Sony Xperia S Android smartphone live hands-on from CES

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Sony Xperia S

Sony Xperia S

Sony Xperia S

Sony Xperia S

Sony Xperia S

At CES 2012, Sony announced the new Xperia S smartphone, its first Sony-branded smartphone for the European market. The Xperia S features a fast processor, a high-res display, and a very high resolution camera.

The Xperia S is not as slim and trim as some of Sony Ericsson's older models (such as the Xperia arc and arc S), but it packs a ton of tech into its chassis. The S features a 4.3-inch, 1280 x 720 pixel HD Mobile Reality Bravia display that looks fantastic, and it is powered by a speedy, dual-core 1.5GHz processor. Around back, it has a 12 megapixel camera with 1080p HD video capabilities. Sony says the S can wake from sleep and snap a pic in just 1.5 seconds - an impressive feat.

The hardware has some unique traits too, as below the capacitive Android buttons is a translucent notification display that actually houses the phone's antenna. The S also has a micro-HDMI port to go along with the standard micro-USB port, and it has a dedicated camera key. The clear section of the body really helps distinguish the Xperia S from the competition - especially in the white version seen here.

Apart from the obvious body design tricks, the S is still a cool phone to mess around with. The large display looks great, and the device feels good in your hand as well. I didn't get a chance to mess around with the 12 megapixel camera, but Sony (Ericsson) has a long history of putting capable camera in its devices, so I expect noting short of good things from it once we get the chance to fully review it.

The Xperia S will be launched in select markets in Q1 2012 with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, but Sony says that an upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich will be available for the S in Q2.