Motorola's DROID has its sights set firmly on the iPhone

When I think of droids, my thoughts always turn to those amusing robots in the Star Wars movies, but Motorola has usurped the name for their latest and most definitely greatest Android powered smartphone.  Breaking Motorola’s tradition of phones with four letter names (notice how it still keeps the all caps spelling, though…old habits die hard), the DROID, like many recent smartphones before it, is being positioned by Verizon as the most killingest of the iPhone killers around.  It’s hard to argue with the facts.  The DROID sports a deliciously sexy, pseudo retro design that bucks the current trend of smooth, rounded phones by emphasizing its boxy look and harsh angles; and has a stunning, high resolution 3.7 inch screen that makes viewing text and pictures a joy rather than an exercise in eye strain.  There’s a responsive and tactile slide out QWERTY keyboard for those who still can’t understand the iPhone’s lack of phsyical buttons, a 5 megapixel camera with dual LED flashes, Visual Voicemail and support for 3G and Wi-Fi.  But the biggest news here is what’s under the hood.  The DROID will be the first phone to run the new and improved Android 2.0 software that includes an updated a more refined interface, a new contacts app, multi-resolution support, a better camera app, and voice activated search, a bevy of social networking apps, over the air Amazon MP3 downloads and integrated G-Mail.  More importantly, the DROID will also the first phone with Google Maps Navigation, providing turn-by-turn voice guidance as a free feature of Google Maps.

The DROID will be available on Friday, November 6th, for $200 on a two year contract after a mail in rebate (naturally).