Sony Offering Android 4.0 Beta to Xperia Play

Sony has made a beta version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich available for the Xperia Play smartphone. Sony cautions that the beta software is not a final build of Android 4.0, and those who download and install it may encounter bugs. This software is for unlocked variants of the Xperia Play, and is likely not compatible with versions of the Play sold by AT&T and Verizon Wireless. Sony has made similar betas available to a handful of its other phones. It hopes those who install the beta will share feedback so that it may fine-tune the code for all devices. A word of warning, though -- Wifi connectivity is apparently not functional in this beta, and there are no Google apps included either, apparently due to licensing issues. The latter can be solved by finding, downloading and flashing the apps yourself, but the lack of Wifi will probably be a deal-breaker for many. That said, we expect enterprising Android hackers to have a workaround for that before too long.