The first phone following the buyout of the alliance has finally arrived: let's all say hello to the Sony Xperia Ion.

The new handset is chock-full of decent technology, with a dual-core 1.5Ghz processor, 16GB of internal storage and a 12MP rear camera sensor.

There's also a 1.3MP sensor on the front that's capable of recording 720p video footage too – think back nary a decade ago when we rarely saw a camera on a mobile phone and you can see this is a little bit mental.

What else is exciting? Well, let us tell you: a 4.6-inch screen with 1280 x 720 resolution (which Sony is calling HD Reality) and access to Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited too.

Gaming on the go

Oh, and did we mention it's PlayStation Certified? It is, you know. Jolly good. And another Sony treat: Exmor R technology means the camera will be up and running in 1.5 seconds and can go from pic to pic in two seconds flat – which is a little slower than others on the market to be honest.

In fact, the only thing that could be described as a murky fly in the shiny shiny smartphone ointment is the fact it will be launching with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and not the latest Ice Cream Sandwich software we crave on every phone.

This is likely due to the fact it's launching exclusively in the US with AT&T and needs to go through all that wretched carrier testing – but given the Sony Xperia Ion release date is set for early Q2, we're hoping that upgrade won't be far away.

If the Xperia Ion has any of the impressive nature from the Xperia Arc range, then Sony could be onto a real winner here – stay tuned for our Sony Xperia Ion review to see what's what.