TAOYUAN, Taiwan - It has been rumoured for a while that HTC is likely to launch a new device running Android 2.0. Nevertheless, now, DigiTimes took this rumor to the next level by reporting that on early 2010, it expects a new HTC Android 2.0 handset, similar to the Windows Mobile-powered HD2.

Going further, the source also adds that the phone would be named as HTC Passion and that it would come with a powerful processor of 1GHz Snapdragon chipset including a 3.5" multitouch OLED screen.

And this rumor doesn’t end there. HTC will reportedly unveil a new Android-smartphone with QWERTY keyboard at the Mobile Congress (MWC) 2010 taking place in Barcelona in February this year, HTC Expresso could be a possible name.

The Passion's specifications are quite similar to those of the HTC Bravo. The same source suggests that both are in fact, the same smartphone, but with different codenames for different regions.