Update: Hit the brakes on that render folks.
While we came in with all the speculation an unconfirmed render requires, HP has squished any promise that the render below is a handset that could one day make it to store shelves.
"This is not an HP phone," an HP spokesperson said in a statement sent our way, a rare move for a company when it comes to these things in the first place. "The photo is a fabrication and is not a photo of anything HP has in the works. Someone is making stuff up."
While many leaks do yield legitimate results, this one can be thrown in the trash bin.
Original article...
The news that HP may make a return to the smartphone business is refusing to die down and we now have a render to cast our eyes over, although its origins are unclear.
HP hasn't exactly shied away from a potential return to the phone sphere, with the firm's CEO revealing it was working on a smartphone last year. That was followed by similar comments from another exec in February and a senior director earlier this month.
PhoneArena has now got hold of a render which claims to show HP's Android smartphone, but the tipster who passed it over didn't present any information on the device.
In terms of design the handset in the picture appears to borrow its shape from the iPhone 5, while the centralised notification light below the screen is reminiscent of the Nexus 4.
Dock me
No clues were given as to how the tipster came about the render, or how well connected they are so we're taking this leak with a sizable pinch of salt for now.
Another hint that HP is working on mobile solutions has come via a patent application picked up by Patently Apple, which documents an ultrabook with a dock for a mobile phone built into it.
This phone, however, is said to be powered by Windows and not Android allowing it to seamlessly integrate with the computer, suggesting HP may develop handsets to run on Windows Phone as well as Google's offering.
We'll have to wait and see if these ideas really do come to fruition, but we're intrigued as to what HP may be able to offer the already crowed mobile market.
