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Print 13 comment(s) - last by blueboy09.. on Oct 10 at 12:00 PM
Motorola guns for RIM's BlackBerry with Droid Pro world phone

While we knew that a Droid Pro was on the way from Verizon, the design of the phone was a complete secret until it was unveiled this evening. Unlike just about every other smartphone that manages to make it to the market these days, pictures of the Droid Pro didn't manage to leak all over the web prior to launch.

The Droid Pro is a unique Android 2.2 offering in that it offers a candy-bar form-factor and a permanent QWERTY keyboard similar in concept to the Palm Pixi. The Droid Pro has been designed for business users and appears aimed squarely at RIM's exec-friendly BlackBerry smartphones.

The dual-mode CDMA/GSM smartphone features a 1GHz processor, 2GB of internal memory (plus a 2GB microSD card), 3.1" multi-touch display, 3G connectivity plus Mobile HotSpot capability, and a 5MP camera with LED flash. In keeping with its business-oriented mission, security features like AuthenTec IPSec VPN integration, device/SD card remote wipe, and complex password support are included. In addition, device/SD card encryption will be on the way early next year.

“The DROID PRO is an advanced business-ready solution that provides users with the full smartphone experience, redefined by delivering the power of a DROID,” said Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha. “The DROID PRO consolidates users’ work and personal needs. This is just another reason the DROID PRO is setting a new standard for enterprise, allowing users to enjoy all the benefits of a smartphone with full push delivery of corporate e-mail and corporate level security.”

Verizon is currently mum on pricing for the Droid Pro, however, we'll know more information soon as the device will be launching "in the coming weeks".

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Just thinking out loud here...
By PerfectAgent007 on 10/6/2010 3:00:32 AM , Rating: 5
Blackberry chasis + Android OS = Droidberry?




By Omega215D on 10/6/2010 3:39:01 AM , Rating: 5
The Blackberry has been assimilated and it is now part of the Android Collective.


RE: Just thinking out loud here...
By MeesterNid on 10/6/2010 7:53:29 AM , Rating: 2
More like DingleBerry. Seriously though, is adding a portrait-style key pad what makes a phone a "business phone"? I think the notion that there is some special segment of phones that are considered "business" phones is absurd! Any phone is a business phone if it can run software that can be used for business (which in itself more than a little ambiguous).


RE: Just thinking out loud here...
By Samus on 10/6/10, Rating: -1
RE: Just thinking out loud here...
By dani31 on 10/6/2010 10:05:00 AM , Rating: 1
I strongly disagree.

I happen to have a Galaxy S, and after one day of mixed use including and permanent push email sync, phone calls, some web browsing, 30 minutes of GPS navigation and 30 minutes of wifi hotspot for my laptop I still got 40% juice.
For me this pretty much defines a solid day. Note that you can drain any phone in hours if you really want to.

For sure a Blackberry, which cannot really do anything but the first two of the above (many models are not even 3G), should last longer.

As for being a toy, I am really interseted in the reasons you say that, except for the fact that Android's interface is animated and nice looking, while Blackberry OS still looks like 2003.


RE: Just thinking out loud here...
By Samus on 10/6/2010 5:45:22 PM , Rating: 2
A modern blackberry has every function any android phone has, including all those you listed. The only thing my phone can't do is HD video recording/playback. Big deal, the screen is 3".

Roids' are toys because every sucker buys one that does one or two things really well, where as the market is so saturated with phones and there are no standards or benchmarks to go on that the sector is stuck with mediocrity.

They'll eventually fix this problem when $#it hits the fan, but for now it's like an Atari 2600 development free-for-all.


RE: Just thinking out loud here...
By Samus on 10/6/2010 5:40:13 PM , Rating: 1
I have half a dozen friends with Android phones and when we hang out later in the day, their phones are always dead and my Curve's battery is still full.


RE: Just thinking out loud here...
By Bateluer on 10/7/2010 2:12:07 PM , Rating: 2
You friends are doing something wrong. :P

My Droid 1 lasts for nearly 2 full days with light use. With heavy/moderate use, it'll make 18-20 hours easily enough. Rooted with an low voltage kernel will easily correct battery problems.

And a Curve is more comparable to lower end Android phone, a Devour or a Citrus, than any of the real Android phones.


RE: Just thinking out loud here...
By blueboy09 on 10/10/2010 12:00:25 PM , Rating: 2
I was thinking in more terms of parent one (Blackberry) + parent two (Android) = child (DroidBerry). =) - BLUEBOY


Yeah..
By solarrocker on 10/6/2010 7:51:53 AM , Rating: 2
Looks nice and all (weird also) but the keyboard looks extremely uncomfortable.




RE: Yeah..
By NecessaryEvilBC on 10/6/2010 10:18:46 AM , Rating: 2
Actually, that keyboard looks strikingly similar to my old Blackberry Bold 9000.

I loved that keyboard, way better than my wife's Droid's keyboard, the HTC keyboards I've used, or the Samsung keyboard a friend's girlfriend had.


lol
By epyon96 on 10/6/2010 2:45:49 AM , Rating: 2
All that work at secrecy and they cannot come out with a tilted keyboard?




I think I like it
By jordanclock on 10/6/2010 3:07:05 AM , Rating: 2
Call me crazy, but I've always been a fan of the candy-bar form factor. My current phone is an HTC Snap and I'd love to upgrade to a similar form factor, but get all the touchscreen Android goodness. I thought I'd be stuck with a Pre or Pixi, which while nice, aren't quite as robust as Android.




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