By Earlier today, a friend told me he walked right into a Verizon Wireless store, spoke with a rep about the HTC Droid Eris, and they secretively took him behind the counter to let him see the device. If you’re eager to check it out, you might want to try the same. For everyone else, others have done the dirty work for you:
I wouldn’t count on getting any pictures of your own – Verizon and HTC have both been pretty hush-hush about this from an “official” standpoint. And you might be happy to hear that whoever had their hands on the Eris in the pictures above considered it the best Android Phone besides the Motorola Droid – thinner and taller than the other Heroes with a better feel. We’ll find out on Friday!
[Via BGR]
Maybe HTC is taking less press now for more press later when hopefully the Passion comes out. Though if they tweaked the speed a little bit and when it gets android 2.0. What advantage will the Droid have over the Eris save for flash on the camera?
Last night I asked about the droid at the local mall Verizon Store. I had a question on how my monthly bill will change. They let me play with both the Droid and Droid Eris. The rep I was talking to said as of yesterday afternoon (11/3/09) they had got the go ahead from corporate to show them the customers. So if you would like to take a look at these prior to buying them stop by your local VZW store today!
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On a side note the Droid is much smaller then I thought it would be. Cannot wait to pick one up of Friday!!!
Just curious if this is really going to officially be called “Droid” Eris.. tried to squint at the packaging in the pics, and although I could make out the “Eris” part, could not tell if “Droid” was written anywhere on the box.
Dennis,
Look at the first picture. It pretty clearly says “Droid” :P
http://phandroid.com/2009/11/04/htc-droid-eris-unboxing-pictures/htc-droid-eris-1/
@Dennis:
Yes, check out the front of the box:
http://phandroid.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/htc-droid-eris-1.jpg
@dennis
really? two of the pictures above clearly say “Droid” on it. and the opened box says “Droid Eris”
“could not tell if “Droid” was written anywhere on the box.”? You mean besides that Giant DROID going across the middle of the box?
I’ve been talking with the PR manager here in Minneapolis. She has been VERY hush hush about this.
I wonder if it’s a manufacturing issue. Maybe they’re not sure if they can get the device in time for the Nov 6th Droid launch.
If it really is a “Hero” variant AND is only $99 it’ll be a great option for existing Verizon customers. I wouldn’t leave my carrier to move to Verizon. I can’t justify $90/month.
ok.. properly chastised.. I don’t know why I was thinking that was a picture of an opened box that someone had texted over.. whatever.. I need more coffee or something.
Don’t worry about it Dennis. All good. When I called My vz store they let me make an appt for friday to pick up the droid, but on the phone he said which droid the moto or htc. So vz really is following their plan of “droid”. I had to think twice because I forgot the eris was the droid eris. Pics look good though.
When will the passion be released. It has not even passed through the FCC yet, has it? Do you think it will be release before 2010?
I’m not a fan of the looks of this phone..
Doesn’t make me want to stop using my Motorola v120c
Wow, not much love for this device. I think it looks awesome. And I, for one, love the idea of having dedicated hardware call/end buttons. That could potentially be quite an annoyance for Moto Droid users. Thanks for the pictures though! I hope more follow soon. I also can’t wait to see what goodies are on the holiday lineup release tomorrow. Unless I see another HTC Sense device announced tomorrow for release later this month, I will be buying an Eris without hesitation.
I played with this phone and the Motorola Droid today at the Verizon store (they both did not have batteries in them). The Droid Eris felt very solid. I was very disappointed with the Moto Droid as it felt clunky and the keyboard felt useless (I’m a former blackberry user). Until today I was planning to buy the Moto Droid but after holding it I completely changed my mind. In fact, I thought about going to look at the IPhone again until Verizon brought out the Eris. I plan to buy the Eris and hope the Passion comes out before my month is up to return the Eris. Hopefully it will be upgraded to 2.0 soon and I will be so happy with it that I don’t want to return it.
+1 Brad. I’m in the same boat. I’d much rather have the Passion with a bigger screen and Sense, but if that’s not an option any time soon (by the end of the year), I’m all about the Eris.
Can we have a side by side comparison between Motorola droid and HTC Droid Eric, so we can determine which is the best for our needs.
Regards.
Erassmy
Looks kinda square and thick.
Agreed with both Brad and Greg…
I just had the chance to play with both the Moto Droid and the Eris. Despite all of the hype and talk about specs, I really like the feel and functionality of the Eris more.
I don’t mind not having a keyboard in exchange for a smaller size format. Same goes for the screen size. I also like Sense UI. The Eris is also lighter, but feels very solid.
They’re both very cool phones, but I am simply drawn to the Eris a lot more… not to mention the $100 savings.
Compared to the Droid, I’d say the Eris is at most 2/3 as thick, mostly because of the keyboard. Some of the differences that I was told about: Processor (faster on the Droid, of course), android version (which could change soon), no flash on the Eris, Sense UI on the Eris.
One more surprise: The Eris seemed snappier on the home screen than the Droid! There was a bit of noticeable lag on the Droid. Pretty slick with the Eris. Just thought I’d throw that out there.
Well, even so, I’m getting a droid because I want to be able to do web surfing, and that screen is perfect for it. Not to mention it has a kick ass processor!
-Brad
Oh, and don’t forget,
the Droid will also come with Google Navigation, which no one else will have for now. And the voice search in it is awesome.
-Brad
The screen size is a mixed blessing. For one it’s a bit on the puny side, which affects visibility and workspace. On the plus side, it keeps the phone from being so large. It’s a tradeoff, pros and cons either way. It’s a 3.2″ screen, and compared with my iPod Touch’s 3.5″ screen, it’s not much smaller, and has the same resolution. I can browse the web okay on my iPod, so the Eris shouldn’t be much worse. I know the Droid’s screen would be better, but it will still be workable.
On a side note, it’s interesting to note that everybody who touches the Eris seems to comment about being surprised at how snappy it is. HTC did a lot of optimization work on the OS that went into the Sprint Hero, which significantly improved the experience on the same hardware. I’m wondering if they did even more optimizing for the Eris. There must be some explanation for what people are seeing. I can’t wait for the official reviews, or to try one out myself in person.
there is a withGoogle on it. That means no Sense UI??
Why bother? The only thing that would make this a competitor for the Motodroid is Sense UI! So sorry HTC not interested come back when you build one with keyboard.
uhmm… it runs Android 1.5 and has SenseUI. Thx for reading the specs that have been out forever.
I’ll be up late tonight (early tomorrow morning) ordering online. I know I’ll be waiting over the weekend, reading hands-on reviews and turning green with envy, but the only local verizon store and their moronic rep pissed me off yesterday when I stopped in.
I think the rep was the same ignorant guy I talked to earlier in the week over the phone. Still giving me the “Eris what?” Said that internet info was only rumors. I know that they’ll be getting some nice commissions with the Droid and Eris releases … just none from me and my friends who are also planning on upgrading.
Alas, it seems like there are always trade-offs. Go with the boxy, somewhat clunky looking, motodroid with its huge screen, fast processor and 2.0 OS? Or the slim and sleek looking droid eris with its sense ui, but smaller screen, slower processor and 1.5 OS?
I’m kind of leaning toward the eris. I prefer the sleek look of it and I’m not a huge fan of sliders. I hope Rob can get his hands on one and do a full-blown review of the eris compared with the motodroid. I’d like to know if the soft keyboard on the eris is as good as he says the soft keyboard is on the motodroid, and I’d like his impressions of 3G web surfing on the eris.
does the Eris also have the qwerty keyboard like the orig droid?