The momentum around Droidbeing launched by Verizon is growing. Here’s a round-up ofDroid news. Droid must be desirable because with 4 days left on auction the only un-locked Droid available is on eBay with the has the current highest bid $1,125.00.
Industry insiders revealed that Droid is not just the name for one Android handset from Verizon, but a series of smartphones.
The first Droid Android smartphone is expected to be introduced on October 28 in big press event in New York City. That day is big for Verizon because its also supposed to be when the new BlackBerry Storm 2 goes on sale. It is not clear when the release date will be for Droid for sale. The Droid clock on the Droid countdown website is now set to end on October 28.
Droid made a sneak appearance on the Motorola website and showed off his powerful iPhone-Killah specs before being taken-don. Droid will be powered by Google Android 2.0 (Eclair)j and have a huge 480-by-854 touchscreen with a sliding QWERTY keyboard, 5 megapixel camera(image stabilization, 4X digital zoom, dual LED flash, auto-focus), DVD video playback, predictive text and for business users the most coveted MS Exchange and Gmail sync. The droid also has Wi-Fi, speech recognition/voice dialing, Bluetooth, and the super-synced Facebook/Gmail/MS Exchange contacts. [Credit: WirelessAndMobileNews]
Verizon Wireless has announced that its highly anticipated BlackBerry Storm2smartphone will hit stores, the company Web site, and business sales channels beginning on October 28.
The Storm2 includes a vastly improved click screen, BlackBerry OS 5.0, and built-in Wi-Fi, along with some smaller improvements compared to the original, controversial device.
The Storm2 also includes 3G and world phone connectivity, 2GB of onboard media storage, a microSD card slot, a 3.2 megapixel camera with image stabilization, and a standard-size 3.5mm headphone jack. It still needs a better Web browser, as I found in my review–and some buyers may want to wait a day or two in case Verizon ends up with the droid they’re looking for.
Regardless, the Storm2 is a very good smartphone all around–and at its newly announced price of $179.99 (after two-year contract and mail-in rebate), it’s not a bad deal either.
Originally posted to the PCMag.com @Work blog.
BlackBerry Storm2 refinements include (via CrackBerry FULL Review):
- Enhanced SurePress Technology (SurePress is all electronic in Storm 2 – there are no mechanical moving parts)
- Overall device performance (i.e. rotation speed, etc…) is enhanced
- JavaScript is now On by default
- Wi-FI 802.11 b/g
- 256 MB Flash Memory (Storm 1 had 128MB)
- 2GB Onboard Media Memory (Storm 1 had 1GB)
- Sleeker Design (tinted chrome ring, etc.)
- Integrated touch navigation keys
- BlackBerry Handheld Software v5.0
- Internet browsing enhancements (i.e. faster page loading)
and User Interface Enhancements on Storm2 include:
- Inertial Scrolling w/Snap Back
- Enhanced SurePress input
- Probability-based entry with advanced auto-correct
- Multi-touch for ALT and SHIFT
- Key rollover for faster typing
- Optimized pressure for comfortable text entry
- Fine Cursor Control (for text editing)
- Improved sensitivity and accuracy
- Multi-touch text selection enhancements (for copy/paste)
- Updated spin boxes
o Clock, calendar, date/time, etc… - Phone enhancements
o Face detection - Actionable touch buttons (Send in Messaging, Save in Calendar/Contacts, etc)
- Enhanced SMS UI – notifications, emoticons, threaded chats
[ratings]
