Motorola Droid

Motorola Droid

Manufacturer	Motorola
Type	Slider smartphone
Release date	November 6, 2009
Operating system	Android 2.0[1] (2.0.1 with an over-the-air update in December 2009)
Power	1400 mAh Internal rechargeable removable lithium-ion polymer battery
CPU	TI OMAP 3430:[2] Arm Cortex A8 600 MHz underclocked to 550 MHz [1] PowerVR SGX 530 GPU 430MHz TMS320 C64x DSP (Digital signal processor) + ISP (Image Signal Processor)
Storage capacity	Onboard Flash memory: 512MB Removable: 16 GB microSD included; expandable up to 32 GB.[1][3]
Memory	RAM: 256MB, ROM: 512MB
Display	854 x 480 px, 3.7 in (94 mm), WVGA, 265 pixels per inch (ppi)
Input	Multi-touch capacitive touchscreen display, QWERTY keyboard
Camera	5.0 megapixel with auto focus and flash
Connectivity	USB Micro-B Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Dual band CDMA2000/EV-DO Rev. A 800 1900 MHz
Dimensions	115.8 mm (4.56 in) (h) 60 mm (2.4 in) (w) 13.7 mm (0.54 in) (d)
Weight	169 g (6.0 oz)

The Motorola Droid (Motorola Milestone for the GSM version) is an Internet and multimedia enabled smartphone designed by Motorola, which runs Google's Android operating system.

In the United States, the handset is distributed by Verizon Wireless. Features of the phone include Wi-Fi networking, a 5-megapixel low light capable digital camera, a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack, interchangeable battery,^[4] 3.7-inch 854 x 480 touchscreen, MicroSDHC support with bundled 16GB card,^[3] turn-by-turn Google Maps navigation, sliding QWERTY keyboard, and Texas Instruments OMAP 3430 processor.^[2] The Motorola Droid runs Android version 2.0.1.^[5] The phone does not, however, run the re-branded MOTOBLUR interface for Android, instead providing the Google Experience skin and application stack.^[6][7]

The Droid has a hearing aid compatibility (hac) rating of M3/T3.^[1] The phone is the first to ship with Google Maps Navigation installed.^[8] The Droid had been publicized under the codenames Sholes and Tao^[6][9] and the model number A855.^[10]

Motorola Milestone

The quad-band^[11] GSM/UMTS version is named Motorola Milestone.^[12] While the phone is essentially the same, it will ship with multitouch input support in the browser application enabled, Motorola's MOTONAV in place of Droid's US-only^[13] Google Maps Navigation, and a smaller bundled 8GB MicroSDHC card.^[14] The Milestone was launched first in Germany and Italy on November 9 and Argentina.^[15] Milestone will then be released in Canada in early 2010.^[16]

American launch

Analytics firm Flurry estimated that 250,000 Motorola Droid phones were sold in the United States during the phone's first week in stores.^[17] It is expected that one million Motorola Droids will be sold by the end of 2009.^[18]

Verizon explicitly promoted the Droid as an Apple iPhone-alternative. Launched on October 17, 2009 TV spots and an associated website made "entertainingly combative" claims^[19] listing features lacking on the iPhone, e.g. "iDon't multitask," only mentioning the name of the Droid in the final frame, reading "Droid Does."^[9] At the official launch event on October 28, 2009 Verizon's Chief Marketing Officer John Stratton described the campaign as a spoof of Apple's iPhone ads, intended to "wake up the market."^[20]

The American launch included an interactive experience called "Droid Does Times Square"^[21] that allows people to control the Nasdaq and Reuters electronic billboards in Times Square by using voice commands (searching by voice is a primary Android feature). The experience is available in Times Square or via the Droid Does Web site.^[22]

The November 6, 2009 release date of the Droid came just under a month after Verizon and Google announced that they had entered into an agreement^[23] to jointly develop wireless devices based on the Android mobile platform. Verizon said at the time that it planned to have two Android-based handsets on the market by year-end with more to come in 2010. The other handset is the HTC Droid Eris, a modification to the HTC Hero, seen in shots of Google CEO Eric Schmidt holding one in a Verizon/Google press conference.^[24]

American exclusive software for the Droid includes Google Maps Navigation, an Amazon MP3 Store applet, and Verizon Wireless Visual Voice Mail management.^[25]

The Motorola Droid was successfully "rooted" or hacked to provide administrative options on December 8, 2009.^[26]

British launch

The phone was launched in the United Kingdom on Thursday 10 December, 2009, as the Motorola Milestone. The exclusive sales outlet for the phone, eXpansys, reported that all stocks of the phone had completely sold out within 3 hours of its debut. The sell-out was considered a major victory for Motorola, which has had little success with its previous Windows Mobile-based phones, and had been counting on Android-based phones for future growth.^[27]

Asian launch

The Milestone was launched in Hong Kong on 21 December 2009^[28] as the sixth android device in the region for HKD$4,680 with an 8G MicroSD card included. This version is in English but supports Chinese hand writing that originated from the Motorola Ming and pinyin input method. While MOTONAV is included, it does not work and is not officially supported. The phone can be updated to Android 2.1 in 1Q 2010, the update will also feature a Chinese user interface and more Chinese input methods such as Changjie. Currently users who want to use these input methods need to download 3rd party solutions from the Android Market.^[29]

See also

• List of Android devices

External links

• DROID by Motorola
• Droid from Verizon Wireless
• Motorola Droid Applications

References