Verizon Droid

After months of leaked specs, photos and rumors, the HTC Droid Incredible will officially come to Verizon on April 29 for $200 with a two-year contract. Not to be confused with the Motorola Droid and the HTC Droid Eris, also both on Verizon, the Droid Incredible runs Android 2.1 with HTC’s updated Sense user interface. And with a 3.7-inch display WVGA AMOLED display, slim design and 1GHz Snapdragon processor, the Droid Incredible might make some Droid owners envious.

Source: PC World.

A bunch of new shots of the HTC Incredible (with brand new, Verizon-brand-friendly colors) have just leaked out, and a gaggle of spec details came with it.

All of these shots and details come by way of Androidforum user/super spy NKT.

The specs confirmed so far:

• 8 megapixel camera with autofocus
• Memory: 512 MB ROM, 512 MB RAM (320 free to the user)
• Android 2.1 with HTC’s Sense UI
• Optical Trackpad
• 3.7″ WVGA (800×480) AMOLED Screen
• 1300mAH battery
• FM Tuner
• 802.11b/g WiFi
• 117.5 mm (L) x 58.5 mm (w) x 11.9 mm (T)
• 1Ghz Snapdragon processor, underclocked to 768Mhz.

Source: Mobile Crunch

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 Incredible Turns Up On Verizon Wireless’ System, Implying Launch Is Near [Android] (gizmodo.com)

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

OTA update for the HTC DROID Eris is being pushed to handsets at about midnight this evening. The ROM is 1.16.605.1 and the radio version is 2.32.40.11.09 . Just as Motorola’s OTA update worked, the DROID Eris will as well — slowly to a small group of people, then expanding over the coming days. Here’s a brief list of some of the fixes and you can always check the documentation on Verizon’s site.

• While on a call and the device is in screensaver mode, pressing the
• End key now takes the device out of screensaver mode, and a second press will end the call.
• On-call mute and speakerphone icon functionality is enhanced.
• Upgraded functionality after activation eliminates the delay users were experiencing in receiving their first call.
• Device now switches effectively from 1x mode to 3G.
• Device no longer requires users to reselect a default email after power-cycling.
• SMS and MMS messaging delivery is improved.
• Eighty-character MMS/SMS message subject lines are now allowed
• Improved picture messaging functionality allows messages from LG phones to be opened.

Source: BGR

Wait – before you rush to the store to pick up the Motorola Droid from Verizon, you should really, seriously consider the HTC Droid Eris. The Motorola Droid has been getting all the glory as of late, thanks to it’s cathartic bashing of the iPhone via its “iDon’t but Droid does” commercials, but the Eris might actually be the Droid you’re looking for. Check out the reasons why from Cell Phone Plans:

1. Form Factor
2. HTC Sense – Eris Has It, Motorola Never Will
3. Coming Soon to HTC Droid Eris: Android 2.0
4. Still Packs a Punch
5. Price

Verizon Wireless announced on Tuesday that the HTC Droid Eris will get much needed OS update in the first quarter of 2010. The HTC Droid Eris is currently stuck with Android 1.5 when compared to Motorola Droid which comes with Android 2.0.

Verizon spokesperson Brenda Raney said, “The Droid Eris currently using Android 1.5, can and will be upgraded to newer a Android operating system software in first quarter 2010.

The Android OS update will bring Google Maps Navigation to HTC Droid Eris along with other benefits of Android 2.1. The combination of Sense UI and Android 2.1 will make Eris a highly capable device.

The HTC Droid Eris uses a 3.2-inch screen and a trackball, as well as a 5-megapixel camera, GPS and Wi-Fi.

[Source: Area cellphone]

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 ]

Highlights of a review from Electronista
HTC’s Hero is the company’s first signal that it’s serious about taking the lead in Android smartphones; it’s the first to try and improve in a significant way on Google’s platform — including multi-touch and in-browser Flash — as well as the first to reach multiple North American carriers. Much is riding on its success, especially as it’s one of the most important phones for Sprint, Telus and Verizon (through the Droid Eris) all at once. Our review hopes to gauge whether the phone has the strength to carry that burden and give the iPhone serious pause.

the Hero’s design: Telus, Sprint, Verizon

Discussing the ergonomics of the Hero is difficult than for most smartphones simply because of the liberties HTC has taken with customizing the design for different regions. While our review unit is the world version that ships to Telus, the Sprint model and the Droid Eris at Verizon have both undergone major cosmetic overhauls.

wrapping up

The Hero has a knack for creating an oddly emotional attachment with its owner. While we’ve had gripes with the strictly average performance or the lackluster camera, the subtle but unique design and the customizations to Android make it feel like a constant companion. Its design always seems tailored specifically to help you, especially in terms of long term wear and tear. The Sense UI additions also provide just that much extra help, saving the trouble of going one layer deeper or having to resort to an outside app. Combined with a very Internet-aware OS with a robust app market, the net effect made us eager to hold on to the phone for as long as possible — something we can’t often say for the phones that pass by our desk.

Our only true disappointment is that the Hero at times feels more like a bug fix for the Magic than the follow up you’d expect. Besides expanding carrier choices, there doesn’t appear to be any real reason for the Hero to exist without the Magic being phased out. A truer upgrade should be available soon with a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and other possible improvements, so if you’re willing to spend the premium those are likely to command, consider that option first.

Sprint’s Hero or Verizon’s Droid Eris won’t have the design advantage, but they’re still well-shaped. Whether or not the handset is a good deal depends entirely on which of the three networks you use, even so. Arguably, those worst off are Sprint customers: the phone there costs $180 on contract and comes only with a 2GB microSD card, which will be enough for photos and apps’ content storage but far from adequate for serious media playback. In the States, the Droid Eris is the better bargain as it not only costs $100 but packs a much more reasonable 8GB card. The international version we tried with Telus sits somewhere in between: it has the anemic 2GB card and requires a three- year plan, but it too costs $100 and has the best call quality and design traits of the three.

Sprint customers may have the option of levelling the playing field by shopping through a third-party or simply waiting for a sale; we should also add that Cellular South has the Sprint version of the phone for $100 if you happen to live inside its coverage area.

Regardless of how your geography dictates your purchase, the Hero is arguably the best touchscreen-only Android phone in North America for 2009, even when pitted against the technically more advanced Samsung Behold II at T-Mobile. HTC’s ability to balance hardware and software design makes it a tough phone to defeat, and if it weren’t for the existence of the Motorola Droid, we’d consider it the go-to phone for Android, full stop. We don’t think it will unseat the iPhone from its throne as the iPhone 3GS’ speed, browser and media features still give it an edge, but anyone disillusioned with Apple’s policies in the App Store, who craves multitasking, or who simply wants to be different will be satisfied with a Hero.

eWeek has a review of the HTC Droid Eris, here are some highlights:
The other high-profile Google Android phone, the HTC Droid Eris, takes a different approach. Unlike the Motorola Droid, which slides apart to reveal a physical QWERTY keyboard, the Droid Eris is a single-piece touch-screen device reminiscent of the iPhone. At 4.23 ounces (and no physical keyboard), it is substantially lighter and sleeker than the Motorola Droid, which feels like a miniature brick in your pocket.
However, the HTC Droid Eris comes with a trackball for navigation, which I feel was a substantial mistake; Research In Motion has been eliminating trackballs in favor of trackpads for a reason. Besides clogging with grime after weeks or months of use, the trackball made certain functions of the HTC Droid Eris—such as snapping photos—into mildly annoying chores.

Verdict
At the risk of instigating a flame-war, I feel that the Verizon Droid is the closest that an Apple rival has come to creating a true iPhone killer. Subsequent versions of Google Android will iron out the few kinks, and the Android Marketplace will expand its apps offerings—maybe not enough to challenge Apple’s App Store, but certainly enough to make it a more robust challenger.
The one drawback to the Verizon Droid is its form-factor. I did appreciate the physical keyboard, but I felt it also came at the cost of a weightier-than-necessary device and blocky form-factor (the Palm Pre had a sliding physical keyboard, too, and yet its designers managed to keep it fairly light). This may be a benefit to people who prefer to carry a physically substantial phone. I am not one of them.
The HTC Droid Eris shares many of the same benefits of the Verizon Droid. It is also lighter, and I didn’t mind relying only on a virtual keyboard—although that could be an insurmountable problem for some users. The one major drawback to the Droid Eris was that trackball, which was annoying and made some functions decidedly un-user-friendly; but future editions of the device may take a page from RIM and adopt a trackpad. At $99 after rebate, as opposed to $199.99 for the Droid, the Droid Eris may present a better price proposition for some users, depending on their data-plan.
In my own opinion, I declare a three-way draw between the Verizon Droid, HTC Droid Eris and the iPhone—but the next generation of the latter two devices could very well overrun Apple, unless Steve Jobs has something particularly innovative up his turtleneck’s sleeve.