine of TipidCP to help me out.

As you can see, Windows Phone 7.5 will find the closest relevant entry to you, show you other relevant hits and give you driving directions.

As you can see, the Nokia Maps and results are not as polished as Googles. On the other hand Nokia does give you offline voice guided turn by turn navigation. Google will not give you voice guidance and you cannot do it offline.

Apple iPhone and iPad

Before iOS 6, Apple iPhones and iPad used the same excellent Google Maps service. Since iOS 6, they  use Apple maps.

What does the iPhone do when I search for Mary Grace. It wants me to buy a ticket, fly to the United States and visit a Catholic Church there.

Over time Apple can populate the missing info. The problem is, before they do that they have to fix the maps they are using.

Compare Apple map info (left) to Google maps info (right).

Basically, Apple smart iPhone and iPads have are not so smart in the Philippines. How long before this is corrected? I do not know.

Siri was pretty useless in the Philippines in 2011 except in answering questions relating to information about other countries or general information. A year later it still is. But Siri was an optional feature easy to ignore. Maps and locations.... well lets put it this way, would buy a phone without GPS and where people cannot sent you the location of your appointments to your address book?

Until Google or Nokia release an iPhone app, buying a new iPhone means giving up smartphone core functionality in the Philippines. If you already own one, do yourself a favor and stick with iOS 5.1.1. Or you could buy third party navigation software from the iOS store. This won't correct all the issues, but it is better than nothing.

The worst thing about the Apple iPhone 5 is that it comes with iOS6

Trying to search for the nearest branch of a cafe last night on a Apple iPhone 4, updated to iOS 6 is that the Maps application is virtually useless in the Philippines. I have read complaints from users abroad saying that it takes them to the wrong place. No similar problems in the Philippines. It won't know the place exists in the first place. 

Google Maps finds every branch in the country, and even some obscure places with the same name I did not know existed.

The problem would be a poor database. For places in the database, trial and error will be needed to find out if they are in the correct place.  Another issue, could be typographical errors so the Map will not identify the place you are looking for. A friend of mine on her iPad 3 tweeted "check out UPD map. Kalayaan residence hall typed as 'Kalayaan Schoolicidence' haha!." A simple spell check should have detected that. 

Over time that will probably be corrected. But this habit of Apple launching beta software is getting tiring. Last year, it launched Siri, as a beta, but from Apple advertisements you would not think it was beta software. But, it was not a big deal. It was an additional feature which you could simply ignore.

Mapping and locations software is one of the key features what makes a smartphone a smartphone. Apple's iOS5 had a very good map and locations software, in Google Maps and Places. iOS6, well it uses Apple Maps, which should not even be called Apple Maps Beta. It should be considered an Alpha release. 

So while Apple wows us with supposedly better 3D views and features, basically, iOS6 throws all the nice hardware in the iPhone 5 back to the stone age.

Apple, please fix Maps. In the meantime, give users back Google Maps.