HTC Scorpion would pack fast CPU, 4G, Froyo

HTC may be in the earlier stages of developing an extremely high-end Android smartphone, says a code string reportedly leaked on Tuesday. Possibly to launch as the Scorpion, it would use the dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor teased at CES and would use Android 2.2, which is likely to be the final name for the update Google has so far codenamed Froyo. One line of code also makes reference to WiMAX and suggests it might head to Sprint's 4G network.

Little else is known other than the phone's internal HTC codename of Olympian, but the presence of WiMAX hints at the Scorpion being a follow-up to the recently spotted Supersonic (pictured), which could be on Sprint's network as soon as March. Using the new Snapdragon -- whose individual cores are also nicknamed Scorpion -- would give the distant Android phone the ability to play 1080p video and a likely selling point.

Pure text is potentially faked and thus leaves some room for doubt, but the nature of the design is consistent both with a quick Supersonic upgrade as well as HTC's increasing shift towards performance-oriented phones that are often tailored to one network. Sprint also has been routinely seeking a flagship phone that it still lacks to prevent customers from defecting to the iPhone, and it has turned to the Palm Pre and HTC Hero for this role with lukewarm results. A significant portion of iPhone customers on AT&T are believed to come from those unhappy with the phone lineups and service at Sprint and sometimes even Verizon.

HTC Supersonic (likely predecessor to the Scorpion)

By Electronista Staff