Photos of Samsung Craft LTE Phone Surface

South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung Electronics and wireless carrier MetroPCS announced a while ago that it plans on launching a LTE device, the Samsung Craft (SCH-R900), and what appear to be the first photos of the device have just made it into the wild.

This should be MetroPCS’ first LTE phone, as the company announced officially in the beginning of this month, when it also unveiled that the device should arrive on shelves before the end of the ongoing year.

The Samsung Craft SCH-R900 already received FCC approval, and the emergence of these photos with it suggests that it might not be too long before it lands on the market.

Among the specs that leaked on this phone, we can count a sliding QWERTY keyboard, which can be admired in one of the photos, along with a camera with flash on the back.

Previous reports suggested that this device would pack both LTE and CDMA connectivity options, along with a touchscreen display and Bluetooth capabilities.

According to a post on HowardForums (via Samsung Hub), MetroPCS might put the upcoming mobile phone on sale with a price tag of $300 attached to it, but nothing has been confirmed officially on the matter.

In related news, we learn that Samsung is working on bringing LTE support in Android, most probably gearing up for the release of a smartphone powered by Google's platform.

The company already has LTE products on the market, including LTE modems for TeliaSonera, with plans to launch the Samsung Craft LTE phone soon, and it makes sense that it plans on delivering more advanced products on the market.

Moreover, the launch of an Android-based LTE handset from Samsung would go along pretty nicely with the Android-based WiMAX-capable Samsung Epic 4G, which should land at Spring on August 31st.

There are no specific details available on a possible Android-based LTE device from Samsung, but chances are that it would land at Verizon in the US, since the carrier is nearing the launch of its LTE network later this year.