Verizon's DROID series: a historical perspective

Introduction

They came, they saw and they conquered. The Motorola DROIDS' lives make an interesting story, not only because their existence gave hope to one of the fading giants of the mobile industry - Motorola - but also because the original DROID started the Android revolution which, in turn, changed the smartphone world. These historical facts aside, the thing that really matters are the DROIDS themselves and how much they altered the smartphone landscape.

Early Rumours

The original Motorola DROID has been one of the most leaked handsets in recent memory, since plenty of its specs, photos and hands-on reports were presented prior to its official announcement. Not only that, but the handset which ended as a "DROID" was quite schizophrenic in its infancy, being called "Calgary", "Sholes", "Shules" and "Tao" before Moto eventually settled with the DROID brand. The constant leaks, the impressive specs, the never-ending rumours, as well as the breathtaking photos all pointed that we're to see a monster of a phone - and some more hype was added with the now legendary "iDon't, the DROID DOES" ad that Motorola and Verizon ran at that time.

Common knowledge dictates that when something is so hyped up, it just can't live up to the expectations, but this is not your ordinary "something", so we can honestly say - the DROID DID and more than a year since its release, it still DOES.

The Launch

Almost all rumours concerned with the Motorola DROID proved to be correct and its release date was no exception. The handset was touted for a Q4 2009 release and sure enough it arrived on November 6 2009. To celebrate the launch of this quite special device, Verizon decided to open one of its stores in New York City on the above mentioned date in 00:00:01. It's a fact of life that we tend to see such events reserved for bestsellers - and the DROID didn't disappoint, selling 100 000 units in its first weekend. This feat aside, the DROID took its healthy dose of critical acclaim - the Time Magazine named it 2009 Gadget of the Year, while this phone is widely regarded as the device that started both the green robot revolution and the Verizon-Google love story. And like this is not enough, the DROID proved that it indeed DOES, when its processor was clocked to 1.3GHz (we don't advise anyone doing this one, though).

For more information, check our in-depth Motorola DROID review.

The ERIS DROID

Simultaneously with the launch of the Motorola DROID, another Android-powered handset for Big Red was released, and once again it was a DROID. The HTC DROID ERIS is the only mid-range, budget-friendly DROID to date, but neverheless it packs a few nice features like the HTC Sense UI, a 3.2-inch capacitive screen, a 528MHz processor and a 5MP camera. This phone, which felt like a version of the HTC Hero, but for Big Red, didn't have the same impact as the Moto DROID, which is frequently credited as the gadget that started the green robot revolution, and yet it showed that the Verizon DROIDS are not only reserved for high-tech maniacs.

For more information, check our in-depth HTC DROID ERIS review.

The Incredible HTC Droid

It is easy to be hard on a mid-range handset like the HTC DROID ERIS and compare it with any high-end device, but the fact is that the Motorola DROID was the (DROID) phone everyone was talking about - a true standard to follow. Or, at least, this was what everybody thought at the time. But not HTC, which managed to do something incredible - to release a beast of a phone that was the next big thing in the Android world - the HTC Droid Incredible. This monstrous handset offered some specs that still sound pretty impressive today - like a 1GHz processor, an 8MP camera with a high definition video capture and a 3.7-inch AMOLED display, which was lated replaced with a Super LCD screen due to the shortage of AMOLED ones.

Somehow unfortunately for HTC, a few months after the release of the Droid Incredible, a new heavyweight DROID graced the Verizon scene, and it was none other than...

For more information, check our in-depth HTC Droid Incredible review.

The X DROID

It was a little more than a year ago when we told you for the first time that the original DROID is soon to be followed by another mighty handset, which was then called "Shadow"/"Mirage", and after that - the "Motorola Xtreme". Its specs were revealed in the (in)famous "Gym Accident" leak and they were every geek's dream - a 4.3-inch display, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, an 8MP camera, HD recording capabilities and the tasty Eclair running the show. Prior to its release, some photos were shown and the name was changed to the Motorola DROID X. The rest, as they say, is part of the history books and our in-depth Motorola DROID X review.

DROID the Second

In a way, the DROID X feels like the big brother of the original DROID, while its successor is more like a refreshed version that simply acknowledges the great leap forward that the smartphone world has made between the release dates of the two DROIDS (November 6, 2009 - August 11, 2010). The Motorola DROID 2 retains everything that made the original DROID great and doesn't add much, but that didn't stop it from being a big success - Motorola was obviously right to follow the old "don't fix it if it ain't broken" saying.

For more information, check our in-depth Motorola DROID 2 review.

The DROID Pro and the DROID 2 Global

Motorola decided to follow a bit of a different philosophy with the release of the DROID Pro, mainly targeting the travel-happy business user with the phone's BlackBerry-esque look and enterprise level security features. This was the first Motorola DROID phone, strictly speaking, not closely related as a form factor or as an idea to the other handsets from this glorious family of smartphones.

For more information, check our in-depth Motorola DROID Pro review.

Basically, the DROID 2 Global is a back-to-the-basics follow-up of the series, or - to put it in another way - a refreshed version of the DROID 2. The only notable differences are its processor (TI OMAP 3630 processor at 1.2GHz, as opposed to the DROID 2’s 3620 at 1GHz) and the fact that it supports GSM bands for global use. The DROID Pro and the DROID 2 Global didn't have the same wow effect as the original DROID or the DROID X, so let's take a look at the latest and greatest Motorola DROID model.

For more information, check our in-depth Motorola DROID 2 Global review.

Motorola DROID BIONIC

CES is every geek's paradise and the DROID fans were greeted with the news that Motorola and Verizon are to release a new heavyweight DROID, called BIONIC in Q2 of 2011. As can be expected from a true successor of the DROIDS, the BIONIC packs some quite spectacular specs, and it's safe to say that Moto didn't disappoint the DROID supporters with this handset - the DROID BIONIC offers a 4.3-inch screen with the impressive qHD resolution (540 x 960), a dual-core 1GHz processor and 512MB of DDR2 RAM. It also has two cameras (a rear one, which is 8MP and a front-facing one, which is 0.3MP) plus a built-in memory of 32GB and a new, yet-unreleased version of MOTOBLUR UI. As can be expected in these 4G-ish days, the Motorola DROID BIONIC will be LTE-enabled, so chances are that browsing will be a breeze on its 4.3-inch screen.

DROID loyalists, are you happy with the upcoming member of the DROID family? Is this device what you expected or were you hoping for something different? Tell us with your comments.

As for the future DROIDS, there is no information when they will be released or what they will be like, so we will take our time and wait for more news.

For more information, check our Motorola DROID BIONIC hands-on article.

Last words

This was our tribute to one of the most successful families of smartphones. We all know that you love your DROIDS, that they have made their mark on your geek life, that there are plenty of people who refuse the temptation to jump ship and join, for example, the Galaxy S bandwagon - these people stick with their DROIDS, because, well, there seems to be something special to being a DROID. We, at PhoneArena, know that you love your DROID handset and believe it's the best, so what's better than to show your DROID feelings by commenting on this article?