Motorola DROID goes on sale a little early at Best Buy Mobile
By Nilay Patel 
posted Nov 5th 2009 2:14PM
posted Nov 5th 2009 2:14PM
P.S.- Just got a tip that Wal-Mart is now selling 'em early too. The DROIDs are loose, people. Gather your valuables.
P.P.S.- Target Mobile Solutions, which operates kiosks in California Target stores, has opened the floodgates too -- but the catch is that you'll be paying $249.99 for a new activation, $50 more than Verizon after rebate. Thanks, Tony! (Update: we're hearing it's back down to $199.87 now -- nice!)
[Thanks, Mike and Jesse]
"LUCKY!" ~ Napoleon Dynamite
ugliest keyboard on a phone ever.
the verizon droid is boring, stupid, and redundant. the
keyboard looks like that of a 30 year old calculator. its the same OS
that will be updated to the other android phones so theres nothing
really new.
you'd have to be a fanboy to disagree.
and not a single google fanboy can tell me why the droid is so good.
considering that the other android phones will be updated with the
new OS, what makes this one so much better than the others? oh right,
nothing.
if its a motorola phone why would google fanboys be the ones defending it.
Its a good phone because its the android phone with the best specs hardware wise to date.
Faster processor, advanced gpu, huge high pixel screen. First phone with 2.0 maybe for months, those are just a few things.
"and not a single google fanboy can tell me why the droid is so good.
considering that the other android phones will be updated with the
new OS, what makes this one so much better than the others?"
The fact that it comes out tomorrow?
"the verizon droid is boring, stupid, and redundant."
Umm... not even sure what to say to that, it doesn't make any sense. What does it even mean for a phone to be redundant? It's the first android phone to have anything better than the crappy Qualcomm 528MHz chipset. Is it the end-all be-all god phone? No, but tomorrow it will be the single best Android phone out there.
@Light Speed = The Droid is a better phone because it comes with a pre-built app to detect tools (actually... it is just a Word doc that says "Light Speed", but it is 100 percent accurate).
being the best android phone isnt something to brag about considering its going against other similar ugly crap.
Am sorry fanbois, hardware aside, that is still the ugliest phone ever.
Hardware aside? Besides hardware, what - oh, I get it. You're either being sarcastic or you're a moron. Carry on.
I'll take functionality over looks any day.. Besides, it'll be in my pocket the rest of the time.... I'm an iphone user, and I'm making the switch to Verizon.
I would never buy this phone. I wouldn't take it for free. Motorola kind of sucks IMO
@ Light Speed
Really???? It's called innovation and your the reason sh*t doesn't ever improve on a product because your so smug about one product being the only and best product out there, you would be perfect on a southpark episode, open up your mind to something new, things do evolve and there is always room for improvement. Don't hate on something I highly doubt you even tried.
Two months ago, everyone was saying that Motorola phones suck. So, what's the difference now? The company is just a crappy company. Google had to help them design a smartphone. A company that never built a cellphone has to show a cellphone company how it's done. What sort of engineers and designers were working at Motorola? They have to make it even more confusing by calling it the Motorola Droid in the U.S. and the same smartphone is called the Milestone over in Europe. What's the purpose in that?
Calling a whole bunch of phones Droid is gonna be really confusing to buyers. I hope Motorola is able to sell a few of these things just so they can stay in business a little longer. Their smartphone division is just a drag on the rest of the company, what little is left with a few set-top boxes and WIMAX/LTE hardware. One more miss and the cellphone division is closing down. Already the Droid is looking to be the next ROKR.
@ Average White Boy: From the reviews of the actual hardware, it looks like Motorola has another RAZR on it's hands, not another ROKR. I had both. The ROKR, though pudgy and plastic, was actually pretty awesome at the time. Just because something doesn't sell doesn't mean it's not a decent product.
The RAZR, on the other hand, was a bona-fide hit. And with good reason. It's mostly-metal construction was sturdy, and once they got the kinks worked out of that crazy battery door, it was dependable. I had a remanufactured one that tended to drop calls (it was Cingular's fault, actually), but other than that it was great. The V3xx was the best non-smartphone I ever had, hardware, software, speed, and usability-wise.
Not only was the RAZR a good piece of hardware, it was a segment-defining handset. It took the flip phone, and gave other companies something to shoot for. Like the iPhone, at the time, a new phone would be compared to the RAZR, to show how thick it was, how big or how bright it's screen was, how good its ergonomics were, etc.
The iPhone (for better or worse) has that slot now. It's the touchstone for the time being. The DROID won't supplant it, but hopefully it will give HTC and Samsung something to shoot for. The Hero was amazing when we saw it 6 months ago, but its underpowered processor and Sprint clothing aren't inspiring.
The DROID is out to prove that an Android handset should have good looks, usability, high-quality hardware, and solid build quality.
I'm skipping the DROID because I want a 1GHz processor. But unless HTC steps up their game in the US, I'm waiting for the DROID2 with a spec bump.
I work at Best Buy Mobile, and this is false. We can't sell it today.
They are in stock, yes, and someone took a picture of one on top of one of our folders...
Strange news story.
Thanks a lot Engadget! Got me all excited, only to call and get shot down like Eric said above. Best Buy will not sell them today unfortunately.
To Nilay's defense, he DID say "on sale at an unspecified Best Buy Mobile somewhere deep within America's heartland", which indicates only one Best Buy Mobile location somewhere in the United States is stating they are selling these today. READ THE ARTICLE.
welcome to fox news.
I stopped by local BB and was told their shipment wouldn't even be in until late this afternoon.
@OneLove
FoxNews stresses me out as much as the next person (okay, maybe not Obama), but CNN, MSNBC, or whatever has just as many bias, over-opinionated, no-facts just thoughts, personnel.
The real problem is there is no STANDARD by which to hold anyone in the field of journalism anymore. You just take a story and run with it. That's why we thought Steve Jobs was dead awhile back, and now we think the Droid is on sale because some backwoods Best Buy sold it early.
Wouldn't that mean ALL Best Buys are selling them early?
Journalism has gone from fact-based reporting, to ratings (or hit-based on the webs) reporting.
Loudmouths like Ann Coulter and Bill Maher are going to get much higher ratings than calm, collected Joe Blow fact-based guy.
@trainwrecka: Stop. Feeding. The. Trolls.
Yes this stupid assumption of a effin picture made my life a living heck tonight at work, thank you Engadget!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's a shame that Nilay still hasn't uploaded the DROID notification sound that he promised.
I've never been this dissapointed before in my life. I want to cry (even more).
had mine since Monday. it is pretty cool but has a few minor glitches that should be easily fixed in SW. the keyboard takes some getting used to, but the onscreen one works great.
here is your sound pulled right from the phone: http://www.mediafire.com/file/kamynhwxtmm/droid.ogg
I tried one of these out at a Best Buy.... and I have to say I HATE the design. It just feels like an old square Motorola phone from the 90's. Even the gold highlight on the keypad is reminiscent of their old phones.
No sir, I don't like it.
Ren and Stimpy reference noted and appreciated.
You obviously speak for the entire world. While you are here, can you answer some questions for me? For instance, why do people like the color green? I mean it's just not good looking at all. If you can get back to me the with the likes and dislikes of the entire world, I'd appreciate it. Maybe you could put out a manual. It will make everyone's life easier since they won't have to choose what items they buy. They can reference your all knowing reference manual and know what they will like.
I didn't notice him saying he spoke for anyone but himself. Calm down at once.
Just trying to find a constructive outlet for his preference of designs. If he doesn't want to create a manual that details what's cool and "not ugly" then what's the point?
@Andir3.0
Yeah, cool off a bit there. These are people's opinions. Every phone there's going to be some people who like the design and some who don't.
To answer the question why people like green well its obvious its the color of weed thats why people like it
Seriously..the guy made it clear he was only speaking for himself. If he says it's too square, then he obviously likes rounded corners. If he didn't like the gold, it would've been better without it, in his opinion. No idea where you got the idea he was speaking for the world.
My New Every 2 discount prevents me for going any where but a VZ store :(
I don't think that's true.. they asked when I preordered if my new every two was up.
i am using my new every 2 upgrade and getting my new one at best buy tomorrow
I know for a fact it works at Amazon, not sure about BB but I bet you can.
I hope that by "New every two" you don't mean that verizon allows you to get a new phone every two years cuz WOW thats just ground breaking. NOT
By "New Every Two discount" he probably means the extra $50 he gets off 2-year contract price, meaning he can get the Droid for $149, but only if he goes through VZW. I guess BB only checks to see if you can get the 2-yr contract price, not the extra discount off of that.
You can only use NE2 at Verizon - BB "can not" apply NE2 discounts - I already tried.
Who cares?
A lot of people? Apparently including you since you took the time to come here and comment on it?
Basically. I love how they expect to get upranked too, like this guy:
Highest Ranked
RyanTV @ Nov 5th 2009 12:06PM
It's amazing how little I care about this product. Seriously.
He crossed a river, ran through Afghanistan barefoot, peddled money in London, took a flight out of Heathrow, landed in New York, sprinted to the public library, ran to a computer, all to say this.
Good job, bro.
@n900
I figured u did 100% posting comments from your smartphone. Do u? U mustnot work or live a basement. Hmmh.
uh......huh?
I'm sorry I have no idea what you're typing =(. You should take Job's cock off your keyboard. It'll help a lot.
Yup, called the Noho store in NYC and this is total BS. Have to wait until Friday. Good going, Engadget.
As much as i like the android platform... i am in the " i don't like the hardware design" camp... this thing is very ugly. i much rather take the HTC Hero design over this one, the specs for the droid are quite impressive tho, so props to google, moto and verizon on that one!
Dito!
I've confirmed that the Best Buy I pre-ordered from will not sell it to me until tomorrow. :(
i just called my local BB that i preordered the phone at and they said they aren't selling the phones today. tomorrow is when they start calling ppl to come in for appointments to get your phone, well the preorders anyway.
Incorrect! You will not be able to purchase them.
Some stores received the phones in and accidentally sold them according to employee news for BBY.
I dont see that many people buying this thing most people on verizon's network tends to be senoir citizens and they couldent care less about a cellphone now you add a free box of metamucil in there instant success.
If you're going to bother making fun, at least call them "old people." Also, pretty much everybody I know in Maryland has Verizon. I think the northern US/east coast is mainly Verizon, and once you get towards the midwest there's more of a mix.
Not to mention nearly all of Hawaii.
peter griffin: ALOHA!!!!
Lol!!!!!
That is so right.
Or if fox news all of a sudden said u can control missiles from android phones grandpa would buy. Or worst if rush limbaugh would promote it granps would buy it.
I dont see that many people buying this thing most people on verizon's network tends to be senoir citizens and they couldent care less about a cellphone now you add a free box of metamucil in there instant success.
I dont care. I'm just tired of hearing about this ugly and boring phone. Plus the incessant iphone bashing that accompanies it.
Damn, Mr. Pot, that Kettle sure is black eh? Reading through the comments here, you're the only one bashing anything.
Funny - no one mentioned the iPhone (besides low ranked Joe80) before you. Little defensive aren't we? And the irony continues since you came into this thread to bash the Droid with not one but two different comments. Nice.
So i called 4 Best Buys and 3 Wal-Marts and this is a hell no lol... Walmart employees don't even have any idea what the Droid is lol.. FAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
apparently those employee's arent into star wars.
I called a three Best Buys and two wallmarts in the central Pa area and Best Buy isn't releasing anything but the preorders first than if anything is left they will hit the floors. Wallmart's I got a look simular to a Milk Cow staring at a light! They are not that good of an actor and are not smart enough to pull it off. They didnt even lnow what I was talking about, Droid isnt that something in Star Wars? If Verizon lets them sell them they are in trouble, The ones around here do not have the newer phones. I would pay double just to watch one of those idiots explaining how to operate one, now that is funny.
WTF is this legal?
I see what they trying to do. Orig date is nov 6.
They wanna give themselves more time so this way they can say they shattered iPhone Zero to million smartphone in 72 hours record. Sneaky of verizon but I've come to expect than from them by now. I can't wait till. 11-10-09. When we have the sales figures/ desirability rate numbers. Btw 111009 call of duty 6. I should be dominating that day on 360. Already have the day off work midnight release.
Anything under millin sold in 72 hours is a facepalm.
Personally, I think anything less than 1 million sold before release is a facepalm(as per Halo 3 record). So that would include the iPhone as well. In all seriousness, what's with your obsession with everything needing to exactly match iPhone sales at all times?
I am commenting because i would like to comment in the future and everytime i never get confirmation email
So automatically he must be loving the iPhone if he don't like the Droid? That's just stupid.
I am really trying to get rid of my Tmobile service, but other providers are making it very hard for me. Apparently, there are some reports of the camera having problems: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/motorola-droid/357-retail-droids-could-possibly-ship-faulty-cameras.html
You fail more than the comment system.
bestbuy has the ERIS listed for 499.99 unlocked price COMING SOON.
Just called a Best Buy near me and they said their systems won't even allow for its sale until midnight tonight.
It's interesting to see all these trolls on the Droid articles. They wouldn't troll on articles about boring/crappy phones but when a super awesome phone comes out, so do they. Intimidated much?
For Verizons and Motorolas sake, hope this sells, especially with all the money spent on that ridiculous transformers drop out of space ad they did. lol.. when I turned on the TV, thought it was a movie lol
I noticed on Verizon's website, if you go through the order process on their site for a smartphone, it gave me the option for a 2 year, 1 year or No contract, with prices for the phone varying depending on the length of the contract.
Do any of you know if I'll have those same options when buying a DROID? 2 year, 1 year or no contract?
I'd rather NOT sign a 1 or 2 year agreement and pay full price for the DROID.
Thanks
I know Verizon released info on Twitter saying no contract price was something like $550ish
They allow 1 and 2 year contracts, as well as full retail purchase on ALL phones.
If you get a contract you save instantly, and will only pay the cancellation fee if you cancel. If you buy off contract then you're DEFINITELY paying the cancellation fee up front.
100% chance of full fee now with no contract
vs.
50/50% chance of reduced fee later if you cancel
If you buy an unlocked phone, by paying full price upfront, why can you not get a cheaper plan with the same voice minutes and data? After all you are not paying the cost of the phone stretched out over the one or two years.
@Visualplastik
Verizon raised their ETF for "advanced devices" to $350 (starting Nov 15, it goes down by $10 every month). Presumably it is to prevent people from getting the subsidized phone and offloading it on ebay for a decent profit after paying the current $175 ETF. It'll still be slightly cheaper than the unsubsidized price though (rumored $599), $200+350 = $550.
"We are the DROOOOOID. Resistance is futile."
I still don't see the point having to pay money for a locked phone that can only be used in one country with one provider. SE, where's your X10?
If you never leave said country (or have plans to) and you like the service... why does it matter? I've traveled quite a bit of the US and I still haven't seen all there is to see yet. the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Mt. Rushmore... etc.
Buy a burn phone when you travel abroad. Sure it's just the basics, but you don't have to worry about losing it (cost or personal info), network issues issues, or billing issues.
"If you never leave said country (or have plans to) and you like the service... why does it matter? I've traveled quite a bit of the US and I still haven't seen all there is to see yet. the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Mt. Rushmore... etc."
Wow...!!! don’t be so closed minded. Dubai, London, Spain, Rome, Kuwait, Maldives, Thailand (Koh Samui), Djibouti, Hungry, Jamaica, Mexico (Baha Peninsula) and all the other destinations on the globe and the Grand Canyon is what you think of... I will agree with you all the same. If you are local then Verizon, TrackPhone or Metro PCS is fine depending on your geographical sphere. Even VodaFone (Verizon Parent Company) is a GSM carrier. Paying enormous international roaming charges suck but at least with a GSM phone frequent traveler have the option of switching out SIM cards to local carriers. I am a gadget junky so I will still pick one up tomorrow but GSM is more versatile and is truly and currently the World Standard.
@brian: Will you buy any other portable electronic gadgets that its primary function can only be used in one country? I don't think so. Yet the Verizon fanboys are all over this. The Europeans can enjoy the same droid phone without the restriction.
US consumers are defending their sheep mentality, go figure. :P
Verapezon has fanboys? Must be called "Masochists United" or something.
Thanks for calling all Americans sheep. Don't be a jerk. I understand your comment about versatility, however, if I spent enough time in the UK for instance where global roaming would be necessary for me, I would just get an HD2 and be done with it.
Out of all the phone carriers in the US, I haven't found one that even remotely compares to Verizon. I talk to many people with ATT who have different phones and in different states and have dropped calls all of the time. Sprint, black holes throughout there network which have never been fixed I know of one huge one near Cleveland that has been there for 10 years. T-Mobile...... Okay I don't know many people who use T-Mobile so I can't comment on them.
Anyway, here in the US Verizon has probably the best network out there and for people like me who don't spend much time out of the country, its not a big deal.
"Wow...!!! don’t be so closed minded."
I'm not close minded. I just argued the opposite point. If you never leave or have plans to leave said country, there's no need to get a world phone. People have different opinions and needs.
Apparently this is story to post all your hate for this phone because it doesn't fit your one niche need. (be it "ugly", not a world phone, or it has a copper accent) The fact of the matter is, this appeals to a great many people. If you don't like it, there are literally hundreds of other choices (and even a GSM version of this one in the pipe.) So what's the point? Choose another phone and move on.
You don't need a phone that can be used in multiple countries on multiple carriers in the US like you do in Europe. In Europe, if you drive an hour from your house, you'll probably be in a completely different country on a completely different carrier. In the US, you can drive for DAYS and still be in the same country and on the same carrier. The only time an average American needs an unlocked GSM phone is when they leave the country, which is much less frequent than an average European simply due to geography. Every time I leave the US, I do just what brian suggests - bring a cheap unlocked GSM phone and pick up a SIM card when I arrive. Why would I want to use a crap service everyday so I can use my phone when I'm on vacation once a year?
"Android, show us on the doll where the user touched you"
Just picked mine up at Best Buy La Mesa, CA
Lucky!
Thanks for the info fellas
BestBuy on 5th Ave has them in stock but no selling them...
zombie-esque apocalypse in 5...4..
Is it just me or is this device suffering from an identity crisis. Is it dark and menacing or cute and cuddly? Is it ex deus machina or R2D2?
'Touch the android to begin"
called my local store they said no
called verizon on michigan ave. they hung up on me when i told them i could get it at best buy
Confirmed on the phone no early sale and no matching of new every two at Best Buy in Bellevue, WA.
Can anyone get a definitive statement on new every two matching at Best Buy? I'd rather not deal with the rebate form.
If you order from the website they'll cut the MIR off instantly.
As a verizon customer I'm just happy to have a phone with wi-fi....that's news for us!
Bestbuy mobile said that even if BB stores received the phones today that can't sell them until Friday.
This just might yank me out of Blackberry land... Curious to see what apps are developed.