Android has risen from a minor player in the Mobile Wars to become a dominant force challenging the Iron Fist of Apple. The cream of the Android crop though has to be Motorola’s line of Droid phones (yes, partially because they had to get special permission from George Lucas to use the term “Doird”). However, the Droid 2 is old news and rabid fans want to get their hands on the Droid 3 – the latest model from Motorola. The company isn’t helping to keep them quiet much, what with all the leaked information and teasers about the Internet. So before the launch is official (most likely July 14th according to a Best Buy advertisement or July 7th according to an Android-centric website), let us take a look at just what you can expect from the latest and greatest from Motorola.
First off, the Droid 3 will be running on a Dual-Core OMAP 4430 processor, meaning it’s going to be snappy and responsive and can handle all sorts of multi-tasking—something Droid fans have come to love about their little companions. The icing on the cake is that the latest version of Gingerbread will be installed and ready to go right out of the box.
Unfortunately, it appears that the Droid 3 will be running on just 512MB of RAM, which sounds kind of small in comparison to similar android devices.
In addition, the Droid 3 will have a slide out full QWERTY keyboard (take a look at the picture below if you don’t believe it. That puts it one leg up in the Mobile Wars according to most smartphone users—touchscreens can be so temperamental.
The 8 megapixel camera (rear facing only) will shoot full 1080p video which you won’t have any trouble playing back on the 4 inch qHD screen. Or, if you prefer an even bigger screen, simply plug in to the HDMI out and shoot the video to your TV or PC monitor (Motorola has included a 6-foot HDMI cable for just that purpose—sold separately, of course). There is a camera on the front but no concrete word on exactly how many pixels it will capture.
You’ll be able to store that video and picture data on the removable 32GB MicroSD card and take it with you wherever you go.
The 1540mAh lithium ion battery should be good for quite a while in this beast (considering that it officially does not have LTE capabilities—though rumors hint that it might in the near future). According to a list of official accessories for the Droid 3, users will be able to buy an inductive battery cover which will most likely allow for wireless recharging via Qi (or some other unidentified PowerMat-type system) so they don’t have to worry about being tied to an outlet. If that’s not enough juice for you, you can also pick up an extended life 1930mAh battery to get the most out of your Droid.
You’ll also be able to choose between white and pink snap on covers that work even with the extended batteries—though I don’t know how many Droid users still fall for the third party phone cover scam.
As far as pricing goes, both Motorola and Verizon have been very tight-lipped, which is surprising considering how much information they have let slip. My guess (and this is only a guess) is that the phone itself with run around $200 with a contract but I would expect a bunch of bargains, rebates, and other special promotional deals to appear shortly after launch. Of course, you’ll have to sign a contract or update your current one but it might be worth it. The off-contract price will most likely run around $500-$600 and I would be surprised if it went any higher than that.
So, does the Droid 3 sound like something that’s worth the price you’ll pay for it?
Considering the versatility of the Android operating system and the speed of the processor this puppy will be packing, it looks like it may be a tough contender for any iPhone to compete against. However, the fact that it’s limited to 512MB of RAM has me a bit worried.
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