Posted on 10/28/2009 12:47:49 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Motorola and Verizon Wireless on Wednesday unveiled the Droid, a smartphone that will test whether the companies can use software from Google to chip away at the dominance of Apple's iPhone.
The Droid, a svelte slider with a full keyboard and an expansive touchscreen, will be available at Verizon Wireless Nov. 6 for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate. Customers have to sign up for a two-year contract and data plan.
Success of the new phone, which is being launched in a competitive holiday season, is crucial for Motorola, where co-Chief Executive Sanjay Jha has placed a heavy bet on Android to turn around the company's mobile devices business.
The Droid is the first phone with Android 2.0, the newest version of Google's operating platform, and is also Verizon Wireless' first Android device. The carrier announced a partnership with Google this month, pledging to co-develop phones and other gadgets using Android software. Like Apple's App Store, Google's Android Market offers thousands of applications that can customize a phone to perform functions such as search for reviews of local businesses, download podcasts and connect with social networks.
"What this phone does is it gives us the answer to what customers want in an open platform," said Marni Walden, Verizon Wireless' president of the Midwest area.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Mobile web browsing also....now if it has some volume control....might be what I want.
There are quite a few Android-based phones coming on the market. I'm looking forward to the releases in the next couple of weeks.
I have Verizon. Right now on month to month(I would get that new every two discount too, but the Droid phone, doesn’t appeal to me, I like the MyTouch 3G phone from Tmobile, would be nice if Verizon came up with that
Verizon Droid's Secret Weapon: Android 2.0
***************************************EXCERPT****************************************
Tony Bradley | Wednesday, October 28, 2009 7:52 AM PDT
The Verizon Droid is coming. You have probably seen the clever ‘iDon't' ad campaign attacking the iPhone and ending with an ominous, you-will-be-assimilated sort of message. They left something off of the ‘iDon't' list: ‘iDon't integrate well with business tools and networks.'
Actually, Verizon did sort of put that on the iDon't list, just not in those words. The original iDon't list includes both ‘iDon't allow open development' and ‘iDon't customize', both of which imply that the Droid does those things which means the Droid provides a customizable, open development platform that business customers can work with.
The Droid, which is Verizon's rebranded version of the Motorola Sholes device, is slated to be the first of the Android 2.0 generation. Rumors suggest that the cryptic alien message on the Verizon Droid site can be decoded to say the Droid will be coming on October 30. Verizon is officially unveiling details about the Droid today.
According to the leaked specifications, the Droid may very well live up to the iPhone killer hype. The 3.7 inch, capacitive display has significantly higher resolution than the iPhone. The Droid has a fast processor, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a 5 megapixel camera with zoom and flash. It sounds like it has the features and functions to go where previous iPhone killers like the Pre have failed.
But, from a business perspective the most impressive feature of the slick new device may be the operating system. Lots of phones have cameras, or GPS, or Wi-Fi networking, but not many are as open to custom development as devices built on Google's open source Android operating system. And, no other device yet is built on the latest Android 2.0 operating system.
Not only does the open source nature of the operating system allow for easier development and customization, but it also results in a much faster development timeframe for the operating system itself. While platforms like the iPhone and Windows Mobile take a year or more to roll out new versions, Android has gone from Cupcake to Donut (SDK 1.6) and now to Éclair (SDK 2.0). The public collaborative nature of open source projects allows for faster development.
The success of the device though is a combination of the operating system and the hardware. There are plenty of other Android-based devices, including the Motorola Cliq and the Samsung Behold II. They are also very capable, but they don't have the impressive hardware specs of the Droid and they aren't available from the number one wireless service provider in the United States.
********************************EXCERPT********************************
by Boy Genius on October 23rd, 2009 at 1:28pm
If you’re a Droid-chaser, you’ve no doubt been hooked to BGR for the past few weeks (more than normal, maybe?). We have our very own Motorola Droid handset, and although the software isn’t final, it’s solid enough where we feel comfortable giving you a nice preview of the unit. Remember, again, this isn’t a final unit and things can and will change for the better. Read on for our Motorola Droid Preview!
********************************************snip****************************************
Hardware / Build quality:
When the Motorola Droid is released in the coming couple weeks, it will be the most advanced Android device on the market as far as specifications go. Software too, as it’s the only one said to be running Android 2.0 until months from now, but that’s for another section. There’s a 550MHz Texas Instruments OMAP3430 processor, separate PowerVR GPU, 256MB of RAM, CDMA Rev A., Wi-Fi, GPS, a digital magnetometer, accelerometer, proximity sensors, a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with dual-LED flash, notification LED, four touch-sensitive navigation buttons, a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard, 3.5mm headset jack, microUSB port — jesus. In the last year or two, spec sheets really haven’t meant all that much to people. Rational people, that is. What means a lot more is the OS your phone is running since that’s what going to enable you to take bad ass pictures and immediately share them with a close group of friends, or edit work documents on your phone while conducting an online presentation, and so on. But what’s actually pretty funny is, Android devices have been a little underpowered, so the spec sheets do matter, and the Motorola Droid absolutely topples every single Android device ever released as far as the hardware specifications are concerned.
The 3.7 inch display powers a 854×480 resolution image and shows off Android’s true colors
If it’s not GSM, it’s not for me.
I’ll stick with my 3GS Iphone. Thanks.
Pretty sweet. Apple needed some real competition for the iPhone.
I’ve heard it’s not too easy to develop for it though, so the massive number of applications the iPhone has might be hard to reach. I also wonder how easy it is to find and buy apps.
Probably even more than tech specs, these will factor heavily into whether it’s an iPhone killer.
Looks like a winner! And it might be my next phone. I quit AT&T due to too many dropped calls. I’m on Verizon now, and it’s about time they gave us a true competitor to the iPhone.
SWEET! I’ve always wanted an iPhone but refuse to go with AT&T. I’ve been with Verizon forever. Just looking for an excuse to get rid of my POS Razr.
Access to multiple email accounts...etc....
Man would something like this have been handy to check email on the fly....back in the 80's and 90's....
I was going to buy one, then an old man in a robe told me: “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for”. So I moved on.
Any Crackberry addicts have any thoughts on this phone??? My IT guy is one, but I haven’t been able to get hold of him for his thoughts about this phone.
I installed Andriod on my HTC pda. It’s so so nice.
Since it’s a hack it doesn’t support GPS or camera yet, but otherwise it’s much much faster than WinMobile 6.0 (supported) and Winmobile 6.5 (hacked and supported versions)
And the games on Droid,!!! You can play old console games by the hundreds plus all the good old 1990’s pc games! so much fun!
And the RSS reader is superb, audio rss feeds can be downloaded and ready to play with 4 clicks.
A whole lot of financial media websites are building supported widegts for Droid, I see it quickly taking on RIMM’s dominance in the business sector.
I don’t use Crackberry on a day to day basis but I do support blackberrys for other people.
Right now RIMM has the advantage due to established apps. however the Android apps and widget marketplace is growing quickly. FT.com , bloomberg.com, Etrade, at least 8 different biz/finance/currewncy/equities platforms and newsfeeders, and some nice open source CRM solutions, Andriod will have full Oracle, MySQL, SugarCRM, and other DBA apps at full production within the year.
That being said, I have no opinion on the hardware of the new Verizon phone.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.