We're just weeks away from MWC 2012 so the phone rumours are hotting up, with the latest leaked photo purporting to be the Sony Xperia U.

Previously dubbed the Sony ST25i Kumquat, the Xperia U doesn't look all that different to the Sony Xperia S that was unveiled at CES 2012.

It features the same transparent strip conceit as the Xperia S, the same shape, the same overall design – in fact, the only visual difference appears to be in the resolution department, estimated to be 480 x 854 (FWGA) rather than the Xperia S's 1280 x 700 Reality Display (kudos to the eagle eyes over at the Xperia Blog for spotting that).

I O Xperia U

You can't really tell from the photo, but the screen size is also apparently smaller than the Xperia S – 3.5-inches on the U compared to 4.3-inches on the S.

On the inside, details get fuzzier still – rumours speak of the Sony Xperia U featuring a 1GHz dual-core processor, a 5MP camera and running Android 2.3.

But there's no way to tell from the photo, which – if we're being cynical – could just be the Sony Xperia S from another angle.

That's not to say that it couldn't be legit though – so we'll rate this quite likely and hang fire until MWC 2012 to see the fruits of this kumquat flavoured rumour (sorry).

From Xperia Blog