Clear to launch a 4G smartphone powered by Android?

Clear’s CEO Bill Morrow re-affirmed his company’s goal of launching a dual mode WiMAX handset in the second half of 2010. Morrow declined to say which platform and manufacturers would be involved in the handset but alluded to Android when he noted that “there is “a natural affinity” between Google’s Android operating system and Clearwire’s all IP-based network”. Possibly but not necessarily related, a leaked 2010 inventory list from Sprint revealed the existence of a WiMAX candybar from HTC. Details on the 4G-capable HTC A9292 are sparse but the inclusion of “A” in the name of the handset suggests that phone will be powered by Android. Will this be the first smartphone that Clear/Sprint launches on its WiMAX network? Your guess is as good as ours at this point but we will be watching this one closely to see how it plays out.