Verizon Droid

We’ve seen the Motorola Droid and the HTC Droid Eris from Verizon Wireless so far, but apparently there is a third Verizon Android handset waiting in the wings, if rumors are to be believed.
Rumors are that it will be the HTC Passion, which is supposedly powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon chipset (the Passion might also be called the Dragon). The rumor mill (from Boy Genius, Phone Arena, and elsewhere) claims that the HTC Passion will feature a 5-megapixel camera, a large WVGA-resolution screen with multitouch, a 3.5mm headset jack, 256MB RAM, and it’s said to run Android 2.0 with the HTC Sense overlay.

[source: Cnet]

4/5 starts for the HTC Droid Eris at Cnet:
THE GOOD: The HTC Droid Eris offers a slim design, plentiful features, and satisfying performance. It also has pinch and zoom multitouch.

THE BAD: The HTC Droid Eris has mixed multimedia quality. It comes only with the Android 1.5 OS, there’s no file manager, and internal performance was occasionally sluggish.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Though performance wasn’t completely top-notch and we would prefer a more recent Android OS version, the HTC Droid Eris is a satisfying Android device that offers a nice contrast to the Motorola Droid. And you can’t beat the price.

If the Motorola Droid is too much and too expensive an Android phone for you, Verizon now offers an entry level Android phone, the HTC Droid Eris, for half the price ($99 with contract and post-rebate). Even though oddly named for the Greek god of strife, Eris provides anything but. Essentially a slightly spruced-up version of the HTC Hero from Sprint, Eris is a quick powerhouse packed with a 5 MP camera, WiFi and visual voicemail, and offers seven home screens, four more than the more expensive Droid.

Verizon took its sweet time jumping into the Android marketplace, but the carrier has quickly jumped into the fore of Andoid phone suppliers. Eris is an excellent and inexpensive Introduction to Android for its subscribers looking for an iPhone alternative. While its short battery life is annoying, Eris is an outstanding phone in every other way.

read the full review at Digital Trends]

Essentially a rebranded version of Sprint’s HTC Hero, the Eris (see it in action in the above video) goes on sale today, but for $99 ($100 less than Motorola Droid handset).

The Eris runs Android 1.5, features a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen, and a 528-MHz Qualcomm processor (less powerful than the Motorola’s ARM Cortex-A8)

Verizon’s full video demo of the HTC Droid Eris

Matthew Miller from ZDNet calls the HTC Droid Eris the best $100 smartohone. Here’s why:

…because the form factor is so compelling. It is wrapped in black soft touch material, it is narrow so it feels like a phone, it is thin, it is dense, and it has curves that make a supermodel envious…HTC was able to pack in their awesome Sense UI into the ERIS at this low $100 price point

Compared to the Motorola DROID, we see this device with a sleeker form factor, better performing camera, and the Sense UI (with all the great HTC widgets and customizations) while the DROID has the a slightly faster processor, larger higher resolution display, hardware QWERTY keyboard, and vanilla Googla Android experience with support for the new Google Maps Navigation beta. The Motorola DROID runs Android 2.0 while the HTC DROID ERIS runs Android 1.5. Which Google Android device do you find more compelling on Verizon?

The HTC DROID Eris will go on sale alongside the Motorola DROID tomorrow, priced at a bargain $99 with a new two-year contract.
Here are some pictures of the HTC DROID Eris box:

[Source: Slash Gear]

HTC’s first “DROID” phone is nothing more than a rebadged, shape-shifted Hero, and that it’ll be launching on Verizon on November 6th, the same day as Motorola’s DROID. That means Android 1.5 “Cupcake,” Sense UI, 3.2-inch screen, 528MHz processor and so forth. The Eris will retail for $199 but with a $100 mail-in rebate. It’ll pack in an 8GB microSD card and the hopes and dreams of a generation of cheapskates that will be hopin’ and prayin’ that HTC manages to push Android 2.0 onto this thing so they don’t look too bad in front of their DROID-toting buddies on Verizon.

[source: EngadgetMobile]

Leaked documents shed more light on the HTC Droid Eris: the HTC Droid Eris scheduled for release on November 6th and listed for $99 (after $10 mail-in rebate is applied) on a 2-year contract. Single year contract price is pegged at $269.99 while full retail price stands at $469.99. As far as features go, in addition to its Android 1.5 OS and 528MHz Qualcomm processor, it will come with a 3.25-inch 320×480 HVGA 262K color display, 5-megapixel autofocus camera, Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi, Push Gmail and Exchange support, Visual Voicemail, EV-Do Rev. A connectivity, 3.5mm jack, and an 8GB microSD card (supports up to 16GB) as part of the package.

HTC Eris Droid specs

[source: PMP today]

The Motorola Droid party is still going on, and here are 2 more reviews for you:

From Phone Arena:
Comparison between the leading Android phones:

Conclusion:

It’s almost unfathomable to see Verizon tie the knot with Android – especially seeing how the carrier passed up the iPhone and usually packs on its applications on smartphones. The obvious comparisons will be made between the DROID and other premier handsets available on the market, including ones that are already part of the Android lineup. Verizon has definitely got itself a jewel in the form of the Motorola DROID and will most likely provide some much needed attention to the open platform. In doing so, it shows Verizon’s commitment in lessening their control on how a phone should be retrofitted with software out of the box. As for Motorola, the hype and talk around this phone lives up to the expectations. Being the creators of such a quality product, it clearly places Motorola in the correct direction to becoming the dominant figure it once was. We’ve slowly seen in the last year how they’ve changed their focus on the design of their handsets, for example the Motorola Krave ZN4 and Karma QA1 – all culminating to the eventual creation of the Motorola DROID.

With a lot of attention in both ads featured online and television, the DROID is fast becoming a household name. We found very few faults with the device – specifically the minor choppy movements when you navigate through the three home screen pages. Its improvements in the hardware department make it a worthy addition to the Android lineup that’s becoming more robust. It’s too early to tell whether the DROID will have a profound impact on how the Android platform is received by consumers, but we’re sure that its presence on Verizon will attract a whole new audience, not to mention that the HTC DROID Eris will also make its Verizon debut. For Google, this is a win-win position for them thanks partly to Android 2.0 – we’re going to expect to see a shift in the mind share of Google’s playing field in various software industries. Pack all of these things in a sleek body that’s constructed and put together with the finest of materials, you’ll have yourself a winner that’s sure to stand top among the best of the best. It may not be completely perfect, but it does place the emphasis of DROID in Android.

From The Gadgeteer:
The Droid’s home screen:

and Facebook widget: