With CES just a few days away and so many exciting fresh devices expected to launch soon, I’m sure that most of you wouldn’t even consider getting a phone before probing the new market. However, if there is one old handheld you should at least think about buying over the next few days, that’s definitely Verizon’s HTC Rezound.

Yeah, I am talking about that HTC Rezound. The one launched way back in November 2011 and still stuck on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. That dusted little fellow might have not been in the spotlight ever since Mitt Romney was a real contender for the presidency of the United States, but now’s the time for it to make a spectacular comeback under the media’s microscope.

And that’s because Verizon Wireless is for the first time offering the Rezound completely free of charge with a two-year contract. The offer is valid for both new and existing customers looking for an upgrade and it doesn’t even include b.s. rebates of any kind, meaning it is what it is – a free on-contract phone.

Now, what is the catch, some of you might ask. Well, I don’t know if you can call it that way, but Big Red’s promo is time-limited, so it could end any minute now. We also have to underline the Rezound is a pretty old device, so don’t be expecting it to take on the Galaxy S3 or the Droid DNA performance-wise.

That said, we have to say the 4.3-incher holds its own real nice for an aging device, even though HTC doesn’t seem keen on ever upgrading it to Jelly Bean. That S-LCD display boasts a cool 1,280 x 720 pixels resolution, the dual-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm MSM8660 Snapdragon CPU is snappy enough for everyday tasks and then some, while the 8 MP rear-facing snapper is still top-tier. Not to mention the 4G LTE speeds, 16 GB of internal memory and microSD support.

What you may not like very much, besides the running of the ICS, is the device’s bulk (it weighs a hefty 170 grams) and the pretty meager 1,620 mAh battery, but hey, can you really afford to be very picky with a free phone?