Sony Ericsson is making quite a noise to signal the arrival of Android 2.3.4 onto its 2011 Xperia handsets, so much so that it has even announced a new phone (kind of) to celebrate the update - the Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V.

We say kind of, because the neo V is basically the original neo, but with the new software on board. In fact, it's a little bit of a downgradings for the upgradings due to the camera dropping from an 8-megapixel one to a 5-megapixel one.

Other than that, the spec sheet and form factor measurements read the same. So you're looking at a 116 x 57 x 13mm phone weighing 126g, running on a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 processor. The screen is Sony's Reality Display with Mobile Bravia Engine, 3.7-inch with a 480x854 resolution.

The neo V, like all the Xperia 2011 handsets, will be able to tap into the wealth of Android 2.3.4 goodies including: Google Talk with Video Chat for devices with a front-facing camera, Facebook inside Xperia functionality, the world’s first 3D sweep panorama functionality powered by Sony, swipe text input and screen capturing.

The update also means connectivity with USB peripherals and the Sony Ericsson LiveDock multimedia station.

"With this software upgrade, we are bringing a wealth of new and really entertaining experiences to all our 2011 Xperia smartphones, including those already in consumers’ hands today," said Nikolaus Scheurer, head of product marketing at Sony Ericsson.

"Our users will get to enjoy new features from Google, an even richer Facebook integration, and enhanced camera functionality from Sony."

The Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V will hit shops in Q4 this year (in white, blue or silver) and the 2.3.4 update will begin in October.