The device code-named the HTC Leo is no longer a rumor. This smartphone has an official name -- the HTC HD2 -- and its impressive feature set has been confirmed, including the 4.3-inch display and the 1 GHz processor.

It will be one of the first devices on the market with Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.5 Pro, but have the new version of HTC's custom user interface layered on top. This used to be called TouchFLO, but has just been renamed HTC Sense to reflect a greater focus on consumers.

High-End Hardware
The HD2 will lack a hardware keyboard, but that's just about the only feature it won't have.

It is going to be the first Windows Mobile smartphone with a capacitive display that supports multi-touch, so users can resize websites, Microsoft Office files, PDF documents and pictures easier with a pinch of their fingers.

This display will be the largest yet on a smartphone running Microsoft's OS, and will have a WVGA (800x480) resolution.

Naturally, the HD2 will have mobile broadband (7.2 Mbps HSDPA), plus it is going to include Wi-Fi b/g and Bluetooth 2.1. It will even be able to act as a Wi-Fi router for another computer.

It will also include a whopping 448 MB of RAM, an 5 MPx camera with auto-focus, a microSD card reader, GPS receiver, 1,230 mAh battery, and a 3.5 mm headset jack.

This HTC device will come with Windows Mobile's standard collection of mobile apps: Outlook, Office, Media Player. Opera Mobile is going to be the default web browser.

Coming Later this Month
The HTC HD2 will be available by the end of October from operators across Europe, and the company says it will be available in "other regions" in the coming months. Whether that includes N. America is an open question. The initial version of this smartphone will not include the frequencies used by 3G networks in the U.S. and Canada.

Its name indicates that this will be the successor to the HTC Touch HD, a device that was very popular in Europe; at one point it was HTC's best-selling Windows phone in that region.However, it didn't fare so well in the U.S. Sales were light, as this smartphone wasn't picked up by any U.S. carrier. it's not yet known if the same thing will happen to this new model.