Verizon Droid

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)

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]

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.

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

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.

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]