NEW YORK — Verizon Wireless plans
to give the iPhone 4 a run for its money
with the July 15 launch of the Motorolamade
Droid X at $199 (after $100 rebate)
and a relaxed upgrade policy for current
Verizon subscribers.
The Droid X is the carrier’s first Droid
with HD video capture (720p), HDMI output,
Blockbuster video-download service,
Digital Living Network Alliance
(DLNA) certification and embedded
mobile Wi-Fi hot spot.
For the launch, the company didn’t
implement a tiered data plan, opting to
continue requiring a $29.99/month unlimited-
data plan for the Droid X and
other smartphones.
The full-touchscreen Android 2.1 device,
which is only 0.39 inches thick,
features 16:9 4.3-inch WVGA 480 by
854 multitouch display, 1GHz processor,
8GB embedded memory, included
16GB card and memory expansion to a
total 40GB via 32GB MicroSD card.
An upgrade to the Android 2.2 OS
will be available in late summer, and a
mobile version of Flash 10.1 to stream
Internet video will be available in the
next several weeks for downloading.
The device will be available through Verizon’s
direct and indirect channels on July
15, said Verizon Wireless executive VP/
chief marketing officer John Stratton.
To encourage a swift uptake of the device,
the carrier will let current Verizon
subscribers whose contract is up in 2010
to buy the Droid X at $199 or any other
smartphone at the new-subscriber price.
Verizon normally requires subscribers
to pay full price for a smartphone if they
want to upgrade before their contract is
up, a spokesperson said.
The Blockbuster app that will ship with
the phone lets users sign up for a Blockbuster
On Demand account to buy movies and TV shows. Via Wi-
Fi, users could download the movies for
local storage on
their Droid X. Purchased
movies will
be viewable on the
phone or on other
devices, such as
compatible mobile
devices and TVs,
equipped wi th
Blockbuster service.
Rented movies
can be viewed on only one screen.
The Droid X will be Verizon’s second
Motorola-made Droid with Motoblur
service.
The included 1540mAh battery delivers
eight hours of talk time, and a
planned optional 1930mAh battery adds
1mm in depth.
The embedded Wi-Fi hot spot will
connect up to five other mobile devices
simultaneously to the Internet, but the
capability will cost an extra $20/month
with a cap of 2GB of data usage. Overages
will cost 5 cents per MB.
