A leaked image of the mid-range HTC Zara has appeared online and the handset is expected to launch in Q4 this year.

HTC has already launched the top-end flagship smartphone, the HTC One, and now the company is planning to launch a handset in the mid-market segment.

The latest leaked image of the HTC Zara comes courtesy of famous leakster @evleaks. The latest tweet also points out a few hardware specifications which are expected in the upcoming HTC device. This is not the first time that rumors of the HTC Zara have emerged online.

"HTC Zara is supposedly a mashup of the One and Desire families," tweeted @evleaks in late July.

Now @evleaks points out that the HTC Zara will have a 1.2GHz dual core processor, 4.5-inch qHD display, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of on-board storage and a microSD card slot. The leaks also indicate that the handset will be equipped with an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and will run on the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system with HTC Sense 5.5 UI.

Previously, well-known leakster LlabTooFer also leaked some hardware specifications of the HTC Zara. However, LlabTooFer suggests that the upcoming handset will have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.4GHz and the handset will be pre-loaded with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and Sense 5.

"It will be available in Sprint USA Network, possibly in Europe/Asia and will have Dual Sim modification for China," previously reported LlabTooFer.

The HTC Zara sports very similar hardware specifications when compared to the HTC One Mini. However, from the leaked image it seems that HTC will drop the aluminum chassis in the HTC Zara to make it even more affordable. The handset may compete with other handsets in its category such as the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini.

The smartphone space is getting crowded with the launch of a number of handsets in all the market segments. The Taiwanese company may have to put a competitive price tag on the HTC Zara to get an edge over other handset.

HTC has not officially confirmed the HTC Zara, so for now we will have to take the rumors with a pinch of salt.