A closer look at the Sony Xperia Ion (pictures)

The Sony Xperia Ion features a big 4.6-inch (1280 x 720) LCD screen. Sadly it's dark with inconsistent colors. You can read the full CNET review of the Xperia Ion here.

While the Sony Xperia Ion is a capable Android smartphone, its Gingerbread 2.3 OS is showing signs of age.

Sometimes the simplest method is best and judging from the Xperia keyboard included with the Sony Xperia Ion Sony agrees. Its layout is close to stock Gingerbread but slightly better spaced.

The Sony Xperia Ion's left edge features both a HDMI and Micro USB port under a flap

Here's a closer look at the Sony Xperia Ion's HDMI and USB port located under its protective flap.

Thankfully the Sony Xperia Ion has a 3.5 mm headphone jack placed on its top edge and not on bottom or in other inconvenient locations.

On the left side of the Sony Xperia Ion is dedicated camera button that launches the camera even when the phone is asleep. Other controls include volume and power.

It may take a moment to find but the Sony Xperia Ion has a micro SD card slot hidden under a compartment on the phone's top edge.

The Sony Xperia Ion's big 4.55-inch display serves as a decent stage for movies and other video but other handsets offer better picture quality.

Sony touts the Sony Xperia Ion's 12MP camera but despite its high resolution its image quality is disappointing.