Droid built for speed, screen
Motorola challenger to iPhone boasts free GPS, high-resolution, Verizon 3G
Motorola on Wednesday unveiled its much-anticipated Droid smartphone, expected to compete with Apple's iPhone, showing off its speedy Web browsing, Verizon Wireless carrier partner and 3.7-inch high-resolution screen.
(AP)
u Provides access to Apple's popular iTunes music and video stores.
u Gives access to iPhone's 50,000 unique applications through the apps store.
The phone will be sold starting Nov. 6 at Verizon Wireless stores and Verizon online for $199 after a $100 rebate. The user is required to subscribe to a nationwide calling plan and a $30 data plan. Nationwide plans start at $39.99 for monthly access.
"The screen, at 400,000 pixels, gives twice the resolution of any other" smartphone, said Melissa Gardner, Motorola's VP of consumer marketing experience. "You get to see a Web site's full screen, and zoom in and zoom out on the site."
The news that Droid would challenge the iPhone leaked last week when Verizon Wireless started running an ad at droiddoes.com.
Motorola, which unveiled the Cliq, its first smartphone based on the Android operating platform, in September, had promised a second smartphone and more after Jan. 1.
Joseph Beaulieu, a senior analyst at Chicago-based Morningstar, said he isn't certain that the Droid "will be good enough to cut through the noise that you're getting from Apple iPhone, HTC's Hero, Research In Motion's BlackBerry and even Palm's Pre and upcoming Pixi."
If Droid isn't successful, it will be because it doesn't live up to such high expectations, Beaulieu said.
"There is a lot more riding on the Droid because Motorola hasn't had a true hit product since the RAZR in 2004," he said.
Motorola is touting these Droid features:
It runs on Verizon's 3G network, delivering what is claimed as near-desktop Web access speed.
It has a unified inbox that collects a variety of incoming e-mail, including work and personal e-mail.
It offers voice-activated search and navigation so users can say "pizza" and find nearby pizza places.
The phone attaches to a dock in the car and turns into a GPS system.
The phone comes loaded with Google maps, Gmail, YouTube, Android market and the Amazon MP3 store, among other capabilities.