HTC ThunderBolt Could Debut in Mid-February

The  HTC ThunderBolt could be out in the middle of next month -- several weeks earlier than Verizon had previously said.

This Android OS model is going to be one of this carrier's first 4G smartphones, plus it will offer a very large display, Skype video conferencing, and other high-end features.

When this model was unveiled at CES, Verizon said that it would be available at some point after March, but information leaking out the company indicates that the launch will be Feb. 14, the first day of the giant Mobile World Congress tradeshow in Barcelona.

If the ThunderBolt really does debut well before Verizon indicated, it wouldn't be a big surprise, as carriers often prefer to under promise and over deliver.

The price for this smartphone has not yet been announced or leaked out.

HTC ThunderBolt Overview
As one of the world's first phones with the 4G standard LTE, this HTC model is expected to provide data transfer speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps for downloads and 2 to 5 Mbps upload speeds under real world conditions. For comparison, tests on this carrier's current 3G network give download speeds of 0.6 to 1.6 Mbps and upload speeds of 0.5 to 0.8 Mbps. 

Aside from this, though, the ThunderBolt isn't going to be a huge jump above high-end smartphones that were released last year. It is still going to be fully-packed with features, though.

It will offer a 4.3-inch WVGA screen in a tablet shape with a kickstand on the back.

This device from HTC is gong to run Google's Android OS 2.2 (Froyo) with HTC's Sense overlay on a 1 GHz processor. It won't have a significant amount of internal storage capacity, but will have a microSD card slot with a bundled 32 GB card.

Other features are going to include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, a digital compass, GPS, a proximity sensor, and a G-sensor.

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