Verizon to Launch Two Powerful Droids Tomorrow

Verizon has been teasing the Droid X launch for the last week or so and now people are wondering if the company may launch the Droid 2 at the same time. The lads over at Android and Me got their hands on a Droid 2 "a little early" and point to tomorrow as the launch day for the device.

Both are Motorola devices so it would make sense for Verizon to launch the two together. With the Droid X being all touch and the Droid 2 packing a full, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, they'll appeal to slightly different crowds and so it's less likely they'll cannibalize each other's sales. Still, it's a risky move in that the two will have to share the spotlight; we'll have to wait until tomorrow to see if Verizon is really going to try and pull it off.

While we're waiting, though, Android and Me has some details on specs for the Droid 2. AAM reports that though the Droid 1 and 2 look extremely similar (same size, weight and battery), there are some cosmetic differences. The Droid 2 lacks the d-pad present on the original Droid and, as a result, the keyboard on the Droid 2 is slightly raised with bigger keys, which makes for more accurate typing. While the Droid has more of a black and gold theme, Droid 2 is dark blue and silver.

However, the real changes are happening under the hood. The Droid 2 packs a 1GHz TI OMAP3630 CPU (up from 550MHz on the original and more powerful than the rumored 750MHz we heard about last week). It's also got twice the RAM (512 MB) and almost doubled the frames per second of the Droid 1 during benchmarks.

Interestingly enough, Android and Me says that save for the physical keyboard, 4.3-inch display, 8-megapixel camera, 720p video capture, and micro HDMI out, "the Droid X and Droid 2 are essentially the same phone on the inside." So if you prefer a device geared more towards media, you can rest easy that the Droid X will provide something similar to the benchmarks below.

"The Droid 2 scored 1199, which is the highest we have seen for any phone running Android 2.1. A Nexus One with Android 2.1 scores around 500 in this benchmark and that score almost triples to 1489 when Android 2.2 is installed."

Hands up who else can't wait for tomorrow?

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Jane McEntegart works in marketing communications at Intel and was previously Manager of Content Marketing at ASUS North America. Before that, she worked for more than seven years at Tom's Guide and Tom's Hardware, holding such roles as Contributing Editor and Senior News Editor and writing about everything from smartphones to tablets and games consoles.

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  • nsmetana
    I hate how fast they release new phones! I just got my Droid ERIS a few months ago and I already feel like it's outdated :(
    Reply
  • captainm27
    Will it still say "DROID!" when receiving texts?
    Reply
  • kyeana
    Now we just need root, a cyanogen port, and we are set! :)
    Reply
  • nicklasd87
    I think I'll be making the switch from ATT to Verizon tomorrow
    Reply
  • captainm27
    Droid ERIS is kind of outdated....at least with the availablity of 1GHz processor phones all around. I just bought my Incredible 2 weeks ago. I don't see these new droids offering anything much better. The phone is, after all, Incredible!
    Reply
  • zoemayne
    wow this is perfect for me
    Reply
  • scione
    WOOT, I actually really like the keyboard so this is perfect
    Reply
  • AMW1011
    Soldier, look at the Dell Streak:
    http://www.streaksmart.com/

    That is what I plan to buy. I admit its more tablet than phone, but it works well for both. You just can't beat that screen size for web browsing, movie watching, and book/text reading.
    Reply
  • gregor
    Soldier, thought you said that nothing could beat the iPhone4??
    Reply
  • JeanLuc
    "Verizon to Launch Two Powerful Droids"


    Data and his brother Lore?
    Reply