Rumors come and go everyday in the tech world, and some just don't make any sense. This one falls directly into that category, as the word on the street is that Motorola will not be releasing the Droid/Milestone 3 in the UK. There is no reason or justification as to why Moto may have made this decision, but (of course) there is speculation. UK tech blog Clove thinks that it could be because of the lackluster sales of the Milestone 2, or perhaps there just isn't much of a market for slide-out QWERTY devices, citing the demise of the HTC Desire Z in the UK as reasoning.
It looks like an update for the Blackberry-style DROID Pro has just hit the Verizon update network, which will bring the current software version up to 3.8.7. It's not as exciting as a Gingerbread update would be, but it does bring some welcome bug fixes and UI enhancements.
Also included in this update are several Exchange ActiveSync improvements, like calendar synchronization. The rest of this update consists primarily of bug fixes, a Bluetooth voice recording enhancement, and the addition of Verizon's V CAST Appstore.
According to Motorola's support forums, you should be able to pull this update now by going to Settings>About Phone>System.
Introduction
And with that, we solidly conclude that Android truly has visited 99% of the mobile form factors out there. That's right, people, the Motorola Droid Pro has arrived in the Android Police offices, and after spending the last week or so with it, I can tell you - with a straight face, nonetheless - that RIM's got serious competition here. The handset isn't exactly all that and a piece of cake, but it's definitely up there, at least for enterprise customers. Read on for the full, unbiased Android Police review to find out what makes it so special.
Hardware Overview
Specs
Before I proceed with the review, let's recap the Droid Pro's specs:
Wow... that's the only word I have to describe what Amazon Wireless pulled this morning. Amazon and Wirefly oftentimes offer killer deals compared to the carriers (like yesterday's $50 Droid Pro Wirefly deal), but this one is just ridiculous. All of the Droid phones, including the newly released Droid Pro, are exactly 1 penny over at Amazon Wireless for new Verizon customers:
- Droid Pro (see our Droid Pro unboxing and first impressions)
- Droid X (see our Droid X review roundup)
- Droid 2 (see our Droid 2 review)
- Droid Incredible (see our Droid Incredible review roundup)
In addition to the free 2-day shipping and the absence of any tax, all activation fees related to establishing a new account are waived.
So... what can I say? It's the Droid Pro, Android's answer to the Blackberry, the Blackberry running Android - in short, the phone that's supposed to kill off RIM once and for all. But is it? Our review unit just arrived in the mail today, and while I'm not ready to do a full review just yet, I am ready to give you my initial impressions as well as an overview of what's in the box. Ready? Read on!
The Unboxing
The box is standard fare for a Droid device - black, gray, and red, except for the Droid Pro name, which is inscribed in white.
It's definitely starting to feel like holiday season is winding up - a ton of devices that we've seen in the pipeline previously are now making it to market at long last. Let's take a look:
Samsung Galaxy Tab
The Verizon and Sprint versions of the Galaxy Tab have launched already, and the device will be coming to Sprint in short order (11/14) as well. Quick recap of the specs:
- 7" 1024x600 screen
- Both 3G and Wi-Fi
- Android 2.2
- 1 GHz Hummingbird CPU
- 13.8 oz.
So far the reviews seem to be fairly mixed on the Tab. Right now, only the Verizon variant is listed at Wirefly, but we expect that to change shortly.
Verizon's really steamrolling along with the Android train, aren't they? In addition to last night's official announcement of the Samsung Continuum, the Motorola Droid Pro and Droid 2 Global are now both up for pre-order. Just as we'd heard, the D2G looks to be $200 after rebates, while the DP, as announced yesterday, will clock in at $180 (both with a new contract).
Both devices are "world phones," meaning they pack both GSM and CDMA. The Droid Pro is a candybar form factor with a full QWERTY keyboard at the bottom - clearly aimed at the BlackBerry crowd. The Droid 2 Global, on the other hand, features a choice of two colors and a higher clocked processor than the regular ole' D2.
We've seen a leaked Verizon image showing the Droid Pro, Motorola's first serious answer Blackberry-style Android device, at the $180 price point before, but we never quite got the date. Today, Verizon went public with dates: we now know the device will go on presale tomorrow and finally be in your hands on November 18th. Price-wise, the Big Red officially confirmed the $180 price point, as expected, albeit after a $100 rebate. Not too bad for a business oriented device that can utilize voice and data in over 200 countries.
Official pictures and press release follow.
Update: Droid Pro user guide is here.
Engadget's landed a classic Blurrycam shot of Verizon's internal system showing the prices for a handful of current and upcoming devices. Namely, the Motorola Droid Pro, and the still-unofficial Droid 2 Global and Samsung Continuum.
In simpler, blur-free text, that's:
- Motorola Droid Pro - $179
- Samsung Continuum - $199
- Motorola Droid 2 Global - $199
Not unreasonable at all, given that they're all high-end devices. I suppose this should also erase any lingering doubt anyone may have had about the two color choices for the D2 Global - we'll definitely be presented with the standard dark blue, as well as a white model.



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