November 06, 2009, 10:40 AM — Can you feel the tremors? Verizon's hotly anticipated Motorola Droid finally arrives on Friday, and -- if the earth-rumbling ads are to be believed -- we'll be feeling its force all over the world.
All right, so the ads may be a bit exaggerated. Let's face it, though: This phone is stirring up quite the geek-friendly frenzy. Whether you think it'll be a mere blip on the radar or you believe it'll send the iPhone scrambling to a secure bunker, the Droid has definitely become difficult to ignore.
Here's a quick and easy guide to everything you need to know about Verizon's Droid and its November 6 launch.
Verizon's Droid: The Basics
• Verizon's Motorola Droid is 4.56 by 2.36 inches and weighs just under 6 ounces.
• The phone features 3.7-inch, 854-by-480 pixel touchscreen display.
• It has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a 5-megapixel camera with DVD-quality video recording.
• The Droid utilizes an Arm Cortex 550mHz A8 processor with 256MB of built-in memory. It has a 16GB microSD card and can be expanded to 32GB.
• Running the Android 2.0 operating system, the Droid is capable of multitasking and features unique options such as integrated turn-by-turn GPS navigation.
• The Droid connects to Google's Android Market, which features roughly 10,000 downloadable apps.
Verizon's Droid: The Buying
• The Droid costs $199.99 when bought with a new two-year contract. In most instances, however, you'll end up paying $299.99 up-front, then getting $100 back via a mail-in rebate.
• If you buy your Droid at Best Buy, you can avoid paying the extra $100 from the mail-in rebate. Best Buy will automatically credit the rebate at the time of your purchase, meaning you'll pay only $199.99 that day.
• The Droid requires a Verizon voice plan, which runs a minimum of $39.99 for 450 minutes. It also requires an unlimited data plan, which runs an additional $29.99. Text messaging is not included and costs extra to add on.
• Over two years' time, you'd end up paying essentially the same amount with either an iPhone 3GS or a Verizon Droid. A Palm Pre would end up costing you a good bit less.
• Despite some initial confusion, you will not have to pay extra simply to utilize the Droid's Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync feature. There is a $15 surcharge only if you have a multiple-line business account.
• Verizon Wireless will open many of its retail stores early Friday morning to accommodate the Droid launch. Some locations will open at 7 or 8 a.m. The flagship Verizon store on 34th Street in New York City will open from midnight to 2 a.m. for an early round of Droid sales. Be sure to call your specific store to check on its hours, as opening times vary from place to place.
Verizon's Droid: The Reviews
• PC World: "The first Android 2.0 phone impresses with a strong suite of Web features and a stunning 3.7-inch display, but some users might have trouble with the shallow keyboard."
• The New York Times (David Pogue): "The Droid wins on phone network, customizability, GPS navigation, speaker, physical keyboard, removable battery and openness (free operating system, mostly uncensored app store)."
