The XPERIA branded smartphones from Sony Ericsson have been getting regular doses of attention; their Android based XPERIA X10 and X10 mini pro got the much-needed 2.1 update couple of weeks back. Then there was that monstrous successor to the X10, X12 (a.k.a Anzu) with a 4.3-inch screen and supposed 1080p HD video recording that got leaked to the world a couple of days back.


Now, the Swedish-Japanese collaboration is expanding its XPERIA brand to cater to the new player in the OS game - Windows Phone 7, reports Softpedia. There is a video that supposedly shows two new handsets bearing this same operating system; the X7 and the X7 mini. Other than the apt "7" numbered naming; these two devices are apparently no less when it comes to the insane amount of features crammed in cell phones these days. The X7, much like the X12, will sport a 4.3-inch WVGA (or 800 x 480 pixel) display and a 1.2 GHz processor. The camera at the back is supposedly an 8 megapixel sensor, again similar to the XPERIA X10, that shoots at 720p HD resolution. An HDMI output will let you hook it up to a bigger display and the Dolby Digital Plus Surround support will ensure separate streams of audio to be fed to a home theater if available.

The X7 mini is not to be confused with the cutesy X10 Mini; this one would have a bigger iPhone-sized 3.5 inch display with the same WVGA resolution like the above. As of today, there's no arguement that the Nokia N8 is the best camera-phone and it is interesting to see other manufacturers trying to follow in its footsteps which ultimately might put point-and-shoot cameras in the state where alarm clocks or even MP3 players are today. The X7 mini, despite the moniker, will actually have a higher-resolution 10.1 megapixel camera as compared to the one above and that too with a Xenon flash. Another important camera related aspect that's often nothing more than a gimmick in most camera-phones is addressed here. We're referring to digital zoom, and the X7 mini instead has 3x optical (that's right!) zoom according to the video. Let's just hope this feature doesn't add too much to the thickness of the phone.

Both these phones are expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2011. There's no concrete proof that exists about these phones other than this purported YouTube video that you can have a look at yourself.