We’ve seen the Xperia Arc, we’ve heard of the Xperia Play (that’s the PlayStation phone to you and me), but now a third Sony Ericsson handset has appeared on the scene thanks to a Russian blogger who happened to come across the new smartphone.

Eldar Murtazin’s Mobile-review website, which has grabbed unreleased Nokia’s in the past, has this time got its hands on the Sony Ericsson Vivaz 2 (previously codenamed Halon) for a preview.

The new handset, which is tipped to be launched at Mobile World Congress in February, packs a number of features, like a 4-inch screen, 512MB of RAM and a Qualcomm 1Ghz processor. There’s an 8-megapixel camera around the back with LED flash, Wi-Fi, 3G connectivity and, of course, Bluetooth.

According to reviewer Martin Elm, there is also all the new bells and whistles released on the Xperia Arc, such as the BRAVIA mobile engine and the EXMOR Sensor on the camera side of things. And while it's not specifically called out, it also looks to have the same Reality display.

“This time Sony Ericsson came up with a phone that really has much potential to become a bestseller in its segment. Both design and feature wise MT15i [Vivaz] has all the bells and whistles expected from an Android device”, says Elm before adding that “it has been a long time since I saw a mid-range solution from Sony Ericsson to successfully compete with rival solutions...Some of the promotional decisions of Sony Ericsson may have a negative effect on its sales, however this time the promotion will be backed up by the device itself”.

Meanwhile, Sony Ericsson, no doubt fuming at the leak, does have some news to celebrate.

It might have admitted that it learnt a lot and that mistakes were made in 2010 with its Android powered Xperia range, but that didn’t stop the company selling over 9 million Xperia smartphones, the company has confirmed.

“2010 was a turnaround year for Sony Ericsson. Our four consecutive quarters of profit reflect the success of our shift towards an Android-based smartphone portfolio. We will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the creation of Sony Ericsson in 2011, and as shown by the recently announced Xperia Arc, we will continue to focus on delivering the most entertaining smartphones worldwide”, said Sony Ericsson’s president and CEO Bert Nordberg.

We will bring you more news as we get it.

- Sony Ericsson U5i Vivaz review