Sony C530X Xperia photos slip ahead of Mobile World Congress
Codename 'HuaShan'
Images of a new Sony Xperia phone, codenamed "HuaShan," reportedly leaked on a German forum site last week, only now coming to light in the English-speaking world.
The photos were reportedly posted on the USP-Forum.de message boards anonymously, so the pics' validity can't be confirmed by any means.
However, one image shows the purported Xperia handset's "About" page, with the model number C5303 and Android 4.1.2: Jelly Bean.
As the Xperia news site Xperia Blog pointed out on Monday, the Sony C5303 is part of the rumored C530X series, which also includes the C5302 and C5306. The C5303 is the line's LTE model.
Sony Xperia Rumors
The "HuaShan" smartphone that reportedly appears in these leaked images features the same side power button seen on the Xperia Z, Xperia ZL and Xperia Tablet Z, according to Xperia Blog, as well as a strange, metallic (or possibly transparent) strip on the bottom bezel, both front and back.
This new Xperia device isn't one that we at TechRadar have encountered before, but Xperia Blog claimed that it's rumored to rock Qualcomm's 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro MSM8960T processor and Adreno 320 graphics.
The site also claimed that the Sony C530X series Xperia phones will sport 720p displays, but beyond that nothing else is known.
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However, with Barcelona's Mobile World Congress going down in less than a month, it seems likely that we'll hear more about Sony's Xperia successors soon.
TechRadar will be there in force, so keep an eye on the site to stay up to date on the latest Sony Xperia rumors and more.
Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.
Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.