So, of course the net was filled with an Android splattered passion that almost felt like hystery, or maybe it was just me. Anyways the Motorola Droid will be released on the Verizon network for $199.99 with a two year contract and your soul.  Here is what is not about the Droid and why it was a geek frenzy today:

• Full (landscape) QWERTY, slide-out keyboard
• 3.7″ touch screen (bigger than iPhone’s w/ higher resolution)
• Android 2.0 (Google’s open source mobile operating system)
• FREE Google turn-by-turn GPS (beta of course)
• “thinnest full QWERTY slider” – .53″
• dockable – can be turned into a GPS or alarm-clock/media-unit (see the video for a better description)

Here are all of the links related to the new Moto Droid that give exhaustive critiques. As reviews come up in the next couple of days I will add them here:

• Motorola Droid (PC World)
• Motorola Droid first hands-on! (Engadget)
• Motorola Droid unboxing! (Engadget)
• Motorola Droid First Hands On: It’s a Terminator (Gizmodo)
• Google Maps Navigation: A Free, Ass-Kicking, Turn-by-Turn Mobile App (Gizmodo)
• Motorola Droid Live Review (CNET)
• Motorola DROID review (Engadget)

And that’s the best of the best for right now.

One more thing

There is something I have to say about Android in general and it is the reason that I tend to write about and get excited over it. It’s the fact that Android, more so than any other phone OS is open. Ever since I understood what Linux and open source software stood for a number of years ago, I have had a fixation with any thing that is open and inherently “hackable”.

The future of Android is in any and all of the devlopers hands and I don’t mean just Google developers. This system is open to all coders and do they ever take advantage of it. If you are interested in the Android project check out Android Developers. They are doing awesome things there and without that group, user experiences like that of the upcoming Motorola droid would not exist.