Sony Xperia Jelly Bean updates to begin early 2013

But 2011 devices will miss out on official Android 4.1 update

While other manufacturers have been confirming, and even releasing updates to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, Sony Mobile has so far remained quiet. This morning the company broke its silence to reveal its official update plans for 2012 Xperia devices.

First to get a taste of Jelly Bean will be the company's three flagship products for late 2012 -- Xperia T,Xperia TX and Xperia V. These devices will be updated in "mid-Q1 2013," Sony says. In addition, Sony confirmed that international versions of the Xperia S, Xperia acro S, Xperia Ion, Xperia P, Xperia Go and Xperia J will also get Jelly Bean, though no release timeframe was offered for those phones. There no mention of the U.S.-specific Xperia Ion, or the upcoming Xperia TL, both AT&T handsets. That's not to say these devices won't get Jelly Bean, but it's likely there'll be a longer wait for any eventual update.

There's also bad news for 2011 Xperia owners, however, as Sony confirmed these phones will remain onICS. The 2011 Xperia line includes devices like the Xperia Arc, Xperia Play and Xperia Neo. These phones will continue to be supported through maintenance updates, Sony said.

Sony promises more updates in the future, as it works towards bringing Jelly Bean to its ever-widening product portfolio.

Mid-Q1 is a long way off, and there's every reason to expect we'll be on Android 4.2 by then. But as we've already covered in excruciating detail, updates are hard, and there's a whole mess of other stuff that goes into the upgrade process, besides copy-pasting a skin on top of the latest open-source Android code.

Anyone just splashed out on a new Xperia T or Xperia TX? Hit the comments and let us know what you think of today's news.