The rumored release of Sony Mobile's new flagship smartphone at the upcoming World Mobile Congress event this year in Barcelona may not happen, after speculations surfaced that a mid-range mobile phone from the company called the Sony Xperia E4 will take its place instead. 

Recent reports claim that the mobile phone manufacturing arm of the Japanese electronics company will release the Sony Xperia E4 during the upcoming event, and it will be their first new smartphone line for the year. It means that the highly anticipated release of the Xperia Z4 will have to be pushed back at a later time. However, the reason for bumping off the unveiling of the next-gen flagship phone has not been revealed. 

The mid-range Sony Xperia E4 has been confirmed to be revealed at the international mobile event even if the company will allegedly forego its usual press conference for the MWC this year. Sony Mobile will instead open their booth on March 2 with just a welcome remark. 

Sony Mobile posted the specs of the Xperia E4, which include:

• 5-inch (960 x 540 pixels) scratch-resistant display 
• 137 x 74.6 x 10.5 mm over-all dimensions and weight of 144 grams 
• 1.3 GHz quad-core processor
• 1 GB RAM 
• 8 GB built-in memory that can be expanded up to 32 GB through its microSD card slot 
• 5-megapixel rear-end primary camera with 2-megapixel front-facing camera with 4x digital zoom and image stabilizer 

The device runs using the Android 4.4.4 KitKat operating system, and is powered by a 2300 mAh battery that can last up to 12 hours and 43 minutes with basic use, with a standby time of up to 696 hours. 

The Sony Xperia E4 is now available for pre-order in the U.K. for £100 and the rest of Europe for €130. It means that the new mid-range phone could be sold for $155 in the U.S.