Let’s face it, the Verizon HTC Thunderbolt is dead sexy yet simple. The 4.3-inch Android smartphone packs a monstrous 4.3-inch display and 4G LTE capability, making it the closest thing to Sprint’s HTC Evo 4G on the market today.

HTC Thunderbolt Repairs at Dr. Cell Phone

HTC Thunderbolt release date ahead of others

At the CES 2011 on January 6th, Verizon Wireless is expected to showcase a host of LTE handsets. While Motorola and Samsung have both boasted about working on LTE devices, all eyes are on HTC to be the first to release a 4G LTE smartphone on Big Red. Why? HTC was the first with a 4G WiMAX phone on Sprint (HTC Evo 4G) and the first on T-Mobile (G2). Furthermore, the HTC Thunderbolt has been floating around the Web for longer than any other LTE handset, under the guise of HTC Mecha and HTC Incredible HD.

Furthermore, while the Motorola Etna and Samsung’s LTE handset are yet to be seen, the HTC Thunderbolt has a dozen HQ images like the one above floating around the Web at the moment. Whether they are an intentional leak to build up hype before CES 2011 however remains debatable.

HTC Thunderbolt specs

The Thunderbolt is expected to pack a 4.3-inch display, 8-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, front-facing camera, microSD card, 1GHz processor
(there is also rumors of a dual core although they had died down after the Samsung Nexus S was released).

Lastly there is the beautiful Google branded steel or possibly aluminum kickstand which not only lets you watch media more comfortably but hopefully means that the Verizon-bound Android won’t come with Bing.

With a few more days to go before CES 2011, all will be revealed about the HTC Thunderbolt.

Source: http://www.gizmocrunch.com