We've been hearing about a 1GHz Snapdragon-based Android handset called the
HTC Dragon ever since the
HD2 came out, but now it looks like some pieces are falling into place -- apparently
this mystery HTC set we spotted over the weekend is a CDMA version of the Dragon headed for Verizon as the HTC Passion sometime in Q4. Apparently Verizon's trying to unify the hardware UI of its Droid lineup, which is why the
Motorola Droid, the
HTC Droid Eris, and the Passion share a set of buttons along the bottom edge of the screen, and some people are also claiming that the white notification bar is further sign of similarity. As for us, well, we'll wait to hear more before we start to get too excited -- and we can't help but wonder if this thing will run Sense or stock Android 2.0 when it hits, as
HTC's big new ad push is all about personalization. Still, it's looking like a hell of a year for Android (and Verizon), no?
posted Oct 26th 2009 12:21PM
I am the FIRST!!!! to say this is Fugly.
yep, leave it to Verizon to make the phone ugly
If it didn't have the silver part at the bottom with the trackball, I think it would be a rather nice looking phone. Unfortunately, it is ugly as shit.
@ the angry ... Dude... Do you seriously think that Verizon manufactures the phone? Yes, I didn't think so.
You guys are blind. That silver area is nice looking and adds character. If you want a bland glass rectangle with rounded corners, you know where to get that.
At mcpow: If u were talking about the iphone that same exact thing could be said about this including the one button at the bottom and how does a phone have character??
How many times have we said its not snapdragon! there are articles all over the net! Get your facts straight! It has a OMAP 3640 running at 1GHz
Alright Ladies, lets not get our panties in a knot.
but seriously its a phone not a car your not going to be showing it to your girlfriend to impress her(if you do then im sorry for you) so who actually cares if it looks "fugly" or not. Really I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion well my opinion is SHUT UP YOU IDIOT!
I wish these phones would just come out : (
...and that the frakking Verizon stores would actually carry the ones that HAVE come out so I could play with them before buying!
You can play with them before buying. You just might have to wait a few extra days.
I've been to or called 10 Verizon stores where I am for college (upstate Vermont), and 30 back in Southern Connecticut where I live, not one of them have or are going to have the Touch Pro2 on display, and they have never displayed the Touch Diamond or Touch Pro. *1* store had the Imagio on display.
I've never had any troubles finding live demo models to try out. I once had to ask someone if they had the Touch Pro (original) in the store. The manager had to find it in back and bring it out, but they had it and I got to try it.
I guess not all stores are created equal...
Me too. I'm liking the look of these new android phones a lot and I really want to play with them.
Sholes, "Desire", and now the Passion.
It's like the "Charlie's Angels" of Android.
Only that when you heard the name Sholes, you think of a nasty, fat, inflexible Charlie Angel :S
Names can be deceiving :D As she is slick, hot, fast, and can do the spread eagle :D
Does a phone have to be sexy? You're not gonna put your dick in it, it's a phone ffs. What little self-esteem people have that they need to buy phones that "look sexy".
You're not gonna put your dick in it, it's a phone ffs.
Obviously you don't know some engadget readers...
The phone is just ugly, but i love the word Passion.
Droid is a "google experience" phone, so Verizon won't be crippling it with their vcast crapware. Do we have any word on whether or not the Eris and/or Passion will get the same treatment?
I disagree with you. Verizon will find a way to cripple the phone in some way. Apple did not want verizon to control any aspect of the phone which is why the iphone did not go to verizon. Verizon is making some wild claims that I think will fall short. There is no way possible they are going to let google have 100% control of the software or let people 100% be able to customize and hack the phone.
I hope that I am wrong, but Verizon has yet to prove the latter.
Why would they? I haven't seen ANY CARRIER screw with Android phones, and I have yet to see an Android phone with carrier crapware on it....
@Jsocontrer
I have to refer you to the BGR review...
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/10/23/motorola-droid-preview/
I specifically remember reading that Verizon will not in any way be modifying the stock android installation on the Droid. I'd copy and past the exact text from the article, but... they launched a new version of their site today and nothing is loading anymore. Be patient if you follow the link.
Page finally loaded. The BGR quote...
"Verizon hasn’t and won’t touch or control any functionality on the Droid. GPS is 100% open, there’s Wi-Fi, Android Market, etc."
Oh my God!! Heaven forbid Verizon would put an icon on a device that lets you choose if you want to use VCast or not. I hate when people give me choice. I want to be told what to do and think.
Wow... really Dorf?
I don't want Verizon's icons on my phone precisely because I don't want to be told what to do or what to think. Just like on my PC, I'd like to choose what broswer/antivirus/cd-dvd burning software/office package/application launcher I want to use rather than have an inferior one installed and auto-launched for me.
That's why the first thing I do with a new PC is format and install windows without all the bloatware that comes from Dell, HP, Acer, or any other brand.
I've got years of experience on Verizon phones, I know there vcast software is not what I want. All I'm asking is, will I have to remove it, or can I simply buy the phone without on there to begin with.
Next time, think through your argument before posting.
Jesus, then delete the icon. How hard can that be? Most of the carrier stuff (on Verizon anyway) isn't installed. For example, the icon for VZ Nav on the Omnia 2 is just a link to a Verizon page where you can download it if you want. If you don't want to download it, don't. Delete the link if you want. That's cool. It's not preinstalled so why do you care. They don't muck with the interface on smartphones, so I could care less about a link that will give me a choice if I want to install something or not.
It's a million times better then some devices that don't even give you a broswer choice.
This is freak'n sweet!
Perfect time to be a Verizon customer..
If this comes to Verizon and has the Sense UI, I'm definitely getting it. I was planning on getting the Hero/Eris/Desire/whatever it's called, but snapdragon's where it's attt. Now to just be patient..
Judging by this screenshot, it's going to be running stock Android. Every phone I've seen with Sense has a black notification bar, this one has the standard white.
hoping this would be on tmobile
oooooo, do want.
I'm gonna have some tough choices to make in 2010.
why would you blur out the time?
probably had the date too.
the main block of blured out crap in the middle of the screen was a unique identifyer, specific to that phone. so that one is pretty obvious.. as for the top bar blur.. a bit more perplexing. oh well.
and seriously.. do we need that huge chin for just one trackball/button?.. :/ hate the color too.
The middle part had the number to identify with the phone.
The blog that first put out this photo blocked that along with the time just to be safe it wouldn't be tracked back to the 'ninja'
They wasted all that space at the bottom of the phone for one button? Jeebus. Move that button to the side and make the LCD occupy the whole face.
The screen is supposed to be on par with the HD2...what more do you need, lol
of the Christ?
....of the Droid.
On a side but somewhat related note, does anybody else find it odd that you have to touch the Android to begin?
We need to go back numbering phone models. All these names are getting ridiculous!
I am curious as to why they blurred out the time in the top right, I guess just so people can't "guess" their time zone. =P Anywho, Verizon is just starting to throw out some android devices, and you would think for a 1 GHz processor, that Verizon with there heavy campaigning would have at least mentioned some sort of hint that this Android device would be going to them. To be the first carrier to carry a phone like this I don't see why they wouldn't want to campaign it. IF it is for Verizon I don't think it would come out this year.
From when the pic was first leaked, they blocked out everything so it couldn't be traced back to the leak.
Yes...see, I was kind of shaky on going to Verizon. But this just solidified it.
Unless T-Mobile comes out with some mighty fine Android sets by time 2010 rolls around...I know where I'm going.
$400 deposit and all, lol.
Bah, false, that phone is not the HTC Dragon nor the HTC Passion....
What is it then?
that is the same picture PhoneArena has been using to spread rumors about the HTC Dragon, HTC passion, and a "rumored phone" for AT&T.... they should at least make it look different a bit...
So what does the dragon or passion look like. Oh, You dont know thought so. How do you know what this is. People make outrageously stupid claims with no proof to back it up.
I am sticking with T-mobile no matter what for now. I like the phone I have currently, and just being grandfathered into my current plan if I switched with all 5 lines I have then it would just kill me in price difference. *sigh* Lets see what happens with this phone, whether it really is the HTC Dragon or not.
Am I the only one who thinks (and apparently noticed) the "Touch the android to begin." text it's WAAAY ackward ???
This is just to get us used to the idea. All Engadget readers will be touching androids in the future, trust me.
Yeah it`s just you and the 1,000 other people who already said that
what happend to tmobiles plan to remain the premier android carrier in the us!
I thought they wanted to be the first.
You know, like Keyhu up there. Only T-Mobile didn't fail...
T-mobile currently has 2 android devices. The G1 and the myTouch 3G. Now the Motorola Cliq is coming out very soon. Then they are coming out with the myTouch 3G Fender Edition adding the Samsung Galaxy variant to the end. That comes to a total of 5 Android devices. Yes the myTouch's are the same design, different fixings. So I would say T-mobile still is the premier android carrier. All these phones should come out by years end.
T Mobile may be the premier carrier, however if you've seen the Cliq its pretty cheap. The G1 isn't much better. Both have crappy processors in them and while I can't speak for the Cliq the G1's performance sucks. The phones on T Mobile all seem to feel like low end phones. Whether or not the Passion will be any better? Who knows.
However my world for an android phone with a 1Ghz snapdragon, a real keyboard, and a 3.5" or dare I think it a 4" screen.
I would equate premier with having the premier handsets. Not the most...
So is this the Passion of the Droid? It sacrificed its battery life so that you too could live with a thin form factor.
Sorry. I'm Christian but I'm also a geek. The geek won out today. :P
@PEOPLE
Stop saying that VERIZON will cripple these phones.
They haven't cripple any phones in the past year or so, for example imagio and tp2 are COMPLETELY UNCRIPPLED.
Thanks you.
It'll be running stock Android. Note the Google logo on the back. You'll notice that on the Droid, and not on the Cliq. From the nytimes article (http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/google-expect-18-android-phones-by-years-end/) posted http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/28/google-at-least-18-android-phones-coming-this-year/ a while ago:
"These phones Google calls “The Google Experience.” They are physically distinguishable by the “Google” logo on the phone. "
Google Experience does not equal stock Android.
Sprint HTC Hero is a Google experience phone and it has Sense UI.
Agree with Alex. I still think this is a stock Android install because of the white notification bar, but there's a ton of misinformation floating around about what a "Google Experience" phone is. Google doesn't limit what you're allowed to put onto a Google Experience phone, they merely limit your ability to cripple it by locking out the Android Market.
Google Experience just means that you've shelled out some extra cash for branding and agreed that the Android Market will never be locked out. Other than that, it's the same as any other Android agreement and there's no limit on how many features you are allowed to add to it.
It's funny that a lot of people are complaining about the looks of the phone....when most will end up putting a skin or silicone case on it anyways.
Does anyone know if Verizon will force consumers to get the data plan for these "droid" devices like they do with Blackberry, or will customers be able to just use the Wi-fi?
You have to get a data plan with all smart phones or at least get the email plan.
Does anyone know if Verizon will force consumers to get the data plan for these "droid" devices like they do with Blackberry, or will customers be able to just use the Wi-fi?
It's a smartphone and Verizon (and the other 3) require data plans on all smartphones.
This actually makes me very happy. I love the iPhone, but hate AT&T so I refuse to buy one. I have tried a lot of similar smart phones and just never found one that I like enough to totally invest in. I've also been a Verizon customer for years with no plans on switching, so to see an option like the Dragon (or Passion, or whatever they end up calling it) become a possible reality is great great news!
http://www.abetterstay.com/blog/
I've spent the last couple of months researching for the perfect Android device with which to DITCH Verizon when my contract ends in Feb '10. Looks like there's a good chance I might just end up staying...
And why wouldnt you with the 2 best android devices coming out on verizon... Not to mention the call quality and reliable 3G.
Ok so Engadget didn't feel like posting my first long winded reply, so I'm going to summarize it:
Verizon charges "taxes," separate from the real government based taxes. Will bring a $40 plan with no extras (like I have) up to 65-70 each month.
However, all current carriers suck. They all currently need to step things up.
I guess that extra money is why customer service in store has so far been good, but I don't usually need to go to the store.
Sweet. Now everyone please no more comments on the HD2 posts about : "if it only had Android".
this thing over the Droid, no question. I don't need a physical keyboard. Nor do I need gold accents. Nor do I need an 8-track player... but now I've gone too far, haven't I?
Again how do you know maybe they were saying that because it was just RUMORS and now they have a solid info leak. People crack me up saying stuff like this sitting at home in front a computer like they have exclusive rights to Htc info before it gets out so if you dont why should we take your word over engadget,phonearena and the others when those sources would obviously get info before the general public.
600MHz (ARM Cortex A8) vs Snapdragon 1GHZ FIGHT!
You mean 600MHz (ARM Cortex A8) + 430 MHz GPU + Photo Processor vs Snapdragon 1GHZ FIGHT!
I just want to get rid of my vzw LG Dare.. so bad I almost switched to sprint for the Hero.. glad I waited, but I'm not going to wait much longer. While this phone would be nice, the Shoals or 'Droid', is looking mighty attractive as well.
Any word on how the screen size on this (Passion) compares to the Shoals?
I dont know much about these android phones... All I know is if Verizon doesnt get the Iphone soon.... GOOD BYE
Verizon doesn't need the iPhone with these Android phones coming out. Nor does Verizon need you to be their customer.
So it looks like................goodbye to you.
Apparently Verizon is losing a lot of business to the iPhone so I'd say they do need it, or a phone that is able compete.
iPhone was cool a year or 2 ago. Now people want android devices and multiple programs running at once. And they also want a reliable network.
Believe me I switched from verizon to AT&T a couple of years ago. It wasnt long before I abandoned that sinking ship and came back to verizon.
But ya, if you're set on an iPhone, go for it, we wont miss you much ;)
Jim, you just don't know much .
"Apparently Verizon's trying to unify the hardware UI of its Droid lineup, which is why the Motorola Droid, the HTC Droid Eris, and the Passion share a set of buttons along the bottom edge of the screen"
Not true. The Menu key on this rumored HTC Passion and on the Motorola Droid is one horizontal line with some shorter horizontal lines below. On the HTC Droid Eris it is labeled "MENU". Also, the Back key on the Motorola Droid is an arrow turning 180 degrees, while on the HTC Passion and HTC Droid Eris the arrow is turning less than 90 degrees. There is no indication that Verizon is trying to unify the hardware buttons of its Android phones. If anything, it seems like makers of Android phones are gradually settling on a unified set of labels for their buttons. Look at the Sprint HTC Hero. It has the same button labeling as the HTC Droid Eris, and except for the menu button, the same as this supposed HTC Passion.
"and some people are also claiming that the white notification bar is further sign of similarity"
You are kidding me, right? The Android notification bar IS white. What this indicates is a perhaps a lack of HTC Sense, but even that is uncertain as HTC Sense can plausibly be customized to have a white notification bar.
Dude can you read. Hardware ui , button layout is a different thing from button labeling and the sprint hero has nothing in common but the button labeling and they were just talking about the 4 buttons being under the display and since all the android phones vzw is displaying have the same pattern its safe to say they are trying to unify the hardware ui.
Do when is Verizon going to announce why the crippled all the interesting and fun features of this phone in the name of "Network Security?"
damnit engadget. I was all set on the Sholes/Droid until you post this up.
Now I'm all confused about what to get. Get Droid at the end of the month or wait for this "passion"?
I hope they get the HD2 as well...that's the one I want!
This is Q4 2010 that is being talked about, right?
WHY????
Why CDMA... I wan't GSM
I'm scared that if I touch the Android, Chris Hansen will pop up and take me away.
I hate ATT, where's our Android? Oh yeah we have the iPhone, like nobody wants anything else...nice plan ATT. Verizon is looking better all the time, good thing my contract is up with ATT
@zole2112 it seems to be a pretty good plan. they sold 7.4 million iphones last quarter