HTC Holiday Smartphone Arriving in U.S. Soon [PHOTOS]

The hype continues with the HTC Holiday, as new photos of the highly-anticipated smartphone surfaced over the weekend.

Images of the prototype, expected to soon arrive in the U.S., Europe and Asia, were provided by XDA Developers forums and Web sites like Engadget.

The new Android smartphone will reportedly arrive with a 4.5-inch qHD screen, at 960 x 540 pixel resolution, complete with a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, according to PC World.

Some speculate that AT&T will be the new phone's carrier, as suggested by one of the leaked images showing the "myAT&T" application. Others believe that AT&T will not have exclusive rights due to HTC's plans to release the phone internationally, reports Ubergizmo.

If all is true, the HTC Holiday will join the Samsung Infuse 4G as the only two smartphones that span 4.5 inches. To compare, the iPhone 4 has a 3.5-inch touch screen.

News of the Holiday smartphone comes just days after the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) agreed to investigate a patent complaint by Apple against HTC. If Apple's claims go through, HTC may be forced to halt sales of smartphones and tablets in the U.S.

More about the HTC Holiday:

The rumored launch date of the HTC Holiday is October to December 2011.

The HTC Holiday smartphone will be equipped with WiFi and Bluetooth 3.0 and the latest version of Android Gingerbread, according to several reports.

The "CALIFORNIA" sticker on the leaked prototype suggests there may be a cover, dock or stand that comes with the phone.

In 2010, HTC launched the Evo 4G, which had a display screen of 4.3 inches.