If you’re chomping at the bit, waiting for the Androidy goodness of Sholes (aka Tao) to make its way to Verizon, here’s a tasty treat to tide you over. Some leaked images have surfaced, courtesy of HowardForums. That’s exciting because it’s the first time the phone has been seen turned on and handled in a real-world setting.

Sadly, there are no stills of the QWERTY keyboard or D-pad, but there are shots showing off Google Maps (in Sky view), an Apps screen, and the unlock screen, as well as the back of the battery. So without further delay, here’s your pretty (if slightly blurry) eye candy.

Mere morsels, I know, but it’s not surprising considering how little is known of the device to date. Details have been scarce, with the industry chatter only yielding a few bits of info so far, including: 

•The battery is rated at 1390mAh. (In conrast, that’s a little lower than the Cliq, which is 1420 mAh, but a little more than the MyTouch, at 1340 mAh.)
•The metal heavy design (or is that heavy metal?) makes for a pretty slim and stunning form factor, but also a weighty device.
•May come loaded with what will be the latest Android build, aka Eclair.

There’s some difference of opinion on that last item. Some people are expecting Eclair, while others are pointing to Donut (1.6) instead. I’m sure more details will emerge as we get closer to launch (which is rumored to be as soon as next month), so stay tuned.

[HowardForums via Mobile Crunch]