By 
You had to see this coming. A new leaked Verizon doc is showing the Droid 4 — rumored to be launching tomorrow — has been postponed all the way back to February 2nd of next year. This no doubt comes as bad news to those of you looking to get your hands on a 4G LTE equipped QWERTY device before the New Year. On the bright side of things, maybe this delay will see the device launch with Android 4.0 — and update already promised to the Droid Razr in early 2012.
We should be able to get some hands-on time with the device at CES 2012 in January, where the Droid 4 will more than likely make its debut. Anyone going to wait for this device or will this news force you to use your upgrade elsewhere?
[Via VZBuzz]
Glad I picked up the Galaxy Nexus.
sonnofabitch.
As much as I have been waiting for the Droid 4, that was actually about the timeline I had figured on for an ICS release. I would rather have it out early so it could be well hacked by then, but if it does mean a nice clean Android 4.x experience, I’m willing to wait.
If by “clean Android 4.x experience” you mean ICS infected with BLUR, then yes…i agree.
maybe they wised up and will release the D4 and D5 on the same day /s :)
They just released the Droid 3, so it’s not that bad. And I don’t even count the Bionic and Razr.
Sprint is slacking on New phones now! Would be cool to have a Droid 4 like phone on Sprint. Hopefully they’ll release the LTE capable devices early so that you can use LTE when it comes.
Doubt you’ll see anything LTE on Sprint for a while, considering they are just starting to move away from WiMax.
I vote that when it does drop with ICS that it be renamed the Droid 4.0.
Sounds like the whole Nexus fiasco that just happened.
*Proud Galaxy Nexus Owner
Hahaha, no.. U r wrong
They did absolutely right…
Nobody sees anything wrong with manufactures releasing a new device every month?
They should really go on one flagship phone per year, and both manufactures and consumers would win. Consumers shouldn’t feel remorse for buying
a Bionic a couple months ago.
Our contacts can’t keep up with these quick release cycles anyways.
both win the way it is now. it pushes technology much faster, and gives us all more options. anyway if each made one phone a year, people could still have remorse that they didn’t wait for the other manufacturer to release their phone. every phone gets outperformed at some point. If you really need the latest and greatest cutting edge phone at all times, it’d be best to buy your phones outright w/o a contract, and sell them whenever you see your next phone.
it is one of the only thing i like about apple.the iphone is the iphone,and once its released,you dont have to worry about buying it,and having another one come out a month later thats 100 times better.
that,and they actually get timely updates.something else android needs to take control over
What you do have to worry about is that Android’s rapid release model has already put Android phones out in front technologically, and a once-a-year release schedule will mean that iPhones will never catch up. (Not that the iPhone ever had a technological advantage anyway, even over feature phones. It just had a cool UI and great marketing)
No, you don’t have to worry about your phone being surpassed by another iPhone is a month, just that it’s already outdated when you stand in line on release day to buy it.
No, actually I see nothing wrong with that. You don’t HAVE to keep buying the newest and fastest phone out there. They are like computers now, and I doubt you run out and buy a new computer every time a new graphic card is released, or processor is released. If you are running dual graphics cards and a lightly faster one comes out, do you rush out and spend $1,000 for the slight to moderate increase in speed? No. My Droid 2 Global is still plenty fast. Is it as fast as the D4 is going to be? Of course not. Would it be nice to have the D4? Of course. But I’m not going crazy without that increase. I plan on buying it as a luxury, as that’s exactly what it is. I’m GLAD in a few months there will be a faster phone out there. It’s not going to be the fastest with the best screen anyway. That’s not why I’m buying it. It’s the first phone that meets the checklist I have: Hardware keyboard, 4G, Dual core, and being a Motorola is a plus. Having new phones come out every month is one reason I like Android so much. It keeps us technologically ahead of the iPhone at all times, it gives us *choice*. iPhone users don’t have a choice. They can’t even have the option of having a hardware keyboard or pick the screen size they want. It’s because of the multitudes of phones out there that we can. That doesn’t mean you have to go out and buy every one of them. So if an Apple person can be happy with the same phone for as long as it takes Apple to release them, why can’t you be happy with your phone? Because a new one comes out doesn’t mean yours is suddenly slow. When it starts bogging down on apps and games, then start complaining.
I’m reasonable satisfied with my D2G also, but the RAZR and D4 are substantially improved over what we own. I would not buy a new computer because is has an incrementally better video card. But if one came with a much better Vcard, Processor, memory, SSDs & 30″ monitor at a reasonable price, I would consider it. The size of the RAZR screens is almost enough for me. Add dual core, LTE, etc and it’s looking much more attractive.
You want a iPhone then.
Do you really think buyers wouldn’t still have gripes about new phones? Contracts typically run 2 years. Chances are, you’ll have an outdated phone for 2 years since the next best thing is always around the corner. Look at the iPhone 4s. Consumers wanted it because it’s “better” than the iPhone4. But will they be happy with the 4s when the 5 rolls out? Nope.
So maybe you don’t even want an iPhone then.
————————
Now for the practical side of things, think evolution. Quick release means that changes get tried. Some are beneficial and the phone survives. Others…not so much and it’s bye bye phone model.
Multiple releases also means that a company can take some chances and afford to miss. If one model fails maybe others can pick up the slack. If you only do one a year, it has to be a success. Technologically, Apple failed big time with the 4s, but their marketing and brand loyalty saved them. Short of that and Apple is where RIM is now.
When you only have one bullet, you need to make it count
Fuck this earth.
My plan won’t allow me to upgrade till April, anyway, so it’s no skin off my nose. The Droid 4 will still be my next phone……
One month isn’t long enough for them to change to ICS unless they’ve had in-house and in-network tests running for at least a month already. Carrier certification takes forever, and the holidays really mess with those schedules.
If they stop-shipped, it could be because of a nasty SW bug found at the last minute, and they’ll likely _only_ fix that to minimize risk. It could also be a parts shortage.
But it’s not because they decided that we all deserve ICS. Not gonna happen.
”
This no doubt comes as bad news to those of you looking to get your hands on a 4G LTE equipped QWERTY device before the New Year”
Actually you can, with the Stratosphere, not saying you should, but it’s an option.
zep, you seem to have a good bit of insight into VZW – Have you hear any talk about the HTC Fireball? Any chance it’ll be a slider?
True. Not dual core however.
Not enough ram either.
I hope it’s not true, we have a lot of D1s out in the field that are barely chugging along and won’t make it until February. If this phone is delayed we are going to have to equip those people with Gnex or another keyboardless equivalent. Sorry, the D3 just doesn’t cut it.
Man, FML! Their goes my wife’s big xmas gift for this year. She’s still on that piece of shit Motorola Devour which drops calls and keeps hosing MicroSD cards – we’re on our third one. She wants an LTE Moto slider. Showed her the Sammy Stratosphere and was a no sell. Fuck you Verizon!
I’d bet Verizon is making Motorola hold this until they can clear more of their D3 inventory, pressure from the 3rd party retailers for the same reason is probably a factor too. I just wonder if this will backfire on them, letting the phone stagnate for 2-3 months gives the competition time to get a better model out.
I had been hoping to get this for my wife for christmas to replace her limping D1, but we went with the Stratosphere instead. Just remember to price check with the 3rd party retailers, they’re giving them away fo free right now.
Is it just me or are the wide screen phones to darn big? I looked at the Razr and Galaxy Nexus and will stick with my D2G for now even though my contract is up. I would like a D4 with ICS or similar and am willing to wait.