An unknown Verizon-branded handset has come up in a range of images linked to HTC's all new Sync software. Mysteriously though, the unknown device seems to have no buttons on its facade.

The never before seen image has started speculation that HTC might be trying to develop an Android smartphone for the purpose of Honeycomb, the tablet-optimized version of the mobile OS of Google which will not need a similar button layout like in the cell phone versions.

The rendering might as well be a simple placeholder, despite the Verizon branding being seen as an improbable feature for a generic picture.

Normally, Honeycomb tablets, such as the recently announced Motorola Xoom, do not need to have the front-facing buttons. This new version by Honeycomb of Android is being developed for tablet instruments and majority of its navigation has been shifted to the touchscreen rather than the buttons.

Despite it being a tablet, the top centre positioning of the logo indicates something else.

HTC still is to reveal the strategies it has for developing a smartphone based on Honeycomb. The picture was added along with the confirmed handsets, even the Thunderbolt and Merge.