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Our closest sources tell us that Sony is indeed working on more than just Honami, which is to be released in the next couple of months. The latest word is that the Japanese company is also working on a ‘compact’ version of Honami, to go head-on with the Apple iPhone.

Despite the severe criticism that Apple has received thanks to its small sized phones, namely the 3.5-inch iPhone 4S and the newer 4-inch iPhone 5, the company has sold their phones faster than hot cakes would (and yummy ones at that). In 2012 Apple bumped up the screen size of the iPhone for the first time since its introduction, up from 3.5-inch to 4-inch, but many consumers whined and complained for more. Despite that, Apple sold a record number of iPhone 5 handsets, and the company is hoping for a repeat performance with yet another 4-inch iPhone 5S, to be introduced in the September-October timeframe.

Amongst all that, companies like Samsung and HTC went ahead with the development of ‘Mini’ version of their flagship phones. If you think the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is an original product (or the S3 Mini before that), it’s nothing but copying Apple further with their smaller screen size devices, hoping to replicate the record sales feat (which obviously didn’t happen, because Samsung has stupidly priced the S4 Mini way too high). Sadly, the specifications of such phones are severely limited, and barely stand up much in front of current Android flagships. The HTC One Mini will perhaps close the gap a little bit more, but that’s about all.

Sony on the other hand is trying to do things a bit differently. In addition to their kill-everyone-in-its-path Honami, to be introduced in September 4 (that was again confirmed by our sources), the company is working on a compact version of Honami, or Honami Mini as you guys would like to call it. Honami Mini won’t be a lackluster phone, but one that will actually dominate the smaller devices with specifications and features like the flagships. Our source says that the chipset will be the same as all upcoming high-end phones, a Snapdragon 800 SoC. The camera at the back may or may not be the same as the flagship Honami, but if it isn’t the same, the camera performance will at least be really close. The screen size will lie between 4-inch to 4.3-inch (Apple iPhone territory).

If Sony does this right, the guys who like 4.3-inch phones over 5-inch ones will finally have a flagship device to play with, and keep with them. Unfortunately, until now, such guys (like myself) have to stick to mediocre specifications and features when buying a smaller sized phone.