By I can hardly contain my excitement – after everyone thought it’d met its demise with the introduction of phones such as the Motorola Droid X and Droid 2 (followed by a brief period of unavailability) – but the original foot-runner for this DROID invasion is back up for sale on Verizon’s site! While we can’t imagine anyone would actually spring for this over the Droid 2 (unless you like hackability) – which is just $50 more at $200 – it’s nice to see a member of the family didn’t go down without a fight. We predict a lot of BOGO sales will soon follow.
I seriously just want to buy a droid, just to own a piece of history really. I’m a broke college student, will wait for now. Glad it is back!
Ive had mine since the release and still love my droid. I love hacking it up. Im going to keep my droid until something way way better comes out. not just slightly better :)
I love my Droid! i switched to Verizon recently and this is my first android phone. Out of all my friends who have other android devices, i’d have to say the original droid is my fave. and i think it looks a lot nicer than the Droid 2. just sayin.
I gave up my Droid for my Droid X and it is WAY BETTER, not just slightly better. Anyone who would buy an original Droid now and only save $50 is crazy!!
@ DroidFan. I am with you 100%. I am waiting for the next revolution in android phones. Partially because my contract doesn’t end until later next year, but its a good thing.
charlie,
you can buy original droid for 0.01 on Amazon yay
I love my Droid. And, while there will be a day when I upgrade to the latest and greatest, even then my sleek black Droid will take it’s place in my “Hall of Android Devices”, right next to my G1.
Glad to hear this…lol I have a very ghost line droid 1…kinda miss it ….but my X is better …anyhey its funny how small that thing looks next to my X
Should be $100 instead of $150. Droid is still the best android phone!
@ curlyq: The next Android revolution has already started, it’s Samsung Galaxy S line that’s 3 times faster than any other Android phone, the best display on the planet, and a right-sized phone. T-Mobile and AT&T are already selling the phone but I hear Verizon will also be selling a Galaxy S model in the near future. No idea why anyone would have Verizon as they violate the FCC’s net neutrality rule by not allowing file downloads via the Internet even whey you’re paying for the Internet. I guess I have my standards, but others do not. Boycott Verizon, and the Galaxy S owns the slow, bulky, ugly Droids.
@Tim Eckel
Too bad there isnt a dislike function like Engadget… Droid isnt ugly but I guess people are entitled to their own opinion
I can download files via internet on my droid x all day long. I downloaded a rom for gba today… that’s a file right?
guess im not quite sure what you mean.
There isn’t a single Android phone in my area save the Evo that outperforms my OG DROID. All these saps with DROID X’s still running slower than my DROID. Granted my DROID is rooted and heavily modified..oh wait cause I CAN do that..Nobody that supports the open movement and maximum ability of a phone should have purchased the X..yes, we’re a 1% when it comes to the big picture, but 1% is still losses for M and could aide in getting it unlocked. Chances of the community doing it are slim and none. Don’t link stories of bootloaders or clockwork lol..M already said this could be done and all we’ve done is PROVE that the phone is bricked when it is modified. I’ll be on my DROID until HTC can answer big with a phone on Verizon.
Plus the galexy s is marginal when it cones to speed increas. When it comes to graphics it has one step above all motorola top shelf phones. And its world class screen is interlaced. Look at any pled screen up close next to any droid it is blurry every time. And not as good in sunlight. It rocks in mid to no ambient light. Not good enough to beat droid x or 2.
@Tim Eckel Lemme just brief you on some of Android’s high points throughout history.
T-Mobile G1 – First & Most Hackable Android of all time
MyTouch 3G – First all-touchscreen
HTC Hero – First custom UI
DROID – First to push Android into the mass (Verizon+Marketing)
Nexus One – The “Google” Phone (debatably)
I honestly think we’re on the “Snapdragon” wave for the time being. And, with that I believe the DROID Incredible takes the helm for introducing the 1 GHz processor to mainstream. At this point, Motorola and Samsung are simply riding this wave by mimicking HTC hardware, then one-upping them with the GPU. Honestly, the Galaxy S line really seems to be a quiet thud in the sonic boom of Android and I’m sorry if you bought the wrong piece of “Android history” but if the Omnia, BlackJack and Behold series of phones are indicative of Samsung’s history, it will probably prove that they need to go back to simple phones because thats what they do best.
Oh, and give HTC the screens you promised them.
@Tim Eckel
No file dowloads on verizon internet??? Really?? I download songs, zip files, roms, non market apks, and many more! What the hell are you talking about?
one thing i recently noticed is the droid 2 is not vcast video compatible. this might not be a great selling point for most of you but i personally like watching any football game that is on while chatting with you knuckle head verizon customers at work! i dont know why this isnt compatible on the droid 2 but hopefully it becomes available so i can have my r2d2 droid goodness.
@dom: It’s not interlaced, you’re crazy. You obviously don’t even know what an interlaced display is. I’ve seen the Samsung Galaxy S next to the Droid and it kills the Droid and its smaller screen. The GPU on the Samsung Galaxy S is not just a little faster, it’s 3 times faster. Total night and day. The CPU is basically the same, but the graphics are WAY better on the Samsung Galaxy S.
@Drew: The Samsung Galaxy S makes the Droid phones look slow. The next Android revolution has started, and the Droid 2 is not part of it.
@thebarbrr: Try paying for the Internet on a non-Android phone with Verizon and see what you can download. Direct FCC net neutrality violation to force customers to buy ringtones and music from Verizon instead of allowing you to get the Internet you’re paying for and download whatever you want. This is a deliberate action Verizon takes (they provide firmware “updates” that block your ability to download content). Don’t be suprised if at some point they “update” Android phones with a similar restriction. They will probably use the excuse that they’re trying to protect you from getting a virus, but we all know the reason why Verizon would block their customers from downloading music and ringtones, their bottom line…
Feel the Motorola Droid love here… The Motorola Droid is 90% marketing hot air. Verizon Wireless is good at marketing, and suck at most anything else. For fun, go to a Verizon Wireless store and check out the long line of angry people with problems. Wait long enough and eventually someone will go postal, it always happens.
@dom: The Samsung Galaxy S display is not interlaced. You must not even know what interlaced is to think that. And I’ve seen the Samsung Galaxy S next to a Droid and the Galaxy S has a bigger, brighter, and better looking display. It’s not one step faster than the Droid, it’s 3 times faster!
They’re selling the Droid II on Amazon for $150 with a contract. It pays to shop around for bargains.
Even with nodding the droid doesn’t seem to have the graphical abuility of the”X or droid 2 or galexy. Not that i have seen.
at DREW
Tim eckel was talking about the revolution in android history, and he is right about it.. samsung has created a device which tops the rest of other android devices in almost every aspect. samsung is the epitome of great technology compared to HTC.. albeit HTC pioneered the android era, it seems to me that HTC has always failed with their redundant devices that do not ooze with something “revolutionary” and advancement..
mind you, both the galaxy S and the EVO 4G were introduced in march at the CTIA, despite the EVO’s overflowing attention that it was receiving, Samsung Galaxy S is clearly the one that was way advanced technology-wise, and there’s no argument here..
but props to HTC for introducing android into the smartphone realm.. they made such a good move that was also benificial for them as the company became a popular brand in the US..
pioneered the android smartphone era*
errr.. edited*
The a4, hummingbird, snapdragon, and omap processors are different ways to do the same thing they were all designed and produced in a slightly staggered parallel path. No one was released before the others had been conceptualized and began technical design. To say one is riding the coat tails of the other is ridiculous they all were designed using the basic architecture of the ARMv7- based cortex- A8 technology. Using a 45nm process to achieve 1Ghz core speeds. Do some research.
I forgot to add apples precious A4 processor wich was developed using all the same technology only apple aquired intricity after they developed the hummingbird with samsung now they are owned by apple making the Q4 an apple exclusive processor.
Shoot, the droid is still awesome. With the upgrade to 2.2, so many things have gotten better, its ridiculous. The Droid 2, isnt that much better of a phone in the end. However, the Droid X is a far superior phone in all things considered. I am curious tho, why did they (Motorola) not spend their time making the X, that much better? I love my droid, however, if I could afford to move to X right now I would, simply to lose the slide out keyboard….the only reason I slide it out is to clean it from time to time.
They must have already sold out of it, because it’s gone from the site right now-
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/store/controller?item=phoneFirst&action=viewPhoneOverviewByDevice&deviceType=3G%20Smartphones
@dom Well, I definitely didn’t mean the processors were ripping each other off. I realize what you are saying and I understand processors. My point was that, before the Nexus One was released, nobody (including HTC) was even really in the 1 GHz mindset for the U.S. market. Then HTC finally pushed out the Incredible a couple months later along with the EVO 4G. Verizon had every intention of releasing the DROID X alongside the DROID 2 or even afterwards. But with the Incredible now a month into backorder and customers fleeing for the “Incredible with the bigger screen and ‘the’ 4G”, Verizon went ahead and pushed out the DROID X with slightly-less-than-ready software. Now, Samsung, after the huge Behold II update fiasco comes out with 3 iPhones, an iPod Touch, an iPad and that hideous thing they gave AT&T to make them feel included. And yet somehow I know there will be a group of Galaxy S fanboys to join the N1 fanboys at kneeling down to their “developer support” promise. If Samsung supported the developer, they would have let the community put 2.x on the BH II.
has anybody got their hands on this new shipment ? are they using the OLED or Sony’s LCD screen ?
Im with you all the way on that (drew). My biggest problem with this phone is the early release they pushed it out way way too early it is definitely not perfect (wifi plus cam probs, yester year gpu pi#### me off to no extent) but after 2.2 update and a fire apps added and removed. its def a good phone. But the nexus was the flagship power house for sure on android. P.s. the galexy junk is crap a good gpu is not the only thing a phone needs and s amoled isnot there yet not for outside sun environment .
I love my Droid. Need say nothing more.
@dom, it sounds to like you scare, galaxy s is coming, galaxy s is coming, hahahaha.
Hey Erkel, maybe I am mistaken as well but I have been downloading since day one. And, since rooting and romming (again, because I not only can, but I can quite easily) I am even more impressed with my 1st Gen Droid.
Mac
@ Mac: Verizon blocks downloads on non-Android phones. They slowly “updated” other phones to block downloads. Expect an Android update to block downloads as well, once they realize they can force you to buy ringtones and music from them instead of downloading it on your own. Verizon doesn’t play well with their customers. Worst cellular company period.
So does this mean the insurance will start replacing the Droids with Droids instead of the cheap phones they’re offering now??
They have been selling the Droid for $48 new or upgrade contracts at Walmart.
Galexy s has an interlaced pixel arangement of high output organic light emitting diodes take galexy s or htc incredible and look at the fine detail next to the droid 2 or x or even the lower ppi evo and you would be in my book classified as ignorand if you don’t see the obvious difference in clarity vs brightness. The truth hurts look closer. The blurr is not your eyes its the old world pixel arrangement im not sure why they had to do it that way but the pixels are staggered so that every line that would be one strand on droid x or any lcd is taking up half of each pixel left then right so on untill the edge. If you even look at the edge of your screen you will see it looks jagged… why is that? I wonder. It took me 5 seconds to see this MASSIVE flaw and then another two weeks to get over the fact that my favorite phone on the market is an utter waste. I have also watched comparisons in graphical abuility it is awsome and blows my x away. But. It is one single STEP above the x’s cpu. Not percentages or ratios.
Toclarify i love everything about the galexy s i was obsessed with it until i held it in my hands. If you either rearranged the pixels to progressive or just plain put an 480/854 lcd in it i would burn my x and pay full price for me and my wife. No joke. Actually you would have to put a working gps with google nav and the new google search for 2.2 then i would seriously throw my droid in a pile of $#it and drive over it and then dump it in a river for no one to ever see. I am not putting galexy s down. But the areas it is lacking add up to more problems then shotty wifi and a third best gpu like the x
Correction (loved the galexy s)
I didn’t do my homework when i first held the incredible. I thought it was htc’s production of oled. I wrote a very scathing letter to the company voicing my concerns. They pled retarded. I have sence sent an email to samsung. I cannot look at an s oled without in seconds knoticing the error of its design. I want to see a 20x microscopic pic of the screen so all who don’t recognize detail will see what my sad eyes see.
I swear on my childs live i was going to be one of the first to own the fascinate. Now maybe the galexy z with super super PROGRESSIVE z oled lol i don’t care what you call it as long as its clear and crisp. NOT interlaced. Plus fix the d@mm gps i use gps alot. No gps means no go. Not that i can’t navigate but just saying the destination is fun lol.
Nobody cares about the FCC. They should stick to what they do best: censoring superbowl half time shows and leave the internet alone.
@Charlie how is 2.2 working for you? Oh wait, you don’t have 2.2 nor any ability to put 2.2 or any other rom on your phone. Sure sounds better, huh?
You can download files on their other smartphones too. not just android. you can’t do large files on s bb but that’s a rim restriction not VZW. if you want to complain about net neutrality take a look at crApple ..
Whoever thinks the original droid is in any way better then the x or 2 is blinded by there need to hack apart good equipment to break laws and. Yes gain more freedoms. The x and 2 both actually. Use there gpu to the fullest extent because of the two-fold processor but also the wireless n and abuility to mifi. The original droid evenly overclocked too 1+ ghz doesn’t perform nearly as good as its successors. Sorry.
P.s. resizable widgets are awsome! Lol.
@dom
Well actually according to a fairly recent U.S. Library of Congress ruling rooting is legal. Also who cares if the original droid doesn’t preform as well as its (1 ghz) successors at 1+ ghz, the processor isn’t even meant to run that fast. My droid is clocked at 700 mhz and it runs just as smoothly as the droid Xs and the droid 2s I have played with and I didn’t need to pay an extra $200 for a new phone. In my opinion the only things that need to be upgraded on the droid is a slightly larger rom (app storage) and longer battery life (although that would be my complaint about any smart phone).
The legality i meantioned wasn’t rooting it was tethering. I am all for rooting and i absolutly love the droid. But owning an x and my wife owns droid 2 i definitely understand the effects a faster cpu can have on a gpu im not 100 percent but i remember reading that moto slightly overclocked the powerVR SGX530 to like 200mhz from like110mhz. This may not be true or may even just be the better cpu effecting the gpu’s ability. Im not sure. All i know is in benchmarks the x and 2 are two top contenders. Actually in quadrent my x benchmarks only slightly below the 2.2 nexus. Alot higher then the chart says it should place
I was jus on the verzion website todaii wednesdaii August 18th and they took it down which made me sad cause it waz on mondaii. So yea. =(