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.

Sony Xperia S heading to Canada [unlocked]

Sony’s Xperia S made a splash a CES in January, but as with most high-profile phones, it took a while for Canadian carriers to get on the trolley. That trends may or may not continue, but it looks like either way Canadians will get a crack at the company’s new flagship. Earlier today MobileSyrup reported that Sony’s official Facebook page posted the new that the Xperia S was headed to Canadian carrier Rogers. Hours later the Facebook update had vanished, and Rogers contacted the blog to deny the news.

It looks like Sony will instead be selling the phone unlocked, as it does with most of its smartphones. “I can confirm that while this device will work on the Rogers network, we will not be selling it directly,” A Rogers representative told MobileSyrup. Sounds like an unlocked phone to me. That’s a shame for Canadians who want the high-end phone with a subsidy, since the unlocked version will surely be in the $500-600 range. On the plus side, it’ll mean that Canadians (and maybe even Americans!) will have easy access to a carrier-agnostic version of the Xperia S. There was no mention of a price or date on Sony’s Facebook page.

The S is the largest and most advanced phone that Sony’s produced to date, with a 4.3-inch 720p screen (an impressive 341 PPI) a dual-core 1.5Ghz processor, NFC capability with an included set of tags, and a jaw-dropping 12.1 megapixel camera. Unfortunately it’s running Android 2.3, but Sony has (say it with me, kids) promised an Ice Cream Sandwich update some time in the future. The phone has already made its way to the UK and greater Europe, and will be making it here to the US at AT&T’s Xperia Ion, minus the swanky transparent menu buttons. For a review of the British version, check out SlashGear for more info.