HP is apparently not ready to give up on the smartphone market and a first image of the HP Brave Android handset just leaked, along with some specs.
The company has already confirmed that it plans to re-enter the smartphone market with an Android device in the future and a new leak aims to give some insight into what to expect.
HP already had its own smartphone, tablet and mobile operating system when it acquired Palm and its webOS smartphones and TouchPad tablet. However, the company never gave the OS, smartphones, or tablet it purchased a real chance to grow. Only a few months after purchasing Palm and just weeks after launching the TouchPad, HP announced that it was discontinuing the tablet and shutting down all webOS device operations. The company now sees its mobile future in Android. It recently released a tablet based on Google's mobile operating system and its first Android smartphone now made an appearance.
HP Senior Director of Consumer PC and Media Tablets Yam Su Yin recently spoke about the company re-entering the smartphone market, but did not say when exactly it will happen.
"The answer is yes but I cannot give a timetable. It would be silly if we say no. HP has to be in the game.", said the executive.
She further noted that the smartphone would be Android-based, but HP would offer a "differentiated experience" to consumers. She did not say how the company plans on achieving this or when the smartphone would be released. It might be coming soon, according to a new report of a leaked image and specs of the device.
PhoneArena posted a leaked render and followed up with the specs of HP's first Android smartphone. The specs came from an AnTuTu benchmark test that was run on the device. HP's upcoming smartphone will officially be called the HP Brave, feature a 4.5-inch 900 x 1600 resolution display, run Android 4.2 and boast a 2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with an Adreno 320 graphics processing unit (GPU). The HP Brave will also reportedly include 2GB of RAM, a 14.5-megapixel rear camera, and a 5-megapixel front facing camera.
The render of the smartphone shows a device that looks very similar to an iPhone, but with a thinner bezel. The image shows the device running stock Android, which would not be a first. HP currently ships its HP Slate tablet with a stock version of Android. If HP is going to differentiate its smartphone from other Android handsets, it's certainly not giving any hints in the render. No other details are available at this point, but generally if one leak opens the way, the rumor mill has a field day. More details about the upcoming HP Brave should become available soon.
