Newsletter
We’ve got plenty of news for you Verizon Android fans eager to know what’s launching when and for how much.
First, this leaked image from Engadget: Here comes the Motorola DROID 2 Global, launching next week on Veterans’ Day (November 11th) in Sapphire Blue. Not clear when the Winter White version will be available. And yes, this is the very first CDMA and GSM banded Android phone available.
But it won’t be the only one for long, as the Motorola DROID Pro is launching a week later on November 18th. The presale starts next Tuesday, and orders begin shipping a day later, making that November 18th “launch” seem rather anti-climactic. Thanks to AndroidCentral for the above leaked image. We have a little more information here, including the odd fact that Pennsylvania and Massachusetts won’t have any iconic devices at their retail locations.
Look at that phrasing again: “iconic device.” By the definition above, the DROID X was iconic and the DROID 2 wasn’t; more about that below. Let’s move on to the pricing news that goes with the launch dates.
Engadget has another lovely leak: a price list of much VZW Android deliciousness. The DROID 2, which is being replaced by the DROID 2 Global, is having its price reduced to $149. The replacement D2G launches next week (above) at $199, same price for blue or white. And the DROID Pro lists for a little bit less: $179. (Guess that $299 price on the Verizon test site was only a test.)
Two Samsung products also make the list: the Continuum (the dual-screen version of a Galaxy S) at $199, and the oh-my-god-can-I-have-one seven inch Galaxy Tab at (ulp) $599.
Did you notice that the current price for the DROID X, $199, is good until the end of the year, and the DROID 2 only for a month after that? I hadn’t heard the X was going away. Maybe its price will come down when if Big Red launches that dual-core Tegra 2 phone we keep hearing about. Is it still being called the Motorola Olympus or was that last week? How come everyone now assumes because AT&T is getting it, Verizon isn’t?
I must say Verizon’s got more leaks than a rubber raft drifting past a broken crate of thumbtacks. Next up is a DROID 2 Global comparison chart. Since this is for VZW’s sales staff, they’ll do their best to make the D2G sound better than any other phone you’d be considering. It also shows what’s the same and what’s different from the D2 it replaced. Thanks to Droid Life for this image.
And our last bit of Verizon launch leakage: the Samsung Continuum may not be launched until the 11th, but it’s arriving in their retails stores right now. Look at all those tasty packages. This is from AndroidLife, which appears to be a new spinoff blog of the above site.
Remember there’s a big Samsung event on next Monday, the 8th. Do you think it’s about the Continuum, which we’ve been discussing for a while, or do you think they have a successor to the Nexus One after all?