Verizon is “Droid”-ing Out

Gadgets | November 6th, 2009 by Staggs

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verizon-wireless-htc-droid-eris The popular Android operating system for cell phones is nothing new from Google. Although what is new is the relationship that has been formed with mega-corporation Verizon Wireless to offer a new line of cell phones with Android.

Droid is the new brand of smartphone from HTC and Motorola to be offered to Verizon customers coming today. There were a few rumors leading up to these devices, but the smoke has cleared and two new phones officially became available for purchase today, the Droid Eris by HTC, and the Droid by Motorola. These two mobile devices will be a new push by Verizon to compete against the iPhone. Offering competitively prices cellphones, Verizon may be able to finally reach out to customers who have been yearning to use their immensely under appreciated 3G network.

The two Verizon Droid phones, while being developed by two companies, are not so different from each other. Here are some juicy key features of each new phone…

Droid Eris by HTC

Android OS by Google, version 1.5
528MHz processor with 288Mb RAM
3.2″ 320×480 HVGA resolution, 262K–color TFT LCD touchscreen display
5-megapixel camera with 8Gb of microSD storage (upgradable up to 16Gb)
Virtual QWERTY keyboard
Bluetooth 2.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 G/B capable
$99 with 2-year contract

Droid by Motorola

Android OS by Google, version 2.0
550MHz processor with 256Mb RAM
3.7″ 480×854 WVGA resolution LCD touchscreen display
5-megapixel camera with 16Gb of microSD storage (upgradable up to 32Gb)
Real QWERTY slide-out keyboard
Bluetooth 2.1 and Wi-Fi 802.11 G/B capable
$199 with 2-year contract

While similar, the each phone caters to the kind of user they will be accompanying. If you are more of a power-user, your choice would be the Motorola Droid. If you want a cool phone that does a lot of cool things with a touchscreen, you’ll go for the HTC with its great price.

The areas that Verizon lacks is that its data plans are somewhat expensive. Although you get a fantastic, practically nationwide 3G area, you certainly will pay for it. Even the “unlimited” plan is capped at 5Gbs of data per billing cycle, though it is unclear what happens if you surpass that amount. Tethering for your cell-phone, which involves connecting your phone to the Internet through a laptop or other device, will cost an additional $30/month.

As for applications, Android has a nicely sized marketplace in which you can download free and paid programs that can do anything you dream of. Developer support for the operating system is still somewhat upcoming with a much smaller selection than the iPhone App Store.

So far, these phones have had a great reception and will be promising. Will they be enough to make Apple squeamish, probably not. But its possible a small dent can be made — you have to start somewhere if someone wants to dethrone the iPhone as top gadget.