HTC DROID Eris unboxed and examined: 'feels much better' than Sprint Hero
By Donald Melanson 
posted Nov 4th 2009 4:11PM
posted Nov 4th 2009 4:11PM
If recent leaks are any indication, we should be seeing plenty more HTC DROID Eris unboxings any day now, but right now it looks like the Boy Genius Report has scored one of the first courtesy of one its helpful "connects." Of course, there aren't exactly a ton of surprises with the packaging apart from a bright splash of color upon opening the box, but the unboxer does say that the phone itself is thinner and lighter than the Sprint HTC Hero, and generally "feels much better in the hand." Hit up the link below for a few more shots, and watch this space (well, not literally this space) for what's sure to be more Eris news to come.
First
also, this just seems lackluster compared to the Droid
By having the word first in your sentence, it took away all your credibility. there for:
GO AWAY, or GROW UP
Engadget needs a macro that down votes anyone who uses the word FIRST in the first post. Until then, I'm gonna manually down vote you.
This is a lower end model with a lower price point. I'm sure it will appeal to a ton of people who don't feel like dishing out $300 (before rebate) for a smart-phone.
I may grab it since I'm not eligible to upgrade, but I'm thinking it'll still be way too expensive without a contract :(
You guys are all just jealous... that I was FIRST!
"Engadget needs a macro"
They have a macro. A human macro.
it will be $275 without a contract.
I just wish that Engadget would just remove the post all together once it reaches "lowest rank" status. I know that can be that hard to implement.
@jason
I'm glad they don't remove lowest ranks. Depending on when you visit a post, something might be highly ranked, but in 2 hours it could be lowest rank. Other than great one liners (always highly ranked) or bad one liners (always low ranked), fanboys dictate the rank of the comments. Every now and then you have that diamond in the rough that both sides agree is a great or horrible comment.
Why is either Motorola or HTC allowing the other to market a phone called "Droid"? Someone must've registered that trademark for this application.
Macro roni?
InfoCentral: LucasFilm owns the trademark, Verizon licensed it, and Verizon is marketing the phones.
hmmm.. Verizon contract literally just ended in October... If Android 2.0 can be pushed on this phone I could be very interested
I love this phone but I just have this feeling that something much betters coming around the corner...
Something better is always around the corner, so just buy when your contract status allows.
Also, since this appears to be just another rebadged, re-cased Hero, I would bet that 2.0 will find its way to this device.
If you are not locked into getting an android phone I urge you to at least wait to try out the HTC HD2. It could (will) be very much worth the wait...
Good point about the Hero
- Also, even as technology savvy as I may be, I swear these new HTC commercials like tripled my want for a HTC android device (coming from an HTC WinMo user.). Great Advertising - for a change.
I so just want the Box! I have an iPhone (and love it) but my first name is Eris...
get a life instead. :)
how'd you end up with that name, it's not so common?
i heard it before reading it and though it would be heiress - as in to the o'henry candybar fortune
Ah, the mind of the Apple fanboy:
Appreciation for materials that are artsy-n-cool and ... thyself.
Droids (and smartphones in general) are tools--i.e. the rest of us "use" them.
not sure why you're being downranked, so up ranked you.
hes being burried cuz he has an iphone.
"feels much better in the hand."....so does my p..................hone!
I kinda wish that the droid tablet would have launched with the droid. I dont care for keyboard devices but I really would like the power of the droid. On the flip side HTC seems to have android down pat.
I like Sprint's Hero much better.
The layout is better. The color scheme is better (contrasting shades of silver, grey, and black on the Hero), and the silver-painted buttons on the Eris look cheap. Very cheap.
The silver buttons make it look cheap to me too. Maybe because it might be cheap ($99 by rumors).
@jake
The price for consumers has nothing to do with the quality of the phone, but rather the amount Verizon has decided to subsidize.
The unsubsidized price of this phone is $599. It is not a cheap phone.
You should thank the Droid for the $99 price, because I believe if that phone didn't exist the price would be $179 subsidized just like the Sprint Hero.
Who in their right mind would buy the Eris for $179 when you can get the Droid for $199?
I would be jealous of that price if it weren't for the fact that I pay a smidge over $50 for my Sprint plan.
@quasistellar
I have no idea what you are talking about.
I think $99 is a great price for the phone. All I was saying was that the price of the phone for the consumer is not always indicative of the phone's quality (@jake had mentioned that the phone was cheap, and I was arguing that it was not).
I was about to mention the unsubsidized price but I didn't remember it and I'm too lazy to look it up.
Isn't the Moto Droid $599? I couldn't find a source for Droid Eris' unsubsidized price, but if it is the same then it really isn't cheap.
@jake
I was at my local Best Buy the other day and they are selling the Hero for $599 unsubsidized. Additionally, the GSM Hero is anywhere from $539 to $699 online (unsubsidized and unlocked).
Therefore, I think it is safe to assume that both phones cost the same for the carriers since the Eris is essentially the Hero.
@kyle
I was simply commenting on why I think the phone is going to (allegedly) be $99 subsidized, as opposed to the $179 that the Hero goes for on Sprint. When compared to the Droid, it appears "cheap," and people who go to the store and look at them side by side are going to see that. I think that an unsubsidized price of $599 is too high on the Hero and its fraternal twins (triplets?), considering the hardware inside.
That said, I, too, think $99 is an awesome price, which is why I said "you should thank Droid."
"You" referring to no one in particular.
So, basically, I think we agree :P
@quasistellar
Haha ya, we most certainly are in agreement.
For whatever reason, when I initially read your post, you opinion seemed ambiguous to me.
If I were a Verizon customer, I would either purchase the Eris or wait for the HTC Desire. I'm not a fan of the styling of the Droid, lack of multi-touch, or the fact that it lags while switching between home screens. Plus, "vanilla" Android is a bit boring in my opinion, and far less functional than HTC Sense.
Why couldn't T-Mobile get this phone? :(
so... this is the cheaper, less stuff-having version of the Droid essentially?
No, this is the HTC Hero. So a slim, light, solid, all touchsccreen smartphone with their snazzy custom OS sckin.
...Sorry to the total newb around here but does that make this better than the droid?
nope this phone has android 1.5 and the moto one has 2.0 which is a huge difference.
But this will be getting 2.0
I've been waiting on an unboxing!! I'm trying to decide whether I should get this or the MOTO DROID. MMMMMmmmmm.
DROID does, bitches.
Every time you buy a DROID phone, George Lucas gets more money to put digital walkie-talkies in his movies.
Fine by me.
Yeah, me too! I totally make all my buying decisions based on the BOX! Holy crap, if I plunked down my hard-earned paycheck for something and found... oh, I don't know... like, RECYCLED EGG CARTON material cushioning it inside the box, I don't know what I'd do! Probably run back to the store and cry and then eventually crap my pants. Then if the lady came over and helped me I'd try to keep it together long enough to return the horrible bad product in its sucky box and probably just go home and try to forget about it. I'd probably heat up some of those pizza rolls that you can buy frozen, just to make myself feel better. And maybe root beer.
After watching Tropic Thunder a couple more times, I'd probably feel OK.
I am sure its going to be a great phone but i dislike the bottom of the phone it looks like a waste of space and kinda bland, i have the HTC imagio and find that it looks much better(atlest the bottom the top looks pretty much the same...).
I agree. It's one of the reasons why I like the Hero better.
You should return your Imagio for this phone. Sense UI is great, as is Android.
nice verizon logo on the box. but they couldn't make it a little bigger? it's only five times as big as 'Google.'
Doesn't matter what it is, you idiots WILL find something to hate on.
The more they hate.. the more I know it's good.
if they hate then let 'em hate and watch the money pile up
@Andir3.0
"The more they hate.. the more I know it's good."
By that reasoning the iphone must be the #1 phone in history by far.
Will be getting this phone for the wife and I'm getting the Droid (sholes). I think its a great compromise for people who want a nice phone but not something that will require a decent learning curve like the Sholes.
Am I the only one who thinks this looks 1000X sexier than the sholes?
Agreed the droid reminds me of those old school brick nokias
yes you are the only one.
You beg for choice, and you get it. Verizon, Google and Moto spend all this time hyping up the "Droid", and here we have another "Droid" made by HTC. Customers will walk in, see two different phones, doing similar things in different ways, purchase the one that works best for them. Sounds great... until you realize HTC and Moto are not pals, and do not want the other to succeed, and you will suffer for it.
Actually, the fact that Moto and HTC are going to fight eachother tooth and nail to have the best Android stuff is going to make the phone improve and improve and improve. That's why it's such a magical thing! That's why PCs are so much more successful and individualistic than macs have been (macs aren't bad at all, of course).
Competition. It's going to be a series of petty little fights that continually lead to a better product.
Weather it was Verizon's choice or it was taked about between Moto and HTC, the high end Moto will be launching with the mid range HTC and then the high end HTC(Passion) will launch with the mid range Moto(calgary). I really do not think this is something that "just worked out that way" Moto has the keyboards covered and HTC has the all touch screens covered.
That's my next phone.. now to find a way to avoid the mail in rebate.
I have my arm back and am just about ready to throw my LG dare as FAR as I can. It's calibration has been off and not correctable for two months now. It's almost useless.. tried to get it fixed, but was cost prohibitive, so I waited.. and this is my reward. Not bad.
Of course the Droid has a keyboard..
it's not your next phone. it's the one after that.
I played around with the Eris today and liked it lot, more than the "regular" Droid, though. The Droid's keyboard and design is just not mine. How can they design a keyboard like that, it is SOO anoying.
I hope this kills iPhone. I'm tired of it always being the most desired one.
Plus droid has $350 ETF n iPhone doesn't plus a 30% restocking fee iphne doesn't.
Droid has 1000 apps n iPhone has 100,000 fart apps.
Ok high rank me now
I still don't get HTC and other manufacturer's desire to put unnecessary buttons on the chin of these phones. Are those really truly absolutely essential? Couldn't they just make the screen bigger and add them to the touch screen?
Hey guys,
I just got back from a Verizon store and had the chance to play with the Droid & Eris side-by-side (and also chat with the manager).
The Droid is certainly larger both in thickness and overall size, and I can imagine it taking up a lot more space in a pocket, although the trade-off is, of course, the larger screen. The Droid is also much heavier. It feels like you would imagine when you see those 'Droid does' commercials. The Eris, in contrast, feels light and small, but also quite solid. It doesn't feel cheap to me at all like how others have mentioned.
I personally am going against the crowd, because I actually prefer the Eris. I like the look of the Sense UI and the smaller size.
Also, one big surprise, the Eris was actually less laggy against the Droid. This could certainly be improved in some sort of future up date, but I just liked the overall feel of the Eris more.
It's going to be a fun Friday!
I planned on doing a side by side comparison of the DROID and Storm2...now it maybe the DROID vs. Eris. Thanks!
Sprints cheaper plans 'feels much better' than Verizon.
I love my Sprint Hero and the Anytime Anywhere, NFL Mobile, GPS, and all that other stuff.
The Hero is a good phone, one of the best on Sprint. That's basically what this is. Good keyboardless alternative to the Droid for those who want it.
It's still beyond me why anyone would name their product (especially an inferior one that shares its name with another product) after the goddess of spite. It seems like they built the jealousy into the product.
while i agree this is basically a hero, i still love the look of this phone over sprints hero (the sprint hero is just so ugly and generic looking)