Sony Ericsson (SE) has announced that, after pushing out an Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) upgrade (video posted below) for its smartphones in the Nordic countries during September, it is starting to roll-out this update to globally.

The company also stated that is has made some additional changes to the upgrade following its recent phase one release.

SE said that the phones that will get the software update include the Xperia arc, Xperia PLAY, Xperia neo, Xperia pro, Xperia mini and Xperia mini pro, Xperia ray, Xperia active, Xperia neo V, Xperia arc S as well as the Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman.

The update will be available for all unlocked phones and most operator variants, but there will be local deviations. According to SE South Africa the update is already available to local users. There are some differences in features depending on which of these smartphone models the user owns. Google Talk video chat, for instance, will only be available for smartphones with front facing camera, whilst the Xperia PLAY will not get 3D panorama sweep, but it will get HD video recording.

The highlights of the update are:

• Google Talk with Video Chat for smartphones sporting front-facing cameras.
• Updated Facebook inside Xperia functionality for enhanced like, share and discover abilities.
• Xperia smartphones introducing world’s first 3D Sweep Panorama functionality powered by Sony.
• 16x video zoom.
• The software upgrade will enable consumers to turn their Xperia  smartphone into a mini-mobile PC by connecting USB peripherals (mouse, keyboard or game controller) to Sony Ericsson LiveDock multimedia station. Connect the smartphone to a TV via HDMI to get a big screen experience.
• Gesture input – text input by swiping the finger from one letter to the next
• Wi-Fi, DLNA.
• Screen capture – allows the user to share a screen grab from anywhere in the phone.

In related news Sony also recently confirmed the rumours that it and Telefonktiebolaget LM Ericsson have reached an agreement, which will see Sony acquiring Ericsson’s stake in Sony Ericsson, to make the joint venture a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony.