Sony Xperia S now available worldwide

Sony’s new flagship has been getting a decent reception in early reviews from Europe, but if you’ve got a hankerin’ to get your high-end smartphone on elsewhere in the world, you’ve been out of luck. Until now: the Xperia S is now shipping directly from Sony to retailers all over the world. For a paltry $674.99 (or its equivalent in local currency)  you too can get the stylish dual-core phone. Just add an active GSM SIM card and you’re ready to go. And yes, Americans, you can get in on the action as well – Sony’s one of the few phone companies that regularly releases unlocked versions of its phones in the United States.

As Sony’s latest and greatest, the Xperia S stands head and shoulders above the rest of its stable-mates (if not the other phones shown off at CES and Mobile World Congress). A 1.5Ghz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM run Gingerbread at the moment, but Sony has promised an Ice Cream Sandwich update sooner rather than later (and given the introduction of the Xperi neo L, we believe them). The 4.3-inch 720p display has some incredible pixel density, and that’s not the only stylish thing around: get a look at that transparent navigation bar/indicator light.

Sony is pushing NFC capability hard on the Xperia S, along with a downright amazing 12-megapixel primary camera. It’s all crammed into a body that’s smaller than most, if not especially thin. If you’re in the US and can’t stomach nearly seven hundred dollars, AT&T’s getting its own version called the Xperia Ion soon enough. The AT&T version has a slightly retooled body that unfortunately does away with the swanky transparent elements. The carrier hasn’t announced a timeframe for availability, but its subsidized price should be somewhere in the $200-300 range.

LG Lucid 4G full specs leaked: LTE for Verizon’s mid-range

We’ve been hearing about the LG Lucid (AKA the LG Cayman) on and off for the last few weeks, most notably that it’s due in Verizon stored next Thursday, March 29th. The leaked specifications for the phone were tentative and somewhat incomplete, but Droid-Life managed a peek at some internal documentation that seems to confirm most of the important stuff. The package shows a phone on the upper end of the mid-range, or at least Verizon’s equivalent, which is about $150-200 for LTE devices. Sadly, there’s still no official price for the upcoming phone.

The Lucid runs on a respectable 1.2Ghz dual-core processor of unspecified origin, 8GB of internal storage, and Android 2.3 – no doubt with a promise to upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich some time in the future. (Hey LG Spectrum owners: how’s that coming along?) the 4-inch 800×480 screen is a bit smaller than average these days, but should make for a more pocketable device. The “NOVA” display touted in a previous leak seems to be fancy marketing speak for an IPS-LCD, not that we’re complaining – LG’s screens have some of the best color accuracy out there, even if they’re not quite as bright as AMOLED. The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass.

There’s a surprisingly large 1700mAh battery crammed in there, the better to make use of the Lucid’s 4G LTE connection between charges. That makes the phone bulge to a slightly chunky 11.4 millimeters, but its footprint is still relatively small for a phone with a 4-inch screen. One thing notably missing from the list is a MicroSD card slot, something that I’d consider absolutely essential on a device with just 8GB of storage. That doesn’t mean it isn’t there (insert standard “fat lady sings” warning here) but it doesn’t fill me with confidence, either. Unless Verizon has switched up its release schedule, expect the Lucid to get an official unveiling next week.