Sony Xperia Z aka Mint aka LT30 could star in a James Bond movie and sport a metal back just for AT&T

If the leaks are true, the handset is slightly more compact than the Xperia GX slated for release in Japan next week, a bit heavier, and will share almost the same specs, with an altered exterior, easing one-handed access to the side buttons. It is also said to have a sealed battery, unlike its Japanese counterpart.

Now a few more details have been tipped about it - it is expected to come to the US as an AT&T exclusive, dubbed the LT30at, and feature a metal back cover, whereas the international HSPA+ version LT30p we saw pictures from yesterday, is said to keep the soft-touch plastic on the back.

Most interesting is that Sony plans to launch a big marketing campaign for the handset, considering the Xperia Z will end up being its flagship for the year, and has even managed to do a product placement for it in the upcoming James Bond movie, Skyfall.

With this kind of marketing effort behind a very compact device with a Snapdragon S4 processor, 4.6" HD Bravia display and 13MP camera with a stacked sensor capable of HDR video capture, success seems very likely. It might have to battle LG and HTC's new quad-core Snapdragons, though, and, if you read our quick observation on their graphics prowess, it will have an uphill battle in terms of raw power. Benchmarks are just a small part of the whole experience, though, so we can't wait to put the eventual Z through its paces.

source: XperiaBlog