The Sony Xperia Ion is the company’s first LTE-enabled smartphone to come to the US. Strange as it can sound the Xperia Ion has not been launched in the US yet. It was unveiled back in January at CES and since then people wondered when exactly the phone would be available and which carrier would offer it in its stores. Now we know.

The Sony Xperia Ion is packed with a 4.6-inch HD Reality Display at 720p resolution, a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, a 12MP rear camera with Exmor R back-illuminated sensor, 16GB of internal storage, and supports NFC, which allows it to play well with Sony’s own SmartTags or Samsung’s recently announced TecTiles. Plus, it is one of Sony’s PlayStation certified devices.

The device will be launched in the US via AT&T on June 24 for $99 with a two-year contract. Though the pricing is not that expensive we must compare it with other handsets like the Lumia 900. I mentioned this handset deliberately because many will prefer Windows Phone 7.5 Mango to Android 2.3 Gingerbread.