By Its not like Verizon is trying to hide the Motorola Droid from us – they’ve already launched a full-on campaign for the device which butts heads directly with the iPhone. But those campaigns have never really shown what the phone looks like. Move over Verizon, this sounds like a job for Motorola.
A couple hours ago the Droid by Motorola page went LIVE on Motorola’s site. I’m not sure how long it will be up since we THOUGHT they would be trying to save at least a LITTLE something for the 28th. Maybe not – here is the Droid homepage on Motorola’s website:
I couldn’t snag/download the 360 degree view, but take a look at some very clear and beautiful pictures of the Motorola Droid in all its Android glory:
When I first saw the “Sholes” in leaks and renders I thought it looked absolutely amazing and hands down wanted it. The past week or so I’ve seen some of the live pictures and thought well, it doesn’t look as good as I THOUGHT but yeah, I’m definitely still getting this. These pictures bring me back to hands down wanting it. I just need to see it and feel it in person to determine its hot or notness.
And the specs? We’ve compiled the whole freaking thing in one big arse image for your viewing pleasure – click the picture to see it in its full size:
And last but not least, Motorola displayed 3 accessories that are recommended with the Droid. Nothing exciting but I’m just trying to pass on all the information possible:
You can find the Droid at Motorola.com by clicking here, but who knows how long it will be up before it gets yanked… if it does indeed get yanked. Any guesses?
I haven’t slept in 35 hours (literally)… pardon me while I go hibernate.
[Thanks Raji!]
They took it down already. Looks like someone is in trouble!
it comes with quickoffice?! Lucky verizon customers…
Why would they put a 550mhz processor in this!!! With all the 1ghz phones starting to come out.. i can’t buy a phone with anything less :( C’mon HTC Dragon..
Underclocked at 550mhz right? I know the iphone was underclocked at 600mhz…
I agree with u JRUN what’s with the 550mghz the iphone 3gs comes with 600mghz
550mhz? that terrible. why not have the 800mhz like samsung? this phone to rival iphone? this needed a fast fast chip… and of course it did not get it. and what happened to the vido chip? ie:
OMAP3430 – 600 MHz ARM Cortex A8 + PowerVR SGX 530 GPU + 430MHz C64x+ DSP + ISP (Image Signal Processor)
does this phone still have this stuff?
Jrun, mhz is not a constant measure of performance when you’re comparing different processors architectures. Also, I hear Android is not CPU limited, but more limited by the memory bus. What we really need are some real world bench marks.
Specs page is still available:
http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/US-EN/Consumer-Product-and-Services/Mobile-Phones/ci.Motorola-DROID-US-EN.alt
It’s a completely different architecture than the previous Android phones. It’s a significant performance increase from previous Android phones. Numbers aren’t everything.
@Brian, nope that link must have been pulled already… :(
It lists “Google turn-by-turn directions”
Site is down already….bummer….thanks Phandroid for picking this up b4 the site was yanked
Spec’s on the processor OMAP3430 – 600 MHz ARM Cortex A8 + PowerVR SGX 530 GPU + 430MHz C64x+ DSP + ISP (Image Signal Processor)
This is from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Instruments_OMAP
comes with a 16GB card already? thats somethin new. way better then the crappy 2GB cards in other android phones. kinda wish i could get this phone now….
From what I saw of the pictures, it seems as though the keyboard didn’t change. Can anyone confirm that?
::drool:: i want. i can’t believe Verizon customers are actually getting this. i might have to pinch myself.
I am in love with this phone. If this phone had a SnapDragon processor, I would have no doubts. Now, I wait to hear about the Sony Ericsson X3/X10. This is still number one on my list though.
Does this also run on MOTOBLUR beacause I kinda don’t like MOTOBLUR that much?
They already took it down!!!!
@john
No MOTOBLUR, I am not a fan of it as well.
Did anyone else notice that it said “Google Turn by Turn Directions”. I feel like this is a sign that Eclair will have this feature … right?! I can only hope. Damn, first time I every bought a phone that continually got better over the years, thank you Google.
Questions :
Internal Memory?
Compass?
Type of Processor? TI or Qualcomm?
Does anyone know what flash 10 (2010) means? Does it mean that it’ll only be available in 2010? And if that is the case, will there be a way to upgrade it?
I don’t think the 550 CPU will have that much of a performance hit to the phone. Just look at the videos of some of the other similar spec phones. They are fast and if other ‘hands on’ reports are true – even if the reviews aren’t posted yet – we are still looking at the fastest Android Phone thus far. In a few weeks there will be one faster and in a few more weeks there will be an even faster one.
Phroghollow: Google search says: 600 MHz TI OMAP 3430 processor. Mot must have under clocked it at 550 though.
Im curious what are the advantage to a compass or the appeal?
I here this question a lot…and was just wondering…
Jeff : Put Google Maps on, go to streetview and utilise the compass, as you turn physically the photo goes with you, looks fantastic, oh and you can find Norh easily too :)
Sigh, more misunderstanding with clock speeds. Please see my post here:
http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid/10690-tao-hero.html#post67809
Wow, I’m sorry, but 550MHz is a deal breaker for me. I’m just hearing too many promises of 1GHz Android phones for me to settle for something this close to a last generation processor. I know speed isn’t everything, but I have a laggy phone now, and I’d really like to minimize this daily annoyance.
.
Overall, the commercials have been exciting and everything, but I don’t see how Verizon can make this phone their flag ship device given its disappointing look (i’m sorry, but I think I’d rather walk around w/ a picture of the render in my pocket over the actual phone) and now its disappointing speed? I’m glad their taking it the iPhone, but I don’t think the market would agree that this was the phone to boast about.
.
Right now I’m desperately hoping that the HTC Desire is just a bit more decked out than the Hero. There is a lot of speculation based on the UI, but there is no reason they can just add a faster processor. Right? Besides, in the press conference, didn’t Eric Schmidt refer to the sholes then indicate a 2nd “Game Chang[ing]” phone? If so, the Hero as is wouldn’t cut it.
@Brian
not anymore.
“The page you are trying to reach is no longer at this location or the system is temporarily inaccessible. Please try again later or use our site navigation or search engine above to locate your desired page.”
I also think the processor is under clocked the chip can handle 1Ghz right?
I just like how they describe the color as licorice with brown sugar accents. Thats just bad ass. After i get this (i better get this) i cant wait to tell people my phone has brown sugar accents
I was just thinking do you think they under-clocked it to make the battery life longer? If so, being an open android phone couldn’t you just, somehow go into the settings and bring it to 1Ghz yourself. I’m not an expert, but I’ve heard of it being done.
Generally the CPU will be underclocked to save battery life.
If it runs ‘fast enough’ who gives a sh1t what the clock speed is?… from all ‘hands on’ reports i’ve seen it is a speed demon. Calm down people.
Also – compare 550MHz to Apple’s 600MHz sure because they’re the same CPU. Don’t compare to Snapdragon though, it is a completely different architecture and a slower clock-speed OMAP cpu will match a higher clock-speed Snapdragon so you comparisons are invalid.
@StephenSaurusRex
Leaked info says the Droid will be the Cortex-A8 processor, which is used for the 3GS, some high end Texas Instruments Calculators and the Nokia N900…
I dont think its “last generation”.
What I want to see is whether or not you can run apps off the sd card. If not, hopefully it has enough internal memory to not get bogged down like the G1.
@Patrick
Very nice post… to bad the market is too caught up in naming CPUs based on MHZ.
About this ‘Ugly’ phone, honestly, I need a phone that works and isn’t too flashy as I need this for business. Being too flashy can work against you. Adding all the sweet curvy looks to this phone would have most likely made it far too large. It is nearly exact specs to the 3GS and it has a physical QWERTY keyboard for those of use that like them better then the virtual ones. I need a new phone and I will not leave VZW to get one that meets my needs, in the last three years I have had all the major network smartphones. If this phone works like it says and sounds good… then it will be my ‘business sexxy’ phone.
@Jeff, thanks for the clarification. So the people who know what theyre talking about here in terms of chipsets are all in agreement? 550MHz is misleading? This isn’t just diehard Android fanaticism? Forgive the cynicism, I’m just feeling thoroughly disappointed at the moment.
wow wow wow is all i can say and might i also add this is the first time ive ever literally salivated over a phone I can’t wait to sink my fingertips into this droid animal
Jeez man, no Snapdragon 1GHZ? Thats lame as everyones been saying it was with it and alll got it wrong. I doubt this will be as fast as IPhone in which I HATE! I wonder if they pulled it because of the negative feed back or was a tease? Only they and God knows and as usual we find out last, yes, even the blogs.
Okay…great stuff…flash in 2010…okay :-(….but did I didn’t see anything about this highly anticipated Google Voice that iSuck wouldn’t allow. I CAN’T WAIT FOR 10/28, 11.09, or whatever day this comes out!?!?!?!!
What the heck is “Google turn-by-turn directions”??
I would love to get this on my old G1… I would even consider buying Moto Droid just because of this!
actually, it looks like the ARE trying to hide it.that’s why i kicked them to the curb, and they can keep their VD(verizon droid) or STD, whatever you want to call it. that about sums up what they are good for. stepping back from my frustration with verizons arrogant customer nonservice attitude, the phones they are getting look great, just remember you can take them to sprint and get 69.99 unlimited everything as opposed to verizons bend you over and extract your wallet procedure.
@StephenSaurusRex
No probs, when I first saw the 550mhz I was thinking Qualcomm…but search around a bit.
@Robert
None of the specs that were released said Snapdragon…I thought so in the beginning until androidandme released the specs.
And check this out good read:
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/1303666.html
i know what it says on this site it does run the omap processor thats a fact so don’t get things twisted up people hang in there i promise things will be clarified
will verizon charge the now mandatory ev-do subscription charges it has with all smart phones with this?
Oh yes, OK!
Google + Motorola + Verizon = number 1
So what does “google turn-by-turn directions” exactly mean? Google Maps 4.0 anyone?
Certainly, Motorola droid phone has the capacity and the features to kill apple iPhone but would it be enough to topple down the tech giant?
Motorola and Verizon exerted tremendous amount of time, money and some out of this world advertisement just to show the world how good the Droid phone is.
See the newest development on Motorola droid advertisement at terminator-like Motorola droid campaign
So, uh, what network is that Acer Liquid coming out on? No word yet huh? How about HTC Dragon? Nope? That one neither? Any chance the Desire will actually get a spec bump from the Hero chipset? No word? :/
Seriously, I’m going to kick myself if I find several months down the line that I bought into all the hype, got a Droid, only to discover a 1GHzer was going to be in US stores in a manner of weeks. I may know squat about chipsets, but i think I know enough to want a 1GHz phone over what the Droid is rocking. The fugliness factor of the Droid, REALLY doesn’t help.
I know that this phone passed its WiFi certification but I find it really concerning that they don’t list it.
Blah blah blah…16GB CARD!?!? WTF?!?! What about internal memory?? Am I the only person who thinks this is a problem.
Listen folks, I hate Apple and never want an Iphone. I was and still am very excited about the future of Android, but, the Iphone has huge, beautiful games and programs BECAUSE people have the space to download them. What is so hard to understand about that? WE CAN’T DO THAT ON A MEMORY CARD!!!
More junk hardware!
I withhold final judgement till see it in action in real life. But based on these photos and specs, this would not be the phone I would choose to pull out the stops and take on the Iphone so blatantly. With the commercials they are running, if this things is not amazing, it will give android a bad name as another “iphone killer wannabe”. Lets hope the phone can live up to the commercials.
Do you ever notice that the only people that use the term “iPhone killer” are iPhone fan boys (Curt this is not directed at you, just a general comment). With the exception on one Verizon executive that called the Voyager an iPhone killer (clearly it was not) I do not know of any company that would be deluded enough to make this claim.
.
The Droid and other smart phones are iPhone “competitors”, not killers. Sometime I believe that the only reason Apple faithful have flocked to the term is because an “iPhone Killer” can only succeed is if every iPhone used throws their iPhone away and buys the latest and greatest thing. If an “iPhone killer” cannot perform this simple task, it is automatically a failure.
.
I do not know if this phone will be as great as I hope it will be…but I will find out as soon as I can put an order in for one :-)
Gotta say I’m not digging the chin area, I don’t like the weird recess and whats with the gold on the d-pad? Afer seeing this I’m not going to be jealous when I pick up my Moment (except that I won’t have Eclair).
@tke789 The specs list Wi-Fi under “Connectivity”. It is there for certain.
People keep stating this phone is ugly. I am curious as to what people expect a phone with a huge screen to look like. The iPhone is not really much different looking that this (if it is even a marker for a good LOOKING phone). If a phone has a huge screen, there there really is not much room for other doodads and so forth w/o being provibitive to carrying the thing around?
okay yahoos. It will have the TI OMAP3430 in it. It’s based at 600mhz and under clocked to 550mhz to save battery. you won’t miss the 50mhz since it will be running just fine. Jeff and some1 on post 28 and 27 respectively posted accurate information. it is hardly “last generation.” ALSO! you CANNOT compare it to a snapdragon simply because it has different architecture. this will be about as fast as the snapdragon processor since it will have an independent graphic processing unit (GPU) thus not having to run the display thru the main unit UNLIKE the snapdragon. it will ship with 16gb card and can have the ability to have a 32gb card put in it for more space if desired AND I believe 2.0 Eclair will be able to put apps on the sdcard. why would they include a big card if you couldn’t put apps on there? seriously people…
oh…btw. the samsung moment’s processor will be slower since it isn’t dual core like the TI OMAP. Droid will be faster and better OVERALL.
@StephenSaurusRex
You should read this article:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/14/core-values-the-silicon-behind-android/
Good write-up about CPUs. Don’t be lured by advertised frequencies.
I really dislike the phone’s appearance. Some of the specs are impressive though.
If it’s fast and record DVD-video I don’t care about the 550Mhz.
Yelling around that I have an 1Ghz phone is all I would want it for.
It looks like the HTC Hero just went to second place for my next phone.
Does anyone know how this will compare to the Snapdragon 1Ghz processor? Are these the same type of proc architecture? Kinda wary now.
Damn. I still want this phone, but will be needing some benchmarks before I decide.
someone needs to explain to us less knowledgeable in the subject of CPU’s exactly how this stacks up against the 1ghz Snapdragon for example.
despite the difference in the way they both work and the differences in the clock speeds, does this mean they are both equivalents? which processor is better?
obviously before I choose this or the X3 xperia i will try then, but performance is such a key issue for me, especially coming from a laggy hero.
thanks!
In terms of taking this phone to Sprint …
Any thoughts on how well that will work? I assume this phone has OTA upgrades of the operating system. What would happen to it if you ran it on the Sprint network?
I wonder if it has any Verizon-specific software that limits it to the Verizon network except when roaming?
Anything else …
No mention of a compass worries me. That will be a make or break detail for me if I can’t run augmented reality apps.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality
I still prefer apple for it’s clean lines rather than the 80’s squared boxy android.
Can someone tell me what the copper rectangle is to the right of the keyboard?
It doesn’t say how much internal memory. Any one know?
@my last post
My bad. I was looking under “GENERAL” for WiFi (that is were it is listed for the Cliq and not under “CONNECTIVITY”. The spec sheet does say there is WiFi. :-)
@Peter: The T-Mobile Motorola CLIQ comes with quickoffice :)
@thefakeJason
You’re the only one. 16gb is on the high end for any phone with internal memory, and this is one of the few phones that actually comes with a 16gb stick to start you off. There is no difference between using card or internal memory other than the fact that with some phones…you don’t have the option to expand with a card.
Nice phone….i wonder why the hell tmobile never gets the good phones. The g1 was ugly n it makes da cliq look very bad compare to the droid…who ever makes da decisions for phones in tmobile needs to get fired
I am very disappointed with the fact that it is not a 1Ghz snapdragon
Why O Why is there freaking GOLD on that phone!! That is so ugly, they couldn’t use chrome for the d pad and that other button!?? Luckily Verizon does not have other good phones because that is horribly ugly with gold accents. The processor is the same as iphone 3gs and palm pre. Will be fast.
Disappointed that the accessories don’t include a slick docking cradle of some kind. Hopefully that will come out very shortly. I need/want two of them.
Android is not ready for the mass market. I’m a partial geek girl with a MyTouch and it’s simply not as user friendly as an iPhone. I too have experienced massive slow downs on my phone over days of use. That’s unacceptable. Luckily my boyfriend downloaded an app to help me out but I shouldn’t have to do that. It should just work out of the box. I’m contemplating taking it back and getting a more polished UI phone.
Another thing. What the heck is Verizon thinking with this ad campaign. Are they only advertising to geeks??? The ad campaign totally avoids women all together and seems to be targeting star wars fans (i.e. male geeks). I work in advertising and can tell you I’ve been following this campaign. So far, most people don’t know what phone Verizon is poking fun at. it’s missing it’s mark with ignoring mass market and women all together. Verizon needs to do something to change this campaign fast! None of my girlfriends know what the TV spots are. They think it’s an ad for a scary movie. That’s a huge advertising screw up!! That’s not the way to bring Android into the mass market Verizon. Fix it fast! Look at T-mobile’s MyTouch commercials that appeal to you no matter what gender, age, or type of person you are. That’s how an ad campaign is done!
This thing looks like they built it from left over Razor parts! What is going on with all those hard lines. This is 2009 Motorola! And the disappointing specs are not a game changer. not ready for mass market. this is a geek-only device which will probably p-off alot of non-tech folks after a few days. I’m expecting a high return rate on this device. Simply too computer-like. They should’ve at least thrown Blur on there to hide the not so friendly Android interface. If you’re going after the iPhone, you better bring your A -game. I’m an Android owner but this geeky approach to your ad campaign didn’t do Google any favors for getting this thing in front of non geeks!!
http://www.brighthand.com/assets/11404.pdf
Not ready for the mass market. I’m a geek girl with a MyTouch and it’s simply not as user friendly as an iPhone. I have experienced massive slow downs on my phone over days of use. That’s unacceptable. Luckily my boyfriend downloaded an app to help me out but I shouldn’t have to do that. It should just work out of the box. I’m contemplating taking it back and getting a more polished UI phone.
Another thing. What the heck is Verizon thinking with this ad campaign. Are they only advertising to geeks??? The ad campaign totally avoids women all together and seems to be targeting star wars fans (i.e. male geeks). I work in advertising and can tell you I’ve been following this campaign. So far, most people don’t know what phone Verizon is poking fun at. it’s missing it’s mark with ignoring mass market and women all together. Verizon needs to do something to change this campaign fast! None of my girlfriends know what the TV spots are. They think it’s an ad for a scary movie. That’s a huge advertising screw up!! That’s not the way to bring Android into the mass market Verizon. Fix it fast! Look at T-mobile’s MyTouch commercials that appeal to you no matter what gender, age, or type of person you are. That’s how an ad campaign is done!
I hope this has better build quality than the Razor. Working for Verizon, I can tell you the Razor saw more returns than any other phone in history. It was cheap junk and unfortunately I can say the same for most of Motorola’s phones. I hope they revamped their build quality when they revamped their commitment to a new OS.
I’m with you Chris. I’m amazed they went with gold. Silver, black, chrome, or almost anything else would work better than gold.
I’m sure it’ll be fast though. I can’t wait for some detailed reviews for confirmation of that.
I’m also a bit surprised that the pad is not on the left side of the keyboard for gaming, but I’ve never had a smartphone before, so maybe there’s a very good reason for that.
Why the heck did they put that unnecessary Dpad on there. They should’ve expanded the keyboard. It’s alot easier to touch the screen then click, click, click a freakin dpad. Motorola needs to take some lessons in usability!!
I found a Video on Youtube – Motorola Droid Accessory Walkthrough – but its on Private Status from BGR
@all complaining about the CPU.
This is the same CPU as the iPhone3gs, slightly underclocked for battery life. The snapdragon cpu is a similar architecture CPU but it has had stability problems and manufacturing setbacks that convinced Motorola to go with this one. The Samsung Moment is still running old architecture just at a higher clock speed. Its like trying to compare a 3Ghz Pentium4 to a 2.6 nehalem i7.
this article explains it with pictures
http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3595&p=2
I love the section that’s labeled “TECHNOLOGY,” as if the rest of the stuff listed wasn’t technology.
The phone seems to have too much going on visually. Kinda “loud”. Specs are great and I’m sure it will perform well but the gold accents and general form seem a little off for me. Also, is it just me or doesn’t it seem somewhat wide? I mean I keep my phone in my front pocket and while its a pretty regular flip phone from Nokia its still noticeable. This thing looks like its as big as a brick. I’m still leaning towards the Cliq. It’s visually appealing, has a great keyboard and build quality and while the screen size is the smallest its still bright and vibrant. Its a little heavier than most but the form factor still seems good to me.
@Tim
The Droid is almost identical in every dimension to the iPhone. The iPhone 3Gs measures 110mm x 61mm x 12mm. The Droid on the other hand measures 115.8 mm x 60mm x 13.7mm. It is only a small percentage differnt in any dimension. The droid will be barely over 1/2″ thick! I would think your flip phone would be thicker then this.
.
Is it still a big phone? Yes it is. There really is no way of not being really wide with a 3.7″ screen. But if the droves of the Apple cult can use their iPhones without a complaint most of use should not have a problem when this comes out. But with everything it is a matter of opinion. If you think the droid is too big check out one of the other Android phones hitting the market soon. I am sure you will find one to your liking. The is the beauty of Android.
.
Choice for Android = dozens of phones, form factors and carriers.
Choice for iPhone = white or black?
Sorry, typo…”THAT is the beauty of Android”.
The processor is the same one in the 3GS guys. I’m getting this baby!
If you type “Sholes” in the search bar on verizonwireless’s website it directs you to the droid.
Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbbO9NnrLE8. The first half of the clip just show the pictures shown above but back half of the clip has 3D rotational views that Rob was not able to capture. Nothing amazing but kind of cool all the same.
Maybe I’m alone here, but why do so many companies ignore simplicity. I’m talking about the micro-USB. A large portion of the gadgets on the market today use mini-USB. It’s almost enough to break the deal for me. It’s bad enough that VZW has ridiculous charges to nickel and dime you to death.
ie: “Verizon Visual Voicemail (capable)” WTF? Why should we have to pay an extra $3/mo for that? Just goes to show you. If you treat your customers like idiots, charge more than everyone else, but put a lot of money into advertising; the fools will rush in.
There are other visual voicemail apps through the android market so hopefully Verizon will not block those apps. Time will tell.
@BKdroid
Not only are you wrong about the simplicity of your suggestion, but you are hopefully alone in your misconception:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus#Mini_and_Micro
“As of January 30, 2009 Micro-USB has been accepted by almost all cell phone manufacturers as the standard charging port (including Apple, Motorola, Nokia, LG, RIM, Samsung, Sony Ericsson) in the EU and most of the world. Worldwide conversion to the new cellphone charging standard is expected to be completed between 2010 to 2012.”
What is the size of the internal ROM on this thing? All Android phones are sounding great recently except for the fact that you can’t install apps of your sd card (unless your rooted) and most devices have a measly 256MB or 512MB of on board
Chris, since this is a Google Experience phone, Verizon can NOT block ANY apps from the market. All visual voicemail apps should be accessible or Verizon may be in some trouble with Google.
@Jason
I wasn’t aware of that. And I don’t mind being wrong if it means that it is a MORE standard solution. Guess I’ll have to replace the dozen or so mini-USB cables that I have. lol
Actually, is this a Google Experience phone. i thought that it was just “with Google”. I know that T-mobile has blocked access to certain apps due to their data load on their network. You can of course side load them but it does make it inconvient for the normal users. With how Verizon locks stuff down, they’re going to have to show me their open stance when they release this thing. They’re so proud of their network – and the fact is – it is better – BECAUSE THEY LOCK DOWN ALL THE FUNCTIONS that would have people using more data. But if they see their network taking a serious hit like ATT saw w/ iPhone, I would lay down my house on a bet that they tell Google to block apps. It’s coming if this phone takes off. Verizon sucks nuts!
@frank
Same thing… If it’s got the logo (this does), it’s google experience. The t-mobile blocking saga was specific to tethering and voip apps if we’re talking about the same thing, and from what I understand…they unblocked after some wrangling. T-mobile probably forced them to comply with the block until the argument could be settled.
The general assumption right now is that apps cannot be blocked on any phone with the google logo. Until you see evidence to the contrary, please zip it. Verizon relies on loud opinions like yours to lower expectations and prepare people to get bent-over.
CHOO CHOO. All aboard the YouTube train! Check this link of the droid with accessories.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBoB5Sfa-Ko
***Accessory. I plural’d when I wasn’t suppose to plural.
And now for some wild speculation …
Back in the day, the sexy new phones (microtac, RAZR) would come out in the $500 to $1,000 range, even when subsidized. These days the Android phones run around $179 to $199.
To those asking, why not T-Mobile or various versions of who is this for — my guess is that its not for you (me). I think it will come out at $500 or even more — subsidized.
It is more of a branding move for Verizon than anything else. They were getting flack for having boring handsets. They use this to reposition the brand. But for most of this with more normal sized budgets they steer us onward.
“That phone’s really just for show. You get an uber-fantastic screen, but you pay for it and in everyday use its probably a bit wide for your shirt pocket anyway. Now, let me show you this cool samsung/HTC/Motorola-calgary. Every bit as much android-goodness, but only $179. And it’s so svelte it’ll easily fit in your shirt pocket. Hey, we can update the OS OTA so it’ll have Android 2.0 also at some year in the future … “
16GB is just not enough space for me. Early reports said there was 16GB internal storage AND a microSD expansion slot. This would allow for a maximum of 32GB and rival the capacity of the iPhone 3GS.
Anyone who wants to say “just buy a 32GB card!”, and preach about the benefits of removable storage, microSDHC cards larger that 16GB do not exist yet.
SDHC yes. MicroSDHC no.
“iDon’t have enough storage space”
@Micheal
The phone was leaked at Best Buy for $599 unsubsidized (check a few articles back). Other compatible priced smart phones on Verizon are subsidized down to $199. It is not a major stretch of the imagination that this one will be too.
.
Verizon has dumped a truckload of money into the campaign for this phone. It does not make sense that they would do this only to try to sell other cheaper phones. They are advertising the Droid to sell the Droid.
.
This is being marketed as a direct competitor to the iPhone. An iPhones go for $199 with a contract. It does not make any sense for Verizon to charge any more then that.
.
One last thing, Verizon doesn’t care about phones. They do not make that much money on them. What they care about is selling contracts. They will discount the heck out of the phone in order to sell you a $100/month voice and data plan for 24 months. That is were they make their real money.
This phone has everything i want and more (the rez on the screen) though I expect it to be laggy with teh 550Mhz processer and i dout it will make it up to Canada.
Am I correct in concluding from the specs that it won’t work on other carrers’ 3G networks? I currently have a G1 and this looks like a significant improvement–but switching carriers would be a bit of a pain.
@Jason “Verizon relies on loud opinions like yours to lower expectations and prepare people to get bent-over.”
Hey buddy, my “opinion” is backed up by YEARS of Verizon crippling devices. And for that reason alone. People should wait and see if this device is really “open”. While Verizon’s supposedly embraces “Openness” their CEO just bashed “Net Neutrality” two days ago! Actions speak louder than words. Verizon will have to prove that they will not lock down devices by actually doing it. For crying out loud they just recently set GPS free on WinMo after a petition was taken up online.
I haven’t seen the size of the internal ROM anywhere. Android does not allow apps to be installed to that 16 or 32g sd card (unless your rooted). Anyone know what up on the ROM? That will make or break this device.
No ogg either? Hmmm…quite a few things not perfect.
@Bizzle9
That is not true. 32 GB SDHC is indeed avaible in most online stores. Just try googling them. They are expensive though
What are you going to do with all that space anyway? That’s a hell lot of porn you know…
I swear if people do not start reading comments I am going to F**ing explode! Here is a recap for you dumb adn lazy punks!
The damn phone has a 600 Mghz OMAP processor dialed down to 550 to save battery power. Obviously a snap dragon has 1000 Mghz right? So that means holy crap it’s not as good the snapdragon!! WRONG! Listen people does a AMD 1000 Mghz processor run like 1000 Mghz Intel processor? NO! The AMD runs like a 1400 Mghz Intel. See the point yet? If not here is another painfully and obvious example. Does the processor in your computer handle all of the graphics on your computer? F**K NO! It has a GPU or as we like to call it a graphics card, same rule with this phone it has a GPU AND a separate processor so there fore this phone will be as fast as an iPhone and a snapdragon which has NO GPU, meaning it takes all the load on it self!
Number two: About the memory cards who the F**K cares about internal storage, removable cards are better if you have common sense! iPhone you are limited to that phone! You can’t freakken swap the storage can you? YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE! “Hmm my phone broke good thing I have all my stuff on this here SD card ( Little while later ) WOW! I am sure glad I just put this little thing in my other phone here and all my stuff is here!” Hmmm here is another brain buster removable SD cards means you have technically unlimited storage solutions! iPhone user = “DAMMIT MY PHONE IS FULL CRAP I gotta delete stuff” SD Card user = “Damn, card is full oops, here is another one! PROBLEM SOLVED YAY!”
Finally point three about the phone, if people can jailbreak an iPhone then you can root your device and save the damn apps to SD Card and if not these are some very early phones trying to run an OS that is still in the works and Google has not even BEGUN to say it’s fully polished or put a large push that they are capable of! SO as phones progress over the next year and get sick as hell they will have 1000 Mghz processors and GPU’s and most likely have more internal storage for apps, when that happens soon ( Look at computers! These things get old in a couple of months with how things are going! ) we will see Google with a real deal final product and seriously push Android and that will squash everything like iPhone for the time being until something better comes out like it always will, hence the downfall of the iPhone. Thank you ladies and gentleman!
By the way Google turn by turn directions, is the normal directions we have in our now Android phones, When you get directions doesn’t it show you turn by turn where to go? Well there you go. The misconception might have been is this going to ANNOUNCE to us where to turn like a real GPS.. NO then it would say voice directed turn by turn or something with the word voice in it.
i’d be very surprised if it didn’t have a compass or magnetic sensor. that said, does it have it??????????? Sooooo much can be done with that sensor.
Hello Rob, I just wanted to inform you that there is a grammatical error within the first sentence of your paragraph. You’re trying to use it is as a contraction, so you should have put it’s with an apostrophe.
@Graziano
I love you.
shr1k3r the flash 10 is coming out in 2010 because adobe is currently making a version of flash 10 for all phones but its no out yet
Keep in mind, the faster the processor, the shorter the battery life. I would prefer to have longer battery life. 550 mghz is plenty for me.
Does it record video?
@KasperKnop
Please read my post again. I am well aware that 32GB SDHC cards are readily available.
The problem is, this phone (as do most) takes MICRO SDHC. People always confuse them. The fact is, 16GB MICRO SDHC cards are the largest available right now.
32GB MICRO SDHC cards have been expected all year and as of yet… nothing. If/When they do appear they will likely be more than $200. Hence, my disappointment with the storage on this device.
Waiting to see the Sony Ericsson X3/X10/Infinity…
Guys,
Details of the Droid have been made available again by Motorola here today:
http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/US-EN/Consumer-Product-and-Services/Mobile-Phones/Motorola-DROID-US-EN
And detailed specs are available on the Developer site thus:
http://developer.motorola.com/products/handsets/droid/
BTW, @Graziano, that was a lovely piece :)
NB: TI 600MHz (550MHz underclocked) with a separate GPU might end up performing better handling graphics/image/video processing tasks than a snapdragon 1GHz processor (handling all these by itself).
I can’t stress how much fast is the android 2.0 and how its (almost perfect) to the new droid models. I guess humans like us need to see the Droid in action to finally decide which is which
a detailed preview about droid plus some official (Hi-Res) from Motorola Corp: http://pinoytutorial.com/techtorial/motorola-droid-official-release-on-november-6-for-199-with-contract/
“kudus to all who waited” Judgment day: 11/06/09..
Thanks for the review, I’m looking forward to these kinds of phones
i am shahzad from kuwait
can i have on this phone office document viewer….
mean can i upgrade my word exell files and pdf…
\(^o^)/~