Last year Samsung really started something with the release of the original Galaxy Note, and created a niche in the smartphone market with the 5.3-inch display. Now other companies are looking to have a slice of the phablet pie by offering similar products, and we now have reports that the HTC DNA pops up again with a release tipped for next month.

HTC has long been rumoured to be offering a 5-inch smartphone, and this came recently with the launch of the HTC J Butterfly with the promise the screen technology will be seen elsewhere. Now as SlashGear are reporting the often reliable evleaks Twitter account has again leaked the HTC Droid DNA, and give a Verizon release date of December.

The handset has the DNA branding and is basically the same device as the Butterfly, which features a 5-inch display that uses full HD Super LCD 3 technology with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 that provides a massive 440ppi pixel density.

The smartphone has a slim bezel that reminds you of the Motorola DROID RAZR M, and the HTC DNA also is believed to use a quad core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with 2GB of RAM. Storage wise the HTC DNA is expected to come with 16GB of built in memory which can be expanded via the microSD slot, and an eight megapixel rear camera.

It has to be remembered that while these specifications are present on the HTC J Butterfly, the DROID DNA hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, but the Verizon version will have 4G LTE connectivity as well as the carriers own tweaks to the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system.

Previously it has been suggested that the HTC DNA will cost Verizon customers $199.99 with a new two year contract, but until either HTC or Verizon says something official we will just have to wait and see.

Will you be getting the HTC DNA?