By If you’re the type to scope out the ultimate deal for your gadgets of choice then perhaps at one time or another you’ve purchased your mobile phone from a 3rd party retailer. It’s becoming more common practice as stores like Best Buy and The Shack try to square off a portion of the market. When it comes to Verizon’s much debated and incredibly awaited first Android Phone – the Motorola Sholes/Tao/Droid – we know one retailer who will and one retailer who won’t carry it:
As you can see in these internal Verizon Wireless documents leaked by BGR, the Motorola Sholes appears in the “Future Launches” list for Sams Club (value seeking consumers) but does not appear for Target (Mom – CEO of the Family). I love the customer segmenting they do… I can only wish they provided a Wal-Mart sheet with an explanation of the target customer.
We don’t learn too much in this update but the evidence is mounting that a launch is imminent… and so far I really, really, REALLY like what I see!
[Thanks Raji!]
should I get the cliq or wait for the sholes?
decisions…
that’s awesome. there is however one detail i want. will it (or any other android phone) be a “worldphone”. im planning if possible to travel to korea next year and would like to retain full functionality and not have to rent a phone there.
@john – I’ve wondered the same thing. especially with Verizon’s LTE 4 around the corner I wonder if purchasing a vzw phone right now is a good idea if they will not run on the LTE 4 infrastructure…
@jkman- i have to somewhat plead ignorance on that. to be honest im a bit of a newb to all of this. i know that LTE stands for long term evolution, but beyond that, im not sure what it is. to be honest, i think it to be just another confusing buzz word like 3G. that is to say, you can say 3G and peoples eyes light up. fewer of those people would know that the “G” means 3rd Generation and fewer still could elaborate the differences between the second and third generations, or even identify the object that was 3rd gen,(the tower, the handset, the software..)sadly, i am in the middle category. i know the jargon but could not define it for you, or probably even use it properly in a sentence.
my main concern is people(including myself) making important purchases(and these days a phone is a biggie) based on shiney sounding initials and buzz words. this is why i’ve been researching as much as i can on the android(that and im quite excited about all that it can do.)i want to make a truely informed decision on my purchase. i would hate to purchase the sholes thinking “i wish it had x but it’s the closest there is..” only to find something a month or so later that was precisely what i needed/wanted.
Wow, loving that new black on the Moto phone (as opposed to the gray). Still, Rob derailed my ambitions for getting this phone a bit when he posted news of the HTC Dragon…. I am so torn.
In one of the recent Engadget Mobile Podcasts, Chris (who REALLY knows his stuff), predicted that LTE phones wont hit the market until about Q4 2010 if even. W/ that said, I can hardly wait til Dec of THIS year! Worse comes to worse, its worth it to me to pay a little extra for my gadget lust.
Stamp Stamp Stamp – I want my Sholes and I want it NOW!!!!!
*waves hand* “These are the droids you’re looking for…”
@Devo – If you are waiting for an Android running on the Verizon network are better off “assuming” it will be crippled at birth because that is just what they do. This way you won’t be disappointed if it is not.
Looks like an amazing phone and I really wish Sprints first Android had the slideout keyboard but I will be happy with the Hero because at least I know it won’t be crippled.
I would have gone with T-mobile long ago except in my area their 3G coverage is not good yet. I would go with T-mobile and one of their Droids over Verizon. I am bitter about Verizon crippling my past phones.
THE DROID aka SHOLES is going to be the best android phone yet. I got a G1 with tmobile, and 3g sucks on the g1. I love my g1.
Verizon got the best 3g coverage and the droid aka sholes is offering a keyboard, the screen is bigger…. this phone pwns the iphone.
I’m switching to verizion, which means I have to pay 300 to break my contract….. damnit! Maybe my phone will melt due to overheating(lol)
@ Elijah…Verizon will not cripple this phone because it is a google experince phone….meaning that verizon and motorolla cannot block its content…
I currently work as a third party Verizon dealer through none other than Sam’s Club! This is the most awesome news I’ve heard in a while… and my Cohorts (Co-workers) will be thrilled as well. I shall be counting down the minutes until we get this in stock. Whenever that is. Hopefully our Verizon Rep. comes in soon. :>