Wondering when your shiny XPERIA phone will get a new lease on life thanks to Ice Cream Sandwich? If Sony Ericsson’s corporate blog is to be believed, it could be as soon as… March. The company said that the Xperia arc S, neo V and ray (the capitalization handicapped models) would be getting the first updates, while the arc, Play, neo, mini, pro, mini pro, and active models would follow in April and May.

A few crucial details about the updates can be gleaned: one, Sony is following in Samsung and HTC’s footseteps by bringing their own proprietary UI layers to Ice Cream Sandwich. I guess they just don’t think it’s as pretty as we do. This is confirmed by the following language: “developers are now busy merging our current Xperia™ software with the new features in Android 4.0.” Second, the updates will use the standard staggered rollout, likely contingent upon carriers in the case of subsidized models.

While of course we’d like to see ICS updates as soon as possible, it’s refreshing to see Sony commit to updating each and every model from the last year. And considering all the headaches surrounding Eclair, Froyo and Gingerbread updates, a minimum of four and maximum of six months wait is relatively speedy. In the meantime, advanced users can try any one of a number of early ports, or simply wait for Sony Ericsson’s first phone with Ice Cream Sandwich, rumored to be the Arc HD “Nozomi”.

[via SlashGear]