HTC EVO Shift 4G trademark filing tips upcoming Android tablet?

HTC has filed for a pair of US trademarks, and in the process has reignited rumors about a new MID or tablet device. The trademarks – for "HTC EVO Shift 4G" and "HTC EVO 4G Shift" – would certainly seem to imply some connection between the current HTC EVO 4G WiMAX phone on Sprint and the long-departed HTC Shift dual-OS tablet.

Unfortunately, since trademark applications are all we have to go on, there's no actual indication of what hardware HTC might have in mind to pair with the new name. The most likely possibility is a large-screen (the EVO 4G has a 4.3-inch display) Android MID/smartphone with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

Still, it doesn't stop us wondering about something more interesting, along the lines of a 7-inch HTC tablet with integrated 4G to take on Samsung's Galaxy Tab. Rumors of an HTC tablet have been circulating for some time, though last we heard they were delayed.

[via Android Community and via Engadget; image via Good and Evo]