Nokia Lumia 928 for Verizon pictured in leaked image

Images are surfacing of what purports to be Nokia’s upcoming flagship Windows Phone device for Verizon, the Lumia 928. posted renders of the front and back of the 920 variant, and outwardly it looks nearly the same as AT&T’s. The elongated flash and 4G LTE branding are the only visual cues that we’re not looking at a black 920. We've heard from sources that the phone will have a new xenon flash, in addition to the 920's LED unit, and the picture would seem to back that up.

As far as specs go, we're expecting the phone to have the same 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 32GB of storage, and 1GB of RAM as the 920. However, it should be a little thinner — , at 10.2 millimeters compared to the 920's 10.7, and should feel lighter, as well. It should also ditch the 920's LCD display for a 4.5-inch OLED one, and support simultaneous voice and data over LTE. While Nokia CEO Steven Elop might not have wanted to answer questions about the phone on Finnish TV last month, electing to throw the host's iPhone across the room instead, we should have answers soon — we're expecting the Lumia 928 to be released later this month.

Update: We can confirm that the image is in fact genuine. We understand that Verizon is still planning to unveil the handset this month, but that the company will not be using an aluminum frame for this particular device as originally reported. Nokia is said to be using a thinner polycarbonate on the Lumia 928, reserving its aluminum frames for future Lumia devices including the EOS and Catwalk. The Lumia 928 will be slightly thinner than the Lumia 920, measuring 10.2mm at its thinnest point and 11.2mm at its thickest with a slightly curved back. The Lumia 928 also sports a 4.5-inch OLED display and support for simultaneous voice and LTE (SVLTE).

Microsoft and Verizon are said to be in the final stages of testing the Lumia 928, which includes the second General Distribution Release (GDR2) Windows Phone 8 update. The majority of the internals in the Lumia 928 are identical to that of the Lumia 920, including a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 32GB of storage, and 1GB of RAM. Expect to see the Lumia 928 unveiled as a 4G Verizon phone by the end of the month.