Hasta La Gadget!

It’s rather astounding to believe we’ve come this far without Verizon or Motorola so much as recognizing the Droid 2’s existence, but with leaks like this on a weekly basis who needs traditional marketing? Astute reader Greg from North Carolina tells us his local Best Buy has those leaked dummy units out on shelves, and lo and behold, there’s a set of price tags right next to them. As originally rumored, the phone will launch at $199 with carrier subsidy and $599 should you choose to cart it home without a plan in tow. Still no solid confirmation of that August 12 release date, but at this rate we expect the handset may sell out before Verizon’s PR team breathes a word. Spot the full image after the break.

Update: On a related note, the original Droid is now “out of stock” on Verizon’s website.

Update 2: Oh what the hell, dropped in an official “coming soon” Droid 2 advertising supplement making its way into newspapers.

[Thanks, Greg and Jeremy C.]

Continue reading Best Buy pegs Droid 2 at $199 with 2-year activation, $599 without (updated)

Best Buy pegs Droid 2 at $199 with 2-year activation, $599 without (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 08 Aug 2010 21:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

A Motorola support forum response about issues involving Exchange 2003 email problems on the Droid X has actually yielded something far more juicy: an updated window for the Froyo upgrade’s release. Promised since the phone’s initial launch, Moto’s now saying that the new build is “scheduled for deployment by early September,” so barring a miracle, we can probably toss out those dreams of getting it by late August — and we can certainly forget the rumors that it had already started going out. Clearly we’d like it sooner rather than later, but hey, if they’re hard at work squashing bugs as we speak, more power to ’em — we’re all for stable releases.

[Thanks, ARR]

Droid X update to Android 2.2 coming ‘by early September’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Motorola  | Email this | Comments

It’s been a bumpy road for net neutrality in the US, and the latest word on the subject, of a partnership between Verizon and Google, could result in American internet freedom taking one step forward and two steps back. Last year, the two companies said together that they were all for net neutrality regardless of the source being a traditional or wireless ISP. Now, according to Bloomberg, they may have changed their tune somewhat, striking a deal that, up front, prevents Verizon from gimping traffic it doesn’t like on its DSL and FiOS networks.

That sounds good, but according to Politico the deal still allows Verizon to “prioritize certain traffic” — more or less defeating the whole purpose if true. More troublingly, Verizon is able to do whatever it wants when it comes to managing wireless broadband, through mobile hotspots or, indeed, the plethora of Android handsets it now offers. Mind you, neither company is coming forward to discuss these supposed plans (Google saying it has “nothing to announce at this point”) so this could all be much ado about nothing. We certainly hope it is, especially since we’re talking about two companies who last year pledged they wanted to “ensure the openness of the web around the world.”

Update: Phew… we think. Google’s Public Policy Twitter account just belted out a denial of these claims, straight-up saying that the New York Times “is wrong.” Here’s the full tweet, which certainly makes us feel a bit more at ease. For now. “@NYTimes is wrong. We’ve not had any convos with VZN about paying for carriage of our traffic. We remain committed to an open internet.”

Update 2: Verizon’s now also issued a statement and, like Google, it’s denying the claims in the original New York Times report. It’s as follows:

“The New York Times article regarding conversations between Google and Verizon is mistaken. It fundamentally misunderstands our purpose. As we said in our earlier FCC filing, our goal is an Internet policy framework that ensures openness and accountability, and incorporates specific FCC authority, while maintaining investment and innovation. To suggest this is a business arrangement between our companies is entirely incorrect.”

Google and Verizon sign net neutrality agreement, begin the end of net neutrality? (update: Google, Verizon deny claims) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Bloomberg, Politico  | Email this | Comments

When you keynote one of the biggest consumer electronics trade shows of the year, it’s usually a Big Deal — and you’re also plainly aware that when you step up on that stage, your audience (read: us) is fully expecting you to unveil something new and awesome. On that note, we’re intrigued to hear that Verizon Communications’ Ivan Seidenberg has been selected to do the honors for the opening address at CES 2011 next January. The press release — which you can find after the break — says that Seidenberg will “highlight [the] company’s vision for its LTE 4G wireless technology,” so we’d expect those LTE handsets expected early next year to factor prominently into the equation; of course, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a tablet or two, either. In the wake of Ballmer’s milquetoast showing at the 2010 show, the pressure’s definitely on to deliver a rousing address. Oh, and Ivan? If Ralph de la Vega says “break a leg,” he might mean it quite literally, so watch your step.

Continue reading Verizon chief tapped for CES 2011 keynote

Verizon chief tapped for CES 2011 keynote originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

At this point, we’re starting to think that Motorola is intentionally (and cruelly) teasing us with its Droid successor. Today we can add to the parade of leaks preceding the Droid 2‘s debut in the form of the above hard case, which has just landed in Best Buy’s storerooms. Before you go off on some conspiracy theory comparing this to the iPhone’s Bumper and questioning whether this Droid might need a jacket, you should be aware that Rocketfish does similar paraphernalia for the Droid Incredible, marking this out as an entirely unremarkable run-of-the-mill accessory. Which might be the best news of all, we figure — if the unexciting peripherals are already being shipped, the handset itself shouldn’t be too far behind.

[Thanks, Justin]

Continue reading Droid 2 cases arrive at Best Buy, Droid 2s soon to follow?

Droid 2 cases arrive at Best Buy, Droid 2s soon to follow? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 02:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments