Apple's iPhone seems to be the heavy-weight champion of cellular phones at the moment, but a new smart phone is looking to take the title of hippest personal digital assistant (PDA).
Verizon and Google have joined to produce the Droid, a phone supposed to do everything the iPhone does, but better.
"The Droid is a phone that Verizon has combined with Google to produce a new operating system software called Android 2.0," said Kobie Robinson, Verizon store manager in Auburn. "The Android operating system is an open format software that allows users to create their own apps in addition to the 1,000-plus apps already available."
Nov. 6, the Droid, made by Motorola, will be on sale for $199.99 after a $100 rebate and a 2-year agreement on voice plan, with e-mail features from Verizon Wireless.
For others willing to pay full price, it will cost $540 without a new contract.
"I have the Verizon Dare, and I am looking forward to my current contract expiring so I can go get the Droid because it is supposed to be the freshest phone out," said Harrison Jones, senior in political science.
Commercials for the Droid have been geared toward being anti-iPhone, and these ads run on TV with hardly any information about the actual phone itself.
The commercials display quotes such as, "iDon't have a keypad," then a blur of just the words, "Droid does."
This type of advertisement might leave the viewer intrigued as to what's being advertised.
"We are pre-ordering the Droids now in the store, and the vague advertisement has caught viewer's attention and brought in consumers," Robinson said.
The Droid is predicted to be the iPhone-killer every other smart phone has tried to be since the unmatched release of Apple's take on cell phones.
"This is Verizon's come-back to the iPhone," Robinson said. "The Droid has a fluent touch-screen with a sliding keypad for texting also, but the ability to remove the battery for repair is a feature the iPhone does not have."
Verizon is not releasing much information on the Droid until its debut, but according to several Web sites, the Droid has stand-out features that the iPhone does not possess.
According to PCWorld.com, the first is a high-resolution 3.7-inch screen with 854-by-480 pixel display compared to the iPhone's 3.5-inch display and 480-by-320 pixel display. The claim is that a larger screen reduces scrolling up and down while on the Internet.
Verizon also said the Droid will have DVD-quality picture.
The second, unlike the iPhone, is the ability to have multiple applications running at the same time.
The third is a five-megapixel camera. The sliding keypad contributes to the extra thickness and weight of the cell phone.
This is for users who hate the virtual keyboards of a touch-screen device.
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