Sony announced the Xperia arc S at the IFA conference on Wednesday, a good successor to last spring’s Xperia arc. The device comes with a 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 processor, a 4.2-inch Reality Display powered by the Mobile BRAVIA Engine, and an 8.1MP camera with autofocus, flash, and HD video recording. Shockingly, the phone only comes with 320MB of internal memory. Thankfully, users will be able to expand it to up to 32GB via the microSD card slot and included 8GB card.

Sony claims that the device starts up 25% faster and renders websites 20% quicker. The handset also lets users add an extra dimension to standard 2D images with the “3D sweep panorama” mode. The Xperia arc S will run Android Gingerbread 2.3 and provide access to Sony Entertainment Network services like “Music Unlimited” and “Video Unlimited.”

At just 8.7mm, the device is very thin. It will launch in October in five colors: Pure White, Midnight Blue, Misty Silver, Gloss Black, and Sakura Pink.

[Engadget]

Android’s Gingerbread rollout has been coming on pretty strong lately. It seems like everyone is finally catching up to the update which was released this past December. Sony, whom has promised to bring updates quickly to their Android lineup, is the latest OEM to the party. Their custom skin on top of Android is one of the better looking options out there, which actually brings some enhanced features. So, check out what Sony brings to the party with their detailed video on the new update.

[Sony Ericsson]

For those who indulge themselves in 8-bit, building block-inspired video games, this Limited Edition Minecraft phone is nothing less than drool-worthy. Mojang, the company who is currently producing the indie game called “Minecraft,” is selling a Limited Edition Xperia Play on eBay. Of course, this Xperia Play is no normal phone by far.

Covered with block-filled delight, this “special edition” Play is currently available only through eBay, but will later be a prize at Gamescom, according to the listing. All proceeds of the purchase will go to a charity of Notch, Mojang’s founder, and the Minecraft team’s choice.

The bid for the Minecraft Xperia Play is currently at $1,325.00 USD, and an extra $10.00 for shipping. The bid will end on August 22, six days from now. The Xperia Play is a great phone and a great gaming device, and this particular sale is for a good cause too. If you’re a Minecraft fan who doesn’t mind shelling out a thousand dollars or so, what’s not to love?

[eBay via Android Central]

After a rough start with Android, Sony has started to show us they really mean business. Gone (hopefully) are the days of broken update promises and locked bootloaders. Up now on their official developer’s blog are instructions on how to builda custom Linux kernel and flash it to the phone for their new Xperia lineup. It’s a pretty deep pit of information, and there are plenty of links, tools and tips available on the blog throughout. Sony even goes so far as to provide upport courtesy of the XDA forums.

Once a  company does something like this, others tend to follow suit. Hopefully we can see a domino effect in place here that will trickle out to other companies as well (don’t hold your breath though). This might not mean as much to the normal customers, but knowing the dev community will be backed by Sony for their Android phones brings a breath of fresh air.