Verizon’s on a roll with Android handsets these days, first with the heavily-advertised Motorola Droid and the reclusive / unannounced Calgary, and now with this fleeting glimpse of Android hardware progenitor HTC. Yes, it’s got 3G (or the Verizon equivalent of it), Sense UI, a trackball just barely discernible on the bottom, and from what Boy Genius Report is saying no physical keyboard whatsoever — all virtual. We’re definitely sporting a Hero vibe, but really, would it really have too hard to find a decent light source for this shot?
Google and [insert any wireless carrier here] are the last two entities in the world that we’d expect to issue a joint statement on net neutrality, seeing how Google firmly believes the FCC should enforce it regardless of medium while carriers generally want to be exempted — but Verizon and The Goog have put their differences aside for just one day to put together a thoughtful, lengthy piece on the subject. There aren’t any surprises in the piece other than the fact that CEOs Lowell McAdam and Eric Schmidt are personally attributed to the statement, but it echoes what most ISPs have been saying since new FCC chair Julius Genachowski came into play: they generally acknowledge that a free, unhindered internet has led to a better world and that it’s in everyone’s best interest to make sure that it continues to be that way. They go on to say that “there will be disagreements along the way” — Google and Verizon don’t see eye-to-eye on the finer points, for example — but that they’re all looking forward to a spirited debate with the folks over in Washington. Ultimately, the FCC’s ability to effectively police true neutrality on wireless networks ties in deeply with its ability to free up a lot more spectrum — something the CTIA’s been pushing for lately — and Genachowski recently mentioned that they’d be looking into it, so this could all end up working out without any broken hearts or black eyes.
Verizon has yet to give a firm date on when we can all get our hands on some Droids, but we know one thing’s for certain: it’ll be fully revealed for the first time one week from today, October 28. The invitation that’s been extended to the media confirms that it’ll come from Motorola (of course), it’ll be Verizon’s “must-have device of the year,” and it’s got a very close association with giant, scary, glowing eyes. A far cry from Google’s friendly green bot, isn’t it?
Yawn. So, who else is bored of all of this Droid talk? Sure the phone isn’t out yet (or, really, even officially announced), but who isn’t ready to start planning for a second Motorola/Verizon Android handset? Apparently there’s one in the works already–actually, if the pictures leaked to Boy Genius Report are to be believed, the thing looks to be well on its way.
The phone–apparently codenamed: Calgary–seems to be the carrier’s answer to the T-Mobile Cliq. The device apparently runs Motorola’s Android Blur software, which would mean that it’s heavily focused on the social networking aspect of things, thus targeted largely toward the teenage Sidekick crowd, who, are likely not all that happy with T-Mobile/Danger at the moment.
The device has a QWERTY slider keyboard, Wi-Fi, and a 3MP camera.
Hey guys, it’s really happening! If you needed any more proof that the first Android phone for Verizon is coming–and coming soon–the carrier has begun sending out scary, Halloweeny mailers sporting the rather ominous words, “The Day of Droid is Approaching.” Judging from the words and pictures, Verizon no doubt want us to believe that Google sent this Motorola handset from the future to save the world from future iPhone iterations.
Oh, and get this–the phone may not be out (or even officially announced), but you can already pick up cases for the Motorola A855 over at Best Buy Mobile (don’t worry, it says “Motorola Droid” on there too–in really small letters).
Oh, and according to a few intrepid code crackers, the countdown on the Android site has been pushed up to October 28th. Happy early Halloween.
Because television and the internet can’t be the only media feeling the touch of the Droid’s marketing blitz, it looks like promotional mailers are being sent out. No new details or screenshots, but you can’t get enough of Motorola / Verizon’s Android device anyway, can you? A few more pics past the read link.
The Droid’s shaping up to be a beast of an Android phone — well played, Verizon — but Motorola’s banking much of its future on its MOTOBLUR platform, which the Droid curiously lacks (though Android 2.0 adds at least some of BLUR’s functionality back in). Don’t worry, though — Verizon hasn’t forgotten about BLUR altogether, and the rumored Calgary is looking to arrive as the carrier’s next Android phone from Moto featuring BLUR in all its social network-aggregating glory. It’s clearly positioned as a lower-end device than the Droid, stepping down to a 3 megapixel cam but still managing nifty features like an optical pad, 3.5mm jack, and naturally, a full QWERTY keyboard. Considering Rubin’s ties to Danger, you could think of this as the ill-fated Sidekick Slide all grow’d up. Word has it this might hit before the end of the year, so we’ll see just how much breathing room Verizon and Moto feel like giving the Droid before coming back for Round 2, eh?
While we haven’t seen iron-clad proof of an October 21 (read: tomorrow) launch date, all signs do point to something imminent. And this next item is due to make all of you Storm 2 chasers positively giddy: yes, Verizon has posted the definitive Flash demo for the handset. So hit the read link to ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ your way through 360 degrees of spine-tingling render — just try not to get dizzy.
In one of the boldest attacks on Apple’s iPhone so far, Verizon unveiled a TV commercial and website over the weekend that touted Droid, a new smartphone from Motorola, as a device that does everything the iPhone doesn’t.
Verizon’s “iDon’t” TV commercial and website (warning: Flash-centric site) displays a series of statements aimed directly at the iPhone, such as ‘iDon’t have a real keyboard, iDon’t customize, iDon’t allow open development,” but without naming the iPhone directly. (You can watch the Droid ad on YouTube, or scroll down to see the video here.)
The ad took industry watchers and analysts by surprise.
“It is very unusual in advertising to spend most of your time talking about your rivals,” says Tero Kuittinen, a senior analyst at MKM Partners. “The downside is that people will do exactly what Verizon has advised them to, which is to make direct comparisons between the Droid and iPhone.”
But, he added, “that may not always work out in Droid’s favor.”
The Droid, formerly codenamed ‘Sholes’ and also referred to at times with the codename ‘Tao,’ is an upcoming Android-based smartphone from Motorola. Droid is expected to have a 3.7-inch screen, a 5-megapixel camera, GPS, Wi-Fi, and access to the Android app market. It will also be the first phone to use the Android 2.0 operating system, aka “Eclair.”
It’s Motorola’s second Android-based phone. Last month, the company launched Cliq, its first Android phone on T-Mobile’s network. Droid will be Verizon’s first Android device and is expected to be available at the end of next month.
Verizon’s ad campaign for the Droid is the first official mention of the phone on the company’s network. But the carrier’s move to criticize the iPhone so openly and so early has left industry watchers such as Chandan Sarkar, an analyst with Auriga, a New York-based research and trading firm, puzzled.
“Given the tone of the commercials, it might risk upsetting Apple,” Sarkar says.
Verizon could also risk disappointing consumers later with the Droid because of the high expectations that it has set.
Sarkar says that it is clear that Verizon is betting on the Android OS as a way to fight Apple’s rise in the smartphone market.
“The question for Verizon is not whether Droid will be worth it, but whether Android will be worth it,” Sarkar says. “Verizon doesn’t have to hit a home run in the first wave but they want to establish a strong beachhead against Apple.”
Droid won’t be a run-of-the-mill Android phone, the two analysts interviewed by Wired.com say. Verizon has worked closely with Google and Motorola to develop the device, Sarkar says. Verizon may also be working with Google to develop applications for its LTE network (also known as 4G), he says.
Verizon might risk damaging its relationship with Apple. Though AT&T has a five-year exclusive contract, starting June 2007, to offer the iPhone in the U.S., Verizon has been seen as trying to get the device on its network. Apple also is reportedly working on a tablet that it might launch in partnership with a telecom carrier. Verizon is one of the contenders for that device.
“Verizon wants to send a message that they are not desperate for the iPhone and they have alternatives to the iPhone,” Kuittinen says. “But this kind of in-your-face attack is more than what anyone, including Apple, may have expected.”
Despite Verizon’s best efforts to ignore the obvious, RIM’s BlackBerry Storm2 is not only official, it’s (un)officially destined for Big Red’s airwaves. If you’re one of those slightly disgruntled Storm 9530 owners, however, you could be looking at a rather nice firmware update coming your way in the near future. According to phoneArena, the Storm and Storm2 will eventually be “practically identical” in terms of software, with a forthcoming update to add flick scrolling, tabbed browsing and threaded texting to the original. Of course, we should probably wait for VZW to confirm the existence of the Storm2 before expecting any formal word on this, but feel free to go about your day with cautious optimism.
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