AT&T Confirms It's Getting the Android OS-based HTC Liberty

UPDATE (June 14, 2010): AT&T has just announced plans to offer the HTC Aria, the device formerly known as the HTC Liberty. For more information, read this article:

Android OS-based HTC Aria Coming to AT&T Next Week

AT&T has released a video showing off its testing lab for smartphones. During this demo, an upcoming Android OS smartphone is shown of very briefly. According to information that has leaked out earlier, this device is the HTC Liberty. 

In the video, Dante Martin, Product Manager at AT&T for Android devices,  gives watchers two quick looks at a smartphone. 

During one of these, Martin says "I know you guys are really excited about hearing the latest device information, especially Android devices. I happen to have one right here, I can't tell you guys about it."

The brief glimpses are enough to show that this is an HTC model with a tablet shape. Although the video is blurry, it's clear enough to reveal that the smartphone is running the HTC Sense user interface.

The appearance and features match the previously unconfirmed reports on the HTC Liberty.

Overview of the HTC Liberty
According to information that has leaked out of HTC, this device maker has created the Liberty for AT&T. This smartphone will have a tablet shape with a  2.8-inch, 320 x 480 Touchscreen and an optical trackball but no sliding keyboard.

It will supposedly run Android OS 2.1 with the HTC Sense user interface layered on top.

The model will reportedly have a 5 megapixel camera and a 3.5 mm headset jack but all other specifications are unknown at this point.

Given its feature set, the HTC Liberty is likely to be an inexpensive model, possibly selling for $100 or less.

AT&T and Android OS
AT&T has committed to offering at least one HTC model running the Android OS in the near future, but hasn't revealed any details on exactly what is going to be released.

In addition to all the information that has come out on the HTC Liberty, there have also been been reports of the HTC Aria. This is expected to be a device similar to the Liberty, but with a sliding, landscape-oriented keyboard.

Coming Soon?
Back in January, AT&T Wireless CEO Ralph de la Vega promised that his company is going to release five smartphones running Google's Android OS in the first half of this year. So far it has released only one, the Motorola Backflip, and announced plans to offer a second, the Dell Aero.

If the carrier is going to meet its self-imposed deadline, it needs to get the HTC Liberty and HTC Aria out before the end of this month.

AT&T Test Lab Video
The video demonstration for AT&T's testing lab, hosted by Dante Martin, is available here: