HTC Thunderbolt Leaked Again, Next to AT&T's Inspire 4G

Taiwanese mobile phone maker HTC Corporation is expected to announce this week its first Android-based handset that sports LTE (Long Term Evolution) connectivity, the HTC Thunderbolt, only a few days after it launched another such smartphone, the HTC EVO Shift 4G, but it seems that the company is not done yet with new, 4G-capable devices.

Another Android-based mobile phone from HTC has been spotted into the wild with support for 4G networks, it seems, one that would land at the fourth major wireless carrier in the United States, AT&T, sporting the name of Inspire 4G.

We say the fourth as AT&T hasn't deployed yet a 4G network, although the other three largest wireless carriers in the country, including Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless, did.

The new AT&T Inspire 4G was seen in an advertisement in the current edition of Rolling Stone, as Android Central notes in a recent article.

The handset was featured there next to three other 4G-enabled devices from HTC, namely the Thunderbolt for Verizon, G2 for T-Mobile and EVO 4G for Sprint. The ad clearly shows that the phone maker is proud to be able to offer these devices to US users.

Since AT&T hasn't made an official announcement on 4G until now, there are not too many details available on the technology that this HTC mobile phone would use (AT&T said at one point that it plans LTE roll-out, and it also pointed at HSPA+ upgrades, the standard powering T-Mobile's 4G network).

However, we should expect for more info on it to be unveiled this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it seems.

Most probably, the HTC Thunderbolt should arrive on shelves as the first Android-based smartphone that packs LTE connectivity options, and tomorrow might be the big day for those Verizon customers interested in it.

At the moment, specific info on Inspire 4G and Thunderbolt are not available, but more should emerge soon, so stay tuned to learn the news.