The Droid 2 has been making its rounds as we inch closer and closer to launch (and – strangely enough – Verizon hasn’t made a formal announcement this close to the rumored launch date. We usually see them spill the beans a week ahead of time) and that trend continues with this full page ad that’s been showing up in various newspapers.
There’s nothing entirely special to see here: the latest Droids are lined up beneath the unreleased Motorola Droid 2 with a hint of availability: we should see the device “coming soon”. Oh, and we’re also urged to rule our empire with iron thumbs with these devices, but I’m just not sure if I can undergo such a transition. I like my flesh… well maybe I can give up just one of my thumbs for any of these.
We’ve also been treated to some early pricing details from Best Buy. As they usually price these types of devices, the Droid 2 will be available through them for $199.99 after a two-year agreement and $599.99 if you want to walk out with no contract to fiddle around with. The prices may vary if you’re buying straight from Motorola or Verizon (or any other third party retailer).
[via @petermorency, Engadget]
Tags : $199, Best, Droid, Full, gets, Newspaper, Page, Soon”, “Coming, Androids
If you want to complain about software updates, another handset you don’t want to fail to mention unless you like the idea of a thousand angry Android owners descending upon you is the HTC Droid Eris from Verizon. We learned that Verizon would be dropping the Eris in short order, and along with this there was some worry that a new OS update may never come. Now it looks like Verizon is gearing up to bring the update to Eris owners, with software revision ROM: 2.36.605.1/Radio: 2.42.00.04.12.
No where in Verizon’s literature do they call this one Android 2.1, but if you look at the list of new features you’ll know that is exactly what you are getting:
- Pinch-to-zoom is now available when using the Gallery andGoogle Maps.
- New support for voice-to-text entry.
- New Gallery application with 3D layout. View and share photostaken with your phone and images from your online PicasaWeb albums.
- New Leap thumbnail view lets you pinch to jump between theseven panels on your home screen.
- Google Maps with Navigation provides free, traffic-enhanced,turn-by-turn navigation.
If Verizon sticks to their guns, notice that Eris users will get 7 home screens with thumbnail navigation, something that was surprisingly absent from the Motorola Droid Android 2.1 update. You can learn much more about what other additions and enhancements will come with the update at the Verizon Eris Support site.
No specific timeframe is given for when owners can expect this update to start rolling out, and if the recent bungle that was the Droid 2.1 (or really any 2.1 update you can think of) release is any indication, you would be best to be a bit skeptical. Hopefully “soon” will retain its dictionary definition and actually mean sometime in the relatively near future.
[via Verizon, thanks to c dowell for the heads up!]
Tags : Droid, Eris, Says, Soon”, update, Verizon, “Coming, Androids