Is there such a thing as one upping Apple? Well, it was at least a thunder stealing event today in New York as Verizon, Google, Motorola and Adobe joined to announce the “Next Generation of Droids”. On the heels of tomorrow’s launch of the iPhone 4, Verizon brought the technology world together and unveiled the Droid X.

The Droid X is a state-of-the-art smartphone that has a large 4.3 inch screen with 848×480 pixel display, multi-touch screen, GPS, bluetooth, a higher quality 8 megapixel camera that shoots 720p HD video and also provides mobile WiFi hotspot access.

Droid X could challenge Apple’s apparent stranglehold on new smartphone technology. Built on the Android open source platform, the Droid X will launch with 2.1 software and update to the much anticipated 2.2 Android software later in the summer.

“It has been an exciting time for Android momentum and global consumer adoption since the announcement of DROID by Motorola nine months ago,” said Andy Rubin, vice president of engineering for Google. “There are 160,000 new Android-powered devices activated daily and Android Market has grown to over 65,000 applications. Plus later this summer, Verizon Wireless and Motorola will update all the DROID by Motorola phones to the latest 2.2 software. For customers, this means great new features and improved browser performance. For developers, this will provide new tools such as cloud-to-device messaging and enhanced enterprise functionality.”

This phone is also fast with the same speed 1 MgHZ as Apple’s new iPhone 4. The question will be operation systems – which will win the speed test, Apple’s iOS or Droid 2.2? You will certainly hear more in the coming weeks.

The new Droid X launches with Adobe’s brand new Flash 10.1 video player. Flash leads all other video players on websites and mobile. This is a big difference to the iPhone 4, where Apple has banned flash on it’s devices in favor of HTML5 and .H264 formats.

One thing to remember in all of this… these are mobile phones and Motorola’s CEO Sanjay Jha called the performance of AT&T cell service into question, touting Verizon’s service as superior. “We pay attention to this, because we realize that people still use their phones.. as phones.”

The new Droid X begins shipping on July 15th, will cost you $199 after a $100 rebate, requires a $30 monthly unlimited data fee in addition to cell service, and if you choose the mobile WiFi hotspot service, that will set you back an additional $20 per month for 2 GB of data, go over that and you pay more. Have a Verizon contract coming due this year? Verizon takes a page from the Apple playbook and waives fees to upgrade to the new Droid X.

With so many phones being released at one time, this could probably be called the week of the smartphone. In recent memory never has there been so many advances in mobile technology released at one time.

But still, the big attention getter is the iPhone 4. Pre-orders clogged Apple and AT&T websites, selling 600,000 devices before cutting off sales after 8 hours. Those phones begin arriving into users hands today and limited availability in retail stores on June 24, but AT&T says don’t expect to actually be able to buy one in their stores until June 29th.

The latest phone is a re-design for Apple with a more sure body and higher resolution retina display. It’s also the first phone in the US capable of shooting 720p HD video. But it’s the second forward facing camera that is getting a lot of attention and the accompanying app FaceTime, which allows two-way conference between phones. This is going to be another media event, one where we will surely see people camping at Best Buy and AT&T to be first in line, even though you could pick up the phone and order 10 days ago.

The main differences between these two devices:

Apple’s iPhone 4:

• Uses the AT&T wireless network, that no longer offers an unlimited data plan.
• 4G cellular service where available – 18 current markets and growing.
• Retina display high resolution display screen
• Two cameras – Front facing camera and a 5 megapixel main camera – 720p HD video
• Exclusive FaceTime phone to phone video calls – only on WiFi networks

Verizon’s Droid X:

• Uses Verizon’s wireless network, $30 monthly unlimited data plan
• 3G cellular service
• 4.3″ inch screen – larger than the iPhone, but lower resolution
• 8 megapixel camera – shoots 720p HD video and stills
• Plays flash video from Adobe 10.1 software

There is more news expected from Verizon later this summer. The expected release of the Droid 2, replacing the original Droid. A faster processor, the same as the new Droid X, and a larger redesigned physical keyboard could very well begin challenging Blackberry devices as the smartphone of choice for businesses. The Droid 2 will have the same video capabilities as today’s new release.

Stay tuned.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 15th, 2010 at 10:42 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.