Leaked benchmark scores are once again outing a trio of forthcoming handsets from Sony, suggesting the Japanese manufacturer may be about to take a good thing and multiply.

PhoneArena reported Sunday that Sony has not one, not two but a full three variants of its popular Xperia Z1on the way, judging from leaked benchmarks recently discovered on the AnTuTu app for Android.

The first of the handsets popped up at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) late last week as the Sony D5503, a model expected to be marketed as the Xperia Z1 Mini or Xperia Z1s.

That particular model put smiles on the faces of Sony fans with an impressive 34,193 score on AnTuTu - an impressive speed considering this is a smaller model of the company's flagship handset.

Wait, there's more!

Judging from the FCC filing, the Xperia Z1 Mini is downsized in only three areas: A smaller 4.3-inch display, lower 1280 x 720 resolution and a shrunken 2300mAh battery.

That's about where the reduced specs end, thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with 2GB RAM which makes the diminutive model one worthy of consideration for Xperia fans who don't require the larger screen real estate of the full-sized Z1.

A second variant which scored an even higher 35,485 on AnTuTu is believed to be simply a refresh of the existing Xperia Z1, presumably with the requisite spec bump in tow.

Last but not least, the so-called Sony Xperia Z1 LTE (C6916) topped out with an AnTuTu score of 36,257 and could be inbound for the US market on T-Mobile.

• Check out our review of the iPad Mini 2 with Retina Display!

Sony will release a successor to the Xperia E appropriately dubbed the Xperia E2 in 2014, according to a recent report.

The Japanese site EMSOne said the Xperia E2 will feature LTE compatibility, unlike its predecessor, which launched in March 2013 with 3G only.

Other than that we know literally nothing about the possibility of an Xperia E2, including any hints about its specs.

But the original Xperia E featured a 3.5-inch 320 x 480 display, a 1GHz Cortex A5 processor, 4GB of storage, and 512MB of memory - so hopefully the E2 comes with a specs upgrade as well.

Rise of the budget phones

Even with a specs upgrade, though, the E2 will surely retain its budget price tag. Sony's got enough going on on the high end with the flagship Xperia Z (and possibly the Xperia Z2).

There's also hope that phones like the Xperia E2 will come with Android 4.4: KitKat, since the latest version of Android isn't dependent on powerful hardware.

Does that mean the age of budget phones is upon us? Maybe not for that reason, but it's true that budget phones are thriving alongside their high-end, flagship counterparts.

And one can hope that we'll start seeing the new Android version on budget and low-end devices like the Xperia E line out of the box as well as the high-end devices that usually get all the OS love.

• Speaking of budget phones, Samsung showed off its first Tizen phone in November - and don't forget that Sony has promised a Firefox OS handset in 2014 too.

Nokia has been slowly building up its reputation as a photography focused smartphone maker and now it's extending those perks to everyone using its handsets.

The Nokia Camera app thus far has only been available to high-end, pro-shooter models such as the Lumia 920 and Lumia 925 and Lumia 928 and Lumia 1020. Now the Finnish phone maker is opening up the application to all Windows Phone 8 Lumia handsets with its latest beta release.

Announced at Nokia World 2013, the application update is available in the Windows Phone Store Pureview Lumia devices with the Lumia Amber or Black software release. After a quick download, Lumia users can turn on full manual mode for precise shutter speed control.

Nokia's Smart camera mode also allows smartphone shooters to take a sequence of photos they can alter afterwards to emphasize things like movement, to remove objects from an image, or select the best snap.

Join the beta

Phones that can join in the beta include the Lumia 520 and Lumia 521 and Lumia 620 and Lumia 625 and Lumia 720 and Lumia 810 and Lumia 820 and Lumia 822.

Previously, we noted how the last Nokia Camera app update brought lossless raw Digital Negative Format (DNG) images to the Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1020.

In the same statement the Finnish phone maker says DNG support will be added to more phones as Lumia Black update becomes available. The software update will also allow the camera app to run underneath the lock screen, allowing Nokia snappers to capture an image without pounding in a keylock code first.

• In another early beta, we took a very early look at Valve's SteamOS

The forthcoming Windows Phone 8.1 update may prove that 8.1 is Microsoft's lucky number, as it's reportedly adding a notification center and Siri personal assistant to its mobile devices.

The Windows Phone 8.1 notification center is to revealed through a swipe-from-the-top gesture, according to unnamed Microsoft sources cited by The Verge.

Quick settings can be accessed with a short swipe down, while the most recent notifications are listed with a longer swipe in the same direction.

This matches how which matches how the Android notification center works and it's a combination of Apple's iOS notification center and command center.

'Contra' to band together a Siri clone

Even faster than changing setting through the new notification center may be asking the Windows 8.1 personal assistant to do it for you.

Microsoft has been testing out its "Contra" for a number of months, according to the same report, with the intention of launching a rival to Google Now and Apple's Siri technology.

It's said to be able to anticipate appointments and map out the time it'll take you to get there, according to data that it reads in a non-Scroogled way.

Word has begun circling that LG has plans to hook up with Huawei in order to boost its smartphone business, but LG says that's nonsense.

One analyst told the Korea Times that the partnership is being considered, with LG keen to parley in order to "revive its smartphone business."

But LG has denied the claims, saying it is not pursuing a deal with the Chinese firm.

Hell no

The company says it has had "no discussion now or in the past with Huawei on any aspects of LG Electronics' business."

It's unusual for a company to come out and deny a rumour so forcefully - we're more used to hearing the go-to PR line that they do not comment on speculation.

That's not to say that LG doesn't think it's got a bit of a smartphone problem. A spokesperson told the Korea Times, "Gaps in our smartphone portfolios used to be one of the biggest problems that prevented us from succeeding in the market for the past few years.

"But this problem has been fixed. Attention is being shifted to how we see an external growth in handsets."

That "problem" was fixed by a number of launches over the past year, with the LG G2 flagship handset grabbing plenty of critical acclaim - but whether those good reviews will translate into good sales is another matter.

• IS the LG G2 the start of LG's comeback? Read our full review to find out