Motorola Sholes images leak: HDMI, 8MP camera and Android

It feels like rumors about the Motorola Sholes have been around forever, but the mysterious Android-based slate looks to be finally emerging from the geeky shadows.  Mobile01 have acquired some images of the device, though not a full shot, together with some specifications: apparently the Sholes will have a 3.7-inch 854 x 480 touchscreen (just like the DROID) together with an 8-megapixel autofocus camera with Xenon flash and – in a first for an Android smartphone – an HDMI output.

That HDMI port will apparently be used to output 720p HD video (or perhaps even higher).  There'll also be a 3.5mm headphone jack while, under the hood, a TI OMAP 3430 Cortex A8 processor potentially clocking in at 800MHz should keep things running smoothly.  There's also multitouch support and Motorola's Crystal Talk DSP system for voice calls, and while right now it's running Android 2.0, the expectation is that it'll get Android 2.1 by the time it launches.

Since it's a slate rather than a slider like the DROID, the Sholes is tipped to be even thinner.  Connectivity is apparently UMTS/HSPA – no word on bands – and we'd guess there'll be WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS in there too.  Given how impressive the DROID turned out to be, we've got high hopes for the Sholes.

[via the::unwired]