So who's getting the Ion?

**paul-c** · 09-27-2012, 06:53 PM

Looks like Ice Cream Sandwich is finally here for the ion. Anybody download the update yet? I just got done and I must say, it looks really slick. Just wish it would have been an OTA update, updating it through the computer was a pain. Ended up being worth it, though.

Sent from my Sony Xperia ion

**bobby james** · 09-28-2012, 11:06 AM

Yeah it's probably the best ICS skin. Much better than Sense and especially Touchwiz

**paul-c** · 09-28-2012, 02:41 PM

Originally Posted by bobby james

Yeah it's probably the best ICS skin. Much better than Sense and especially Touchwiz

Totally agree. I really like what Sony did with Timescape in ICS. Before I installed the update I was worried they would massively change it like Motorola did when they updated to ICS. Glad to see everything I liked from before got to stay.

Sent from my Sony Xperia ion

**SonyGuy** · 09-28-2012, 03:51 PM

Originally Posted by paul-c

Looks like Ice Cream Sandwich is finally here for the ion. Anybody download the update yet? I just got done and I must say, it looks really slick. Just wish it would have been an OTA update, updating it through the computer was a pain. Ended up being worth it, though.

Sent from my Sony Xperia ion

Yup, I updated it shortly after I the ICS update was announced on FB. Looks great, runs smooth, and I really like it.

**buckwild** · 09-28-2012, 04:12 PM

Originally Posted by paul-c

Looks like Ice Cream Sandwich is finally here for the ion. Anybody download the update yet? I just got done and I must say, it looks really slick. Just wish it would have been an OTA update, updating it through the computer was a pain. Ended up being worth it, though.

Sent from my Sony Xperia ion

I'm loving it! I too agree it's a PITA trying to update but this new OS is sweet!

Sent from my Sony Xperia Ion

**osirhc** · 10-02-2012, 05:24 AM

I just purchased the ion and am still running 2.3.7. how do I go about updating to ics?

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**paul-c** · 10-02-2012, 04:33 PM

Originally Posted by osirhc

I just purchased the ion and am still running 2.3.7. how do I go about updating to ics?

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Go to the Sony Mobile website. There is software to download so you can update the ion through your computer.

Sent from my Sony Xperia ion

**osirhc** · 10-02-2012, 06:02 PM

Awesome! thanks

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**paul-c** · 10-02-2012, 11:50 PM

Originally Posted by osirhc

Awesome! thanks

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No problem, enjoy ICS.

Sent from my Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini

**Clif1999** · 10-05-2012, 10:26 AM

I just picked up the Xperia Ion from AT&T last week and I love it! I am coming from the Samsung Galaxy Note which I liked a lot but the Ion's styling is so distinctive and sexy that I had to have it. I really hate rounded corners. Give me pointy corners and sharp 90 degree angles any day! Besides, there were three things that the AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note lacked that I just could not get past. These three things may seem small but they were important to me. They are: 1) a notification LED light, 2) FM radio, and 3) a physical camera button. I had become accustomed to those features with my Moto Atrix 2. I should never have given them up. I was delighted to see that the Ion had all three! Plus, the styling on the Galaxy Note was so bland and uninspired. Sure it was huge, which I really liked but, it was just stylistically boring. So I grabbed the ION and knew that I had made the right decision. The camera is excellent. 100 times better than the one on the Galaxy Note. And I am not just talking megapixels either. On the Galaxy Note, if you were taking a shot in medium to low light, forget about it. I always ended up with terrible grainy pictures. In fact, outside of taking a shot in bright sunlight the results were hit or miss. Occasionally, I could get a decent shot in medium light but I had to make funky adjustments to the ISO and exposure value settings. Anyway, with the ION, I don't have to worry about any of that. The camera can automatically sense the environment and chooses the best settings. I get great shots every time. Also, if you want to manually adjust the camera there are additional settings that are less obvious. You just have to look for them. Start by turning off the scene mode and you can manually adjust stuff like ISO, exposure value, metering, etc. So, the day after I picked up my ION I learned that the ICS update had just been released so I grabbed the update from the Sony web site, though I really did not have a problem with the phone still being on Gingerbread. The way Sony had minimally skinned it and optimized it, Gingerbread was fine by me. The phone is so beautiful and it operated so smoothly. I had no complaints. After I upgraded to ICS, I noticed that that beautiful, black, big, full-screen dialer that the Ion had on Gingerbread was replaced with something less beautiful. The ICS dialer is smaller and more of a medium gray in color. I didn't like that at all. I downloaded Dialer Ex from the Google Play Store and with some tweaking I was able to get it to approximate the look of the original Gingerbread Ion dialer. Anyway, this post is long and rambling. I just wanted to say that I love my Xperia Ion. I am thinking that a lot of people have mistakenly dismissed this awesome handset. It has all that I need, bold, sexy styling, silky smooth operation, awesomely clear call quality, a great camera, and so much more!

**osirhc** · 10-05-2012, 12:34 PM

I couldn't agree more, I too am coming from the Motor Atrix 2 and after Motorola dishonored their warrenty policy and wouldn't repair my phone I vowed never to get another Motorola product (phone would power down and reboot every 5 minuetes and was stuck in airplane mode). which is a shame because I always enjoyed motorolas products, the A2 was nice although I never got the ICS update (it still had 2.3.6) and the Atrix HD looked promising.

The ion is simply beautiful. I did my research on the newest smart phones before I bought this one and I must say I believe I made a good choice. the only thing this comes in lacking is the battery life. I am able to squeeze 6 to 7 hours out of it "normal" use but unfortunately I am a heavy internet and text user. but one of my favorite features that no reviewer ever mentioned anything about is the built in screenshot capability! I've never seen an Android phone with built in screen shot function! so this was a welcome surprise. Previously I had to root my android phone in order to get this feature, so this is a great addition to the stock firmware. in 2.3.7 it was a menu option when you hold down power which I liked. in ICS its hidden and you must hold power and volume down together for a second and viola! No reviewer ever covered this feature of the ion. I really like ICS but I also have noticed that tge ion isn't as smooth and as responsive as 2.3.7 was before I figured out that I had to download 4.0 I was actually quite content with it. but with its 1.5 dual core it still has no issues with anything ICS can throw at it. And I must say that the LTE is awesome. I was a skeptic at first but when I got the ion and started running speed tests all over my area (Philadelphia) it changed me into a believer. I haven't got anything less than a 10mbps connection yet! It normally ranges from 20-45Mbps!

ICS looks beautiful and complements the ion to the tee. I simply love the design and aesthetics of the ion and the ion plus ICS together make an amazing combination (the ICS keyboard is also a welcome improvement). I'm really hoping the ion gets the 4.1 JB update too.

Bottom line is this phone has been the subject of many biased and not so great reviews because everyone and their mother praises the SGIII and HTC One X so much that they haven't gotten their heads out of their asses long enough to realize that the Sony ion is great phone. The One X didn't cut it for me, no external memory card and only 16gb onboard with no hdmi out feature. The SIII requires a converter before hdmi out is available. Since coming from the A2 I had a 32GB card and a mini hdmi to hdmi cable already so I wanted something compatible with the accessories I already had. Despite the SGIII's 2 gigs or ram, the phone just didn't speak to me like the ion did. Too much plastic and no physical camera button plus the MHS or whatever adaptor I would need for hdmi out was a turn off. The SGIII didn't feel right in my hands either, it just felt cheap. With the ion I have 10Gbs internal plus 32 on my card and I was able to connect to my tv when I got home. Not that I would really want to though because the screen on the ion is amazing I love the quality! It's only three for four pixels off from the iPhone 5 in terms of pixel density! The ion feels surprising light weight considering it is a bigger phone, but the weight is just right. weighs more than my atrix 2 but the ion feels better in my hand and just looks nicer too. the brushed aluminium rear of the phone is really cool looking and the front of the device is just all screen. wish that dumb at&t logo would go to hell but I can't complain =)

Now I apologize because this post is incredible too long. Just had to say how much I love this phone!

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**adipabeta** · 10-08-2012, 08:53 AM

I'm thinking about replace my urushi with ion. Just afraid that it will have the same poor signal as my urushi. Max signal only at my home and in urban area. But when i was in rural area. There is no signal bar left. So i take a sigh at lumia 900. But i'm not decide yet. Can someone tell if ion signal is only in urban area. :-p

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