Verizon Droid

A promotional campaigns have been going around and a promotional video has surfaced too, reminding us that the Droid Incredible is, well, incredible.

Source: Ubergizmo

According to a reliable source at Berryscoop, the HTC Incredible will be replacing the HTC Droid Eris at Verizon Wireless.
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April 1st is the rumored launch date of the Incredible and the Eris’s product life is expected to end on the same day.

Source: Android Community

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HTC said today that it will update the GSM Hero, Sprint Hero, and Verizon Wireless DROID ERIS to the latest Android 2.1 operating system. The update will also include HTC’s new Sense user interface which adds a host of new features, including improvements in social networking, multitouch, and user interface updates. HTC wasn’t specific on when the updates would be available

source: HTC

Google may be launching Android 2.1 just a month after 2.0, a combination of rumors suggests. Along with an update to Android’s terms of service, info obtained by AndroidAndMe suggests the firmware will be available the same day. It also follows a makeover of the Android.com website that usually precedes wider availability of a new Android release.
The 2.1 update will be less dramatic an upgrade to Android 2.0 but should still address some of the problems that have hurt Android development versus the relatively streamlined iPhone App Store experience. If accurate, customers would see a redesigned Android Market with the option billing directly through their carrier instead of the more problematic Google Checkout. Handset owners could also shop from the web on a computer instead of having to download apps from third-party sites or a smartphone’s native store portal.

The revision would ship for “select devices” sometime after December 11th and could come to the Motorola Droid and HTC Droid Eris in an over-the-air update. The HTC Hero may also skip directly to 2.1 from its older Android 1.5 revision

[Source: Electronista ]

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]

There’s no doubt about it, the HTC Droid Eris is one of the best smartphones we’ve used. Like the nearly identical Sprint HTC Hero, it represents a serious step forward in smartphone design, and if you’re a smartphone user looking to step up to something better, the HTC Droid Eris does a great job at nearly everything it can do. Ironically, comparisons to the Apple iPhone 3GS don’t quite pan out, because everything Apple’s phone does well, the Droid Eris doesn’t, and vice versa. From advanced calling features to deep social networking integration to wide customization options with active, useful widgets on the desktop, the HTC Droid Eris on Verizon Wireless bests Apple’s device, and even comes in ahead of the slightly faster, much larger Motorola Droid. But where the Apple iPhone 3GS excels, in ease of use, multimedia features and the deep App Store library, loaded with high-end games and apps, the HTC Droid Eris, like all Android phones, falls flat. We’d also like to see a much better camera tacked on this phone, and Verizon would be wise to patch up some holes in the feature set with VZ Navigator and tethered modem support. Still, the Droid Eris isn’t just effective, it’s delightful, and though new smartphone buyers might be intimidated by the complex system, time spent learning the ins and outs of the device will be rewarded handsomely. Release: November 2009. Price: $100.

Pros: Best interface on a mobile device. Social networks integrate neatly with online contacts and calendars. Detailed and useful information presented during calls.

Cons: Interface may be too complicated for new users. Lacks GPS turn-by-turn navigation. Camera is horrible.

Score – 81% Very Good

Read the full review in Info Sync World

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]

CIO.com has some articles about the Motorola Droid:

Is the Droid Good News for iPhone Owners?
“The more platforms, the merrier,” says Gartner analyst. “Competition is a good thing.”

Verizon Droid: 5 Standout Features
Well, gang, it’s official: Verizon’s Motorola Droid smartphone is on its way into the world. The Droid, unveiled Wednesday, will hit store shelves on November 6 with a $199.99 price tag, after a $100 mail-in rebate and with a new two-year contract.

Motorola Droid Vs. Apple IPhone 3GS: Finally, a Contender?
Today’s formal unveiling of the Motorola Droid smartphone on Verizon’s network was an anticlimax, given most of the details had been leaked days earlier. Nevertheless, it’s the boldest, most open iPhone challenge yet.

Verizon has just made it perfectly clear what the upcoming Motorola Sholes will be called in their network: Verizon Droid. And Verizon is positioning it to be a direct threat to the iPhone in a new advertising campaign it launched at the site DroidDoes.com. Verizon isn’t pulling any punches: it calls out basically every major weakness on the iPhone, from its inability to run background applications to the App Store’s walled garden. The site kicks off with a stream of things that the iPhone can’t do, mimicking the black text-on-white background commonly seen in Apple ads but replacing it with statements like iDon’t run simultaneous apps. After a handful of these, the site kicks you to a page with the heading “DroidDoes”, with a banner rotating through a number of the Droid’s features that include Android 2.0, background tasks, and video recording support. Some of the differences mentioned, like the Droid’s inclusion of a physical keyboard, are really a matter of personal preference. Others, aren’t. For one, Droid can claim to run on “The Network”, which runs circles around AT&T. Source: TechCrunch

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