Sony is reportedly planning to unveil a mid-range entry in its Xperia smartphone line at the Mobile World Congress, Digital Spy said.

The Xperia XP is said to offer a less-costly alternative to the flagship Xperia Z handset with scaled-down specs, according to XperiaBlog.

Powered by a 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, the Android device sports a 4.6-inch display running at 720p, an 8-megapixel camera and microSD support.

The device, built from aluminium and plastic with a transparent bar at the bottom, weighs in at a relatively heavy 155 grams.

Sony announced its high-end Xperia Z smartphone last month, replacing the Xperia T at the top of its Android range.

MWC 2013 takes place in Barcelona between February 25 and 28.