Following on from the earlier rumour surrounding the Sony LT30 ‘Mint’ handset, expected to be the H2 2012 flagship, we have a few more details from a trusted source that we wanted to share. As things stand, there will be two versions of the LT30 Mint that will be released later this year.
One version (LT30at) will be heading to AT&T in the United States and will come with LTE and a metal back cover as described by the recent Bluetooth SIG listing. A second version (LT30p) will see an international launch with HSPA+ bands and will sport a matte-plastic back cover similar to that on the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.
There will also be a Sony LT30a version too, but we’re not sure whether this will be the plastic-backed or metal-backed version of the Mint. The Sony LT30a will head to North American carriers such as Rogers, Bell, MTS Mobility and Telcel. The other versions of the Mint (LT30i, LT30k and LT30m) that we have seen pop up in various benchmarks have been cancelled according to our source.
All of this makes us wonder where the international version (LT29i Hayabusa) of the Sony Xperia GX (SO-04D) fits into all of this? It is quite clear that both handsets will be very similar in both specs and design, although the LT29i ‘Hayabusa’ will have a removable battery as opposed to the sealed battery found in the LT30 ‘Mint’. The recent Bluetooth SIG listing for the LT30 ‘Mint’ also suggested that the LT30 Mint will be marginally smaller, but heavier than the Xperia GX.
Sony will be spending big bucks marketing the LT30 Mint later this year, including a guest role in the new James Bond film, Skyfall. Therefore, we do wonder whether the RoW version of the Xperia GX may just see a limited launch in certain regions worldwide. This would put the main marketing focus and wider retail availability on the LT30 Mint, especially given the similarity in specs and design. Time will tell on that one, but we’ll bring you more information as we have it.
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