Sony Ericsson has promised that it will release more Mini versions of its popular handsets over the next 12 months.

“We believe in the concept of product lines and the idea of creating a product experience that will last beyond one hardware generation”, says Steven Walker, (acting) head of global marketing at Sony Ericsson to Pocket-lint, in a one-to-one interview at CES in Las Vegas. “I won’t go into specifics, but conceptually all these lines we created in 2010 will roll forward into 2011 and beyond. We want to build on all the Xperia lines and ranges”.

The news confirms previous rumours floating around the web that the X10 mini will be getting an update, as well as being welcomed by those who have yet to go small due to performance issues and perhaps a lack of understanding at the time as to why they would want a small phone.

“We are obviously creating totally new behaviours. Some users will say that it doesn’t work for them, and that’s right, it doesn’t work for everyone”, explains Walker. “We definitely see it opening up new users”.

Acknowledging that it’s still got plenty to learn, Walker says the first generation of devices was all about creating awareness for consumers as well as educating them.

“There will be subsequent generations of products in these lines as well. We will see new Minis in the future”, confirms the exec.

Could we see a launch of new mini handsets at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February. Sony Ericsson used its 2010 conference at the annual mobile phone trade show to launch the Xperia X10 mini and X10 mini pro.

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