Android and Me » verizon droid

Motorola Droid 4 launch could be right around the corner

Dustin Earley — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:08:46 +0000

Just as the two-year anniversary celebration for the original Motorola Droid ends, internal Verizon documents have surfaced online that put the Droid 4 on track for a December release.

Uncovered by Droid Life, the Motorola Droid 4 has been spotted in several different Verizon systems that, in the past, have indicated an imminent release. The time between when the Xoom 2 appeared in the same documents and when the device was scheduled to be released was a little over a month. If everything goes according to plan, the Droid 4 could launch as soon as the second week of December. Lending some credibility to this theory are the “in the wild” shots of the Droid 4 that show the device looking mighty close to finished.

Around two weeks ago, pictures of the Droid 4 found their way online. Judging by those pictures, the Droid 4 will have an improved physical keyboard over previous models, with a body similar to the Droid RAZR. As far as rumored specs go, we’re looking at a 1.2 GHz OMAP4430 processor, 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 4G LTE, Android 2.3.5 (at launch), 8 megapixel camera with 1080p video capture, front-facing camera and HDMI out.

Between the RAZR, Droid 4, Galaxy Nexus and HTC Rezound, Verizon is going to have one killer lineup by the end of the year.

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A few notes before you stand in line for the Verizon Droid

Taylor Wimberly — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:26:13 +0000

Friday marks the biggest phone launch in Android history when the Motorola Droid goes on sale at Verizon Wireless. Many of our readers have told us they plan to wait in line early in the morning to purchase the phone, so we have a few tips.

1. Call your local Verizon Store

Some Verizon stores open at 7AM and others are opening at 8AM. Call the store you plan to visit to make sure you have the right time.

2. Get on the waiting list

I called my local Verizon store and asked how many phones they had available. They would not provide the actual number, but they did take down my information and placed me on a list. Check with your store and see if they have a waiting list.

3. Read your contract before you sign it

BGR is reporting that Verizon is planning to raise the fee for early termination of your contract. It went from $200 $175 up to $350. The $350 ETF will be decreased $10 for each month of service completed. Make sure you really love Verizon and want to stick with them for 2 years.

Update: As noted in the comments the $350 ETF does not go in effect till November 15, 2009 (thanks guys).

4. You will pay $299+ in a Verizon store

The Droid is being advertised as $199, but that is after a $100 mail in rebate. Best Buy Mobile has it for $199 in store with 2yr contract. A tipster also reported Walmart will have the Droid for $188.00 with 2yr contract.

5. Personal unlimited data is $30

There was some confusion that users would have to pay an extra $15 for exchange support. Gearlog has clarified this – personal accounts will pay $30 for a data package and corporate accounts get charged $45 for data.

Have something else to add to the list? Did we make any mistakes? Leave a comment.

For anyone who missed it, check out the new Droid TV spot.

Motorola Droid box revealed

Taylor Wimberly — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:52:12 +0000

We have seen some pretty interesting packaging on recent Android phones like the myTouch 3G bundle. One might expect the first Motorola Droid would feature some extravagant box to match the huge marketing campaign behind it. The guys over at Engadget claim to have a stack of Droids and they snapped a few photos of the official encasing.

The box is nothing too exciting, but I guess it’s what inside the box that counts.

iPhone 3G S vs Palm Pre vs Motorola Droid

Taylor Wimberly — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:31:23 +0000

So you need a new smartphone and you can’t decide which to get (hint: go Android). The new Motorola Droid enters into a smartphone marketplace dominated by AT&T’s iPhone and Sprint’s Palm Pre. But how are consumers supposed to compare the offerings when the providers make it nearly impossible to make apples to apples comparisons on plan options?

Our friends at BillShrink have made the process a little easier by providing a nice infographic with the latest smartphones. They offer a free personalized cost-saving service designed to help people lower their spending by monitoring over 10 million wireless plans.

BillShrink has launched the first-ever handset selector interactive feature that let’s you search by features and then matches you to the best phone and plan.

Check out their comparison below and let us know what you think. I’m not surprised that VZW has some of the most expensive rate plans, but they do have the largest 3G network.

Come back later today for our own in-depth look comparing all the carrier data plans.

You know which phone we like.

Full size image here.

Google fails to address app storage issue with Droid and Android 2.0

Taylor Wimberly — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:24:37 +0000

The Motorola Droid will be the most powerful Android phone to date when it launches on November 6, 2009. However, the device still features the same shortcomings of all other Android phones. The Droid ships with a 512 MB ROM which contains only 256 MB available for app storage.

Google does not support installing apps to the SD card (and likely never will), so developers are limited in what they can create.

For most applications, we want a small file size to limit the download times. When it comes to 3D games though, we need a ton of space for all the high-res textures, audio, and video.

Have you seen all the awesome iPhone and iPod Touch games? Hardly any of them would fit on an Android phone. It is not uncommon for popular titles to easily exceed 100 MB. For example, the game Myst takes up a whopping 727MB.

Motorola is going to promote the Droid as a mobile gaming device since it features the OMAP3430 platform which features a dedicated PowerVR SGX 530 GPU. This is the similar type of GPU as what was included with the iPhone 3G S, so we know it can pump out some crazy graphics.

I hope Google and Motorola find a way to resolve this problem, but the real solution is to include larger flash ROMs inside the phones.

Are other handset makers paying attention to this issue?

GSM Motorola Droid spied on video

Taylor Wimberly — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:02:06 +0000

We have been saying for awhile that the Motorola Droid will appear in other countries and now that information has been confirmed. Our favorite Vietnamese site Tinhte was able to get their hands on a GSM version of the Droid (Sholes) and upload a quick music video. There is no word on which European carriers will launch the phone, but I would look to the current ones that offer the Motorola Dext (Orange).

DroidDoes site finally goes live

Taylor Wimberly — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:12:47 +0000

Remember that countdown on the DroidDoes.com site? It was set to expire at midnight last night and we thought the site would go live. I was up till 3AM, but nothing ever appeared. Thankfully, the site just randomly turned on. I’m not sure what the point of the countdown was, but at least the actual site is pretty cool.

Head over to DroidDoes.com and check out their super spinning wheel of features. It also appears Verizon is sponsoring some kind of concert series called Droid Nation. If anyone was presented with a card carrying a special code, please let us know.

Anyone get their secret code?

All powerful Droid available for same price as lowly Cliq (sorta)

Taylor Wimberly — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:46:13 +0000

We finally got the last bit of information that failed to leak about the Motorola Droid on Verizon…

According to the press release: DROID by Motorola will be available in the United States exclusively at Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online on Friday, Nov. 6, for $199.99 with a new two-year customer agreement after a $100 mail-in rebate. Customers will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted.

With the recent DroidDoes campaign that was attacking the iPhone, we expected the phone would be priced competitive with the iPhone 3G S ($199). On the other hand, Motorola’s first Android phone, the T-Mobile Cliq, also retails for $199.

I’m glad to see Verizon offer the $100 rebate, but it kind of makes you appreciate how AT&T and Apple are able to price the iPhone 3G S so low.