It is expected to be released by the end of the year

Oct 26, 2011 08:18 GMT  ·  By

Unveiled last month, the budget-friendly HTC Explorer has just been spotted at FCC (Federal Communication Commission), which indicates that the handset might be available in the U.S. by the end of the year.

The smartphone is listed in FCC filings as model number PJ03110 and it has received approval for GSM 850 and 1900 bands, as well as WCDMA band V.

Although the Explorer is tagged as entry-level, the handset runs Google's Android 2.3 Gingerbread platform with HTC Sense 3.5 user interface on top.

Also known as HTC Pico, the device is powered by a 600MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 processor, complemented by an Adreno 200 graphics processing unit.

According to HTC, the Explorer will be released in EMEA region this month and early November, whereas the U.S. release date has yet to be announced.