By Ah, October 2009. It seemed like it was just yesterday that Verizon started getting all of our under garments in a bunch (in a “relatively” good way) with all of those Droid Does and iDon’t teasers leading up to the launch of their first Android-based phone, the Motorola Droid. More than half a year later that momentum has continued with several phones – from Motorola or otherwise – and Verizon will be upping the stakes even more this July.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Verizon and Motorola have signed a deal to “ensure some of its upcoming smartphones will by heavily promoted” by Verizon. Motorola will be launching at least two devices this July with the carrier – one of them being the speedy Motorola Shadow that we’ve been getting excited for – and they’ve stated both devices would be running Android 2.2. This comes right after Motorola’s Co-CEO Sanjay Jha ensured us that their main focus remains to be Android, and that we should be expecting more devices soon.
With a myriad of high-end devices launching from at least three of the four major US carriers this summer, I can’t imagine that anyone’s purchase decision didn’t just get a little bit difficult (that’s if you’re planning to switch carriers based on hardware, of course). We just can’t wait to see what that other Motorola phone turns out to be – and we definitely can’t wait to feast our eyes on a whole new slew of Droid advertisements.
Yo I can’t wait. I’ve been checking forums to make sure I get the right pick case I got an early upgrade to burn :-)
I will not buy another phone until the Shadow comes out. It currently occupies my dreams every single night.
Sad, I know.
Thats right the Droids are going to take over the world. At least in Verizon’s World
iPhone must stay at their birthplace AT&T forever, Verizon doesn’t needed iPhone any way Google phones are much better for Verizon.
Great, so we will probably purposely have to wait for the Incredible to update to 2.2 based on release dates of other phones…
This in my opinion would be a bait and switch tactic if this is what happens.
Sister has droid, very uhappy about loosing voice calls. Husband a un fancy cell phone with same carrier and not loosing calls. This is the second droid she is having problems with…
so Moto feels that VZW is the only company who can make them money?
@Scott – a bait and switch? Don’t get that comment. The Incredible is made by HTC the Shadow is made by Motorola. The manufacturers have a LOT to do with what version of the OS goes onto the phone. They provide the drivers, kernals and such and the Carrier just assists with implementation of the OS – dictating what they want on the phone as regards to restrictions, custom UI, and bloatware.
Personally, HTC has a better record with updates – I would stick with the Incredible ANYWAY. The HTC holdup is normally implementing the Sense UI. None of these phones with UI customized by the Manufacturer can put it out for a device without waiting for the OS version source and then having to the UI for that source. PATIENCE!
Dear Mr. Jha and company:
Please keep Motoblur to yourselves. Or at least on your lower end Android phones (see: Moto Devour…). The majority of Android users would love more than anything to see stock Android on your high end Android phones.
Sincerely:
Android Fans Everywhere
shaneaus, the Bait and Switch would be from verizon itself IMO if there is a long delay in updating the Incredible to 2.2
@cmherron, big time +1 to that. Even if they update Motoblur, I’d still rather it not appear on this device.
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Now I’m REALLY thinking about skipping the Incredible and waiting for this bad boy. The agreement to market heavily alone almost makes me want to wait. With the Droid name already know now and this bad boy getting marketing support, the 3rd party folks will be brawling each other to see who can come up with the most accessories!
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And lets not forget the speed benchmarks, the 4.1″ screen and the other sexy features!
If it has motoblur I won’t get it. If not, I’ll consider upgrading from my Incredible to the Shadow.
Hopefully we can get some more information about the shadow before my 30 day trial is up with the incredible. That is if I ever get it shipped to me.
+1 Utah
I’ve read some of the specs for the shadow, but will it be a sliding phone?
I wont get another full touch device unless it has a joystick. My S2 doesn’t and copy/paste is an ass pain. I want the Inc, but will wait because I want a device with a front facing camera as well.
I know that this perfect device is just around the corner and I’m gonna bet HTC will release it toward the end of the Summer.
@Andy, safe guess the shadow won’t be a slider. Common sense says that a keyboard would add too much weight to a phone that large. @cmherron, you’re not going to get stock android on a phone that’s not an OEM for Google. Why would a company who sells their own branded phones invest time and money on a hardware platform alone and not want to differentiate it as theirs with some kind of customizations? They don’t think that way or work that way. And considering the trouble Google had with their online store and tech support (they were woefully unprepared to be a phone seller) it may be a while before there is another pure Google phone again.
I was ready to pull the trigger and get the Incredible…but now this comes along.
I envy the Apple fanboys that don’t have to deal with having so many choices ;-)
@Rous
Then what do you call the Moto Droid? No MOTOBLUR here… All Android OS….
@DJ, it’s not the Motorola Droid. It’s the Droid, by Motorola (as opposed to the Motorola Milestone). And it’s not a Google phone, but a Verizon phone. It’s also not stock Android, as could be seen by it taking a few months for it to get 2,1 after it was available from Google. As for Blur, if they could have had blur running on 2.0-2.1, you can bet they’d have put it on the Milestone at least, and the Droid if Verizon allowed it. When Blur is ready for all platforms, it will likely be released with all Moto phones, for good or ill (I personally don’t want to see it, and they had best allow you to disable it).
ok. I am so sick of people calling it the shadow. it’s the damn DROID XTREME.
that is what it’s called. sheesh.
Wow… really? Uhmm.. the Motorola Droid most certainly is a stock Android phone, and Motorola Droid is most certainly it’s name outside of Verizon marketing terms… just like the phone is actually named “HTC Incredible” in every sense of the word, but listed as Droid Incredible by HTC on Verizon’s website. The difference with the Droid is that Google just isn’t pumping out the updates over their own servers and skipping the carriers, hence the delay, but it most certainly is stock. Just as the G1 is a stock Android phone, and hasn’t received an official update in just about a year now. By your definition, the only phone to ever have stock Android would be the Nexus One… while ignoring every phone that came before it, most of which predated the creation of Sense and Motoblur. So 80 phones, and 1 stock Android? Wow… just wow… as far as Blur and Sense… the Droid 2 doesn’t have Blur, the HTC Nexus One (or, since you’re such a stickler for full names, the HTC Nexus One by Google) doesn’t have Sense. Samsung phones have never been anything but stock Android.
I’m on T-Mobile. I have thoughts of switching to Verizon this pisses me off becuz T-Mobile started the shxt offf with Android and their letting all the other carriers get the high-end Android phone. I’m not buyin anymore Motorola products anymore I’m goin to HTC damn it. And MotoBlur isn’t bad, its jus the fact that Motorola takes all damn day and year to update da fxckin firmware!
Come to the Red side… we have Eclair!
@TF, It’s always fun watching people who have no idea what they’re talking about rationalize why they’re right. http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/US-EN/Consumer-Product-and-Services/Mobile-Phones/Motorola-DROID-US-EN It seems like even Motorola disagrees with you about the naming. As for stock Android, nope. There are more customizations under the hood than are dreamt of in your philosophy. A stock, off the shelf Android load might run on many phones, but it may not run well and will certainly not be optimized for the platform.
I think the guys at VZW have a brain, they will not allow crappy Moto Blur on the Droid brand of phones, it doesnt go with the whole droid brand.
@TF, Stock Android on the Droid? Odd, I seen to recall 2.1 having 2 more panels and a different app drawer on the N1 than it does on the Droid. At least the “Wow, just wow” made you sound convincing.
@Elliot/Rous – It’s stock Android. It’s bare-bones Android. Not having extra panels or the Nexus launcher doesn’t change that. The Nexus Launcher is made for, and only for, one device whose screen can not go into landscape on the home panels. If you’ve ever installed that launcher onto the Droid, you’d understand why… it simply doesn’t work in landscape. Again, the G1 and the Samsung Moment… to give 2 very big examples of stock Android… one hasn’t had an upgrade in over a year. The Moment is 2.1, and has no Nexus Launcher… because the Nexus Launcher doesn’t do Landscape mode. Seriously, get a clue. You guys are highly confused on what “stock” means. Anything that doesn’t have a UI overlay is stock. Anything. Find a device without Sense or Blur, you have a stock device.
You also fail to recognize what a “marketing” term is. The name is Motorola Droid. It’s just that simple. Once Verizon Wireless took over it’s marketing wholesale, it became simply “Droid”… there’s no “by Motorola” as far as marketing is concerned. The “by Motorola” is added by Motorola to advertise Motorola, and Verizon has followed suit. Otherwise, again if you want to boil down to brass tacks, it’s actually “Droid from Verizon Wireless.” I could care less who owns the marketing terms or names. It’s official name always has been, and always will be, the Motorola Droid no matter how they choose to sell it.
Just for a little insight on the whole naming convention. It’s called “white-labeling.” Look it up. Verizon can sell it under any name they want, and the white-labeled product follows suit to complete the illusion. All of Verizon’s old phones used to be made by LG… but you’d never know it, because they were Verizon branded and named accordingly. It doesn’t mean a damn thing for what it’s real name was.