HTC Edge is the world’s first quad-core smartphone

The device in the image above is the HTC Edge, a 4.7-inch beast that might very well be the first quad-core handset to hit the market. Leaked to PocketNow by a “reliable source”, we’re getting our first look at HTC’s next flagship device, and possibly a new benchmark for processing power in a smartphone.

Taking a lot of cues from the recently announced HTC Rezound, the Edge is expected to feature a 720p display, 1GB of RAM, 8-megapixel backlit camera (28-millimeter, f/2.2 lens), and an incredibly powerful AP30 Tegra 3 Nvidia CPU (four 1.5GHz cores), which doubles the power of the Rezound. Not much of a surprise, the device will also apparently include Beats by Dre. audio tech, and Bluetooth 4.0. The report notes the device will also likely get 32GB onboard memory.

There is also mention the debut of services such as HTC Listen, HTC Read, HTC Play, and HTC Watch could possibly coincide with the launch of the Edge. Although there isn’t much to go on here and we have to blindly trust their source, PocketNow expects the Edge to arrive in late Q1 or early Q2 2012.