Video Motorola Droid from YoutubeThose who are currently considering the Motorola Droid should be aware that an updated version with a faster processor and a re-designed keyboard is supposedly on the docket for release later this summer.
Verizon Wireless had a pre-release unit of the Droid 2 at an event at Jet Propulsion Laboratory this week, revealing many of the details of this upcoming smartphone.
In many ways, the successor to the best-selling Android OS-based model isn't changing--like the original, it will be a slider with a 3.7 landscape-oriented keyboard. The locations of almost all the buttons and ports remains the same.
However, the Droid 2 will replace the D-pad on the sliding keyboard with a set of directional keys, giving room to make all the keys larger (see a comparison). They are also being made convex, rather than flat like the keys on their predecessor. This modification has likely been made in response to wide-spread criticism of the current Droid's keyboard.
The shape of the entire device is being changed a bit, with with hard corners being smoothed. In addition, the screen is being more centered over the keyboard, getting rid of most of the "chin" on the original Droid's right side.
Another big change will be internal: the Droid 2's processor is reportedly being upgraded to a 1 GHz chip, bringing it into parity with virtually all its competitors.
This smartphone is still several months from release, and Motorola and Verizon are apparently still working out whether it will launch with Google's Android OS 2.1 or version 2.2 The decision about whether to include Motorola's MotoBlur alternate user interface also hasn't been made yet.
The Droid is expected to have a 5 megapixel camera like the original, but this has been upgraded to perform more quickly.
The original Droid comes with a 16 GB microSD memory card, while its successor will reportedly have 8 GB of internal storage and an 8 GB memory card.
By: Ed Hardy, www.brightand.com
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