By We now have specific dates to go along with yesterday’s internal Verizon memo about an HTC Incredible webinar for store employees. The training session for SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) will take place on Wednesday, April 21st or Thursday, April 22nd, falling a week before the April 29th release date of the now-named Droid Incredible by HTC. See the new internal e-mail confirming the dates below.
Note the “Important Reminder” below the dates in the image:
*Please have your ACTIVATED DROID Incredible by HTC with you when attending this webinar.*
Methinks this is a good sign that Verizon will have these devices in-stock well in advance of release and in the hands of employees who are encouraged to take the webinar in store. I wouldn’t recommend stalking said employees or camping out by your local VZW store on these days, however. The last thing Phandroid wants to report is the senseless mugging of poor Verizon store SMEs!
At this point, there is no denying that Verizon is putting this device out at the end of April, but the question remaining is when will the advertising begin? They seem to be prepping pretty well for it’s release internally, but outside of the tech crowd the phone is an unknown. Stay tuned in the coming weeks, as there is no doubt the Incredible news will continue to roll in hot and heavy.
Thanks again to the members posting in the HTC Incredible thread at AndroidForums!
[via AndroidForums]
So… who else is going to their local Verizon store on the 21 & 22 to hound the workers and found out who the SME is? ;D
I would imagine the advertising may start right after this training. That way they are trained when people come in asking about the phone. Personally I wouldn’t wait and think they may not realize what they have on their hands. To be honest I didn’t think about it until reading some other articles on non phone oriented tech sites. It seems people would go nuts if they knew this were coming now. I guess I keep thinking about the coming EVO to knock it off the hill and that its not much more than the Nexus One. I keep forgetting that the general public hasn’t really seen or used anything on the level of the N1 yet so this would be HOT!
I think they’ll wait until the last minute for advertising. This thing is going to be their new flagship, knocking the MotoDroid down in the lineup. They’re probably trying to milk as many $200 purchases of the Droid out before they have to decrease the price, and most people buying phones aren’t as geeky as us, and don’t know this is coming out in a couple weeks.
Interesting. I stopped in a Verizon store today just to see what they would say when asked about the Incredible since we saw the official news this morning. Guy told me he had no idea about the Incredible release date and that it was taking so long due to “mass producing” such a phone. Then tried to convince me to buy a Motorola Droid saying it was just as good. I chuckled and walked away. Can’t wait to buy a phone just so I can get my life back from reading these sites every 25 minutes.
lol… me 2 Topshelf. I must read or go on these sites about 50 times a day… I know its sad
Topshelf – “Can’t wait to buy a phone just so I can get my life back from reading these sites every 25 minutes.”
You have just described my existence!
So anyone in cincinnati wanna stalk some verizon employees??
@ topshelf. I’m in the same boat. I’m so happy that all signs point to April 29 and I can finally stop checking this and other sites, refreshing the info. I imagine next week we’ll start seeing ads both by Verizon with the Droid Does as well as HTC-based ads with that great music showing off the droid incredible. The next two weeks are going to be exciting for Verizon customers, especially those that don’t even know this phone exists cause they aren’t OCD and anxious like we are.
Okay, let’s see, only 6.5 months between its release date and when my contract with the Eris expires. The countdown begins! Or heck, maybe even something better will be available (or just around the corner) by then. If they can pull out such a big upgrade to soon after releasing the Eris, I’m guessing there will be another batch of upgrades out in time for the holiday shopping season.
actually VZW does not ever have to actually release a new phone to keep customers. Just keep leaking info on webinars and screenshots of whatever – and we’ll all just keep waiting and waiting and waiting on the mighty VZW to actually DO SOMETHING. And then…it’ll just be another rumor. And we’ll wait. Some more. Lame.
@3, uh, wtf you talking about?
Verizon themselves does either a: a 2 for 1 on a droid or b: $49 droid. There isn’t much else to knock down.
Via wirefly, the damn thing is free or $20 or thereabouts with a contract.
They still have a price protection…don’t they?
I’m no geek (heck i make t-shirts for a living) and only found this page because of google search, but I’ll tell ya – there are a lot of my friends Mr and Mrs John Q. Public that have been waiting for Verizon to get a cool looking/functioning (droid ain’t it) smartphone out there. Can’t wait for the 29th. Hope you geeks get in line before me though.
@topshelf & @biotite…
Aw man, you’re going to stop checking Phandroid once the Incredible comes out? I think you’ll have to become an addict of AndroidForums, learning all the possible things you can do on the Incredible Forums:
http://androidforums.com/htc-incredible/
Sounds like a plan to me!
None of this means anything until I can go to the VZW site and see the release info. Big Red has been very reliable in teasing us. Seeing is believing.
k here’s a lil hypo for u guys…im not one of these people who have ever camped out or anything like this, however, that being said, I was wondering (provided the phone does come out on the 29th)what time would be the best ya think to get to the store to ensure one would get one (i realize it depends on the location but just a general idea will suffice). Thx (i’m in law school right now so i have nothing better to do than just read so i figure i could get there with my con. law or property book @ 5am and just chill out :P
Can’t wait! I was told my SME device would be in the beginning of next week!
I talked to a verizon service rep the other day and she informed me that the Motorola Droid will be BOGO free on the 19th of May. It does look like they will be pushing the droid before the Droid Incredible is released.
Coming in two weeks. Don’t believe I’ve ever heard that line.
Haha, I’m so happy to hear I’m not the only one addicting to the release of this phone. My Google Reader is configured on my home page and setup with 7 websites dedicated to Android. I also have Google Alerts for HTC Incredible and a few other key words in action. So basically every minute of the day I’m watching those RSS feeds and jumping on updates like it’s a life or death situation. I seriously feel like a crack addict at this point. lol And Rob, I’ve skimmed the forums and posted a handful of times, but for my own sanity I just can not become a frequent member in there. :p My wife is starting to get concerned….that can’t be a good sign. Is think I’ve come down with an acute case of Droiditis.
So how can we get in on that training, do they use webinars, recorded media, or live techs come to each store? I just check the forums every few days as it’s just a tease leaving you wanting the phone more. Thankfully I found this page to read this good news.
I can’t wait for it to be in my hands.
Sadly when I did have the opportunity to hold one, my hands were dirty from BBQ. I really hope it is available on the 29th for purchase, not just for pre-order. I’m getting tired of my Blackberry that I reactivated when I broke my Droid.
Fingers crossed.
@ Rob Jackson I’ll still be reading and the like but I gotta pull the cord some. :) I posted a few times in the forums and I’ll obviously still seek advice and tips since I’m new to android (and this will be my first smartphone). But don’t worry Rob, you complete me. I won’t go too far away. ;)
@topshelf, I’m not as bad as you but the refresher button has become my best friend.