A new HTC phone may be soon giving the Motorola's Droid 2 a run for the slider smartphone crown.  Shots of the HTC device first leaked early last month via Android Guys.

The phone has now been confirmed, thanks to testing results posted by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.  The pictures shown by the FCC clearly indicate a Verizon logo on the faceplate, meaning the device is likely coming to America's largest carrier -- and soon.

The device has a 4-inch touch screen, microSD memory expansion, a rear-facing camera with single-LED flash, and a slide-out physical QWERTY keyboard.  Despite having a smaller screen than the HTC EVO 4G, it has a wider footprint.  Part of the space is likely devoted to extra modems.  The phone features dual 3G modems -- a CDMA 2000  connection (which includes EV-DO Rev. A access) and GSM 850 modem.  Plus it packs Bluetooth and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi at 2.4GHz.

Why is the dual 3G modems significant?  They allow the phone to communicate with virtually any network around the world.  Also, very few phones are dual-mode capable.

The phone is rumored to have a 1.2 GHz processor, but then again the HTC Vision (T-Mobile G2) was rumored to have one too, and it turned out to only have a slower 800 MHz design.  Given the poor battery life on the majority of HTC's devices (a day or less), hopefully some of the extra space goes to more battery real-estate as well.

The phone bears roughly the same dark grey (outside) and cherry red (inside) plastic color scheme as the HTC EVO 4G.

The FCC release refers to it as the "HTC PD42100".  The internal code name is unknown at this point.  The phone will likely be rebranded with a new "Droid" name, though, since it's headed to Verizon (à la the Droid Incredible).  Thus we probably won't know what final name the phone will bear until Verizon officially announces it.