Purported Motorola Droid prototype turns up on eBay
By Donald Melanson 
posted November 21st 2009 8:47PM
posted November 21st 2009 8:47PM
Wishing you could get a Motorola Droid and stand out from all your Android-toting friends at the same time? Then you might just want to consider bidding on this "limited edition" Droid prototype that just turned up on eBay, which has a reasonably good chance of being an actual Droid, and a slight chance of being an actual prototype. If the seller is to be believed, however, this particular Droid is one of only five produced, and is different from the standard issue Droid in a few respects -- including a chrome bezel instead of a black one, silver buttons instead of gold, and some "enhanced LED lighting" on the front buttons. It also apparently works just fine, and is ready to be activated. Willing to take the chance? Bidding starts at $485.
[Thanks, Kaptix]
[Thanks, Kaptix]
Blurrycam much? Can't anyone buy a half-decent camera these days? >.
Probably because it was taken from the seller's iPhone 3G.
Normally I'd want to defend my iPhone's camera, but admittedly, it's... well...
Every light has to be turned on for it to work :( Horrible.
Holy crap...an iPhone user who is actually admitting to one of the phone's flaws? What channel shows weather reports from hell?
Sarcasm noted. I don't know anyone who would agree that the iPhone's camera is any good at all. 2MP is sub-par for a smartphone. I never use it because of that. The 3GS camera looks somewhat better, but still, lighting is everything with these bad boys, and for a phone that is supposed to do everything (and thus go everywhere), you're never going to have optimal light and camera settings for it. I hope the next iPhone will have a great camera with all sorts of features, but alas, after watching Apple for years, that could be a bit too much to ask for.
The iPhone is a good phone still, but it's not much of an actual phone with AT&T's service. Oh boy... the problems we have with that.
God bless your honesty.
*internet handshake*
*Returns shake*
I try to make two cents true and worthwhile. It's easy to pick out problems when you're looking for the best of something. I love Apple products, but there are always flaws. Every phone/computer will have some.
Most iPhone users aren't the pompous wannabe hipsters that many trolls on the internet act like. Most of us just like how the phone works, for the most part. To argue that it's better than ALL other stuff is just a form of self-denial and is just wrong. Just watching the TV can tell you enough.
Considering that I see plenty of Apple and AT&T ads, it's quite annoying that the slow trickle of VZW and Droid ads have spawned even more defensive AT&T ads that not only lay claim to the "fastest" network, but the "most reliable" or something like that. BS. They're only fast if you're right next to a tower these days because of all the network congestion. To think my money is being to used for advertising and not tower deployment...
You seem like a rational person, yet you continue to overpay for Apple products. Weird.
I'm not overpaying for them if they hold sufficient value to me. I like the Mac OS, what else can I say? Lower prices would be better, but hey, Apple has been good to me and I benefit personally from using their products. Still, I doubt I'd purchase one of those Cinema Displays or a Mac Mini, etc., because in my mind, while they're quite nice, they're unnecessary luxuries and far too costly to be worth an investment at the MSRP. However, for me, a MBP is a necessity and a reasonable deal. I'm glad I use one.
Now, you would seem like a rational person, but then again, why would a rational person question my own rationality and judgment, just because I have different opinion? Why does it matter if I like using different systems? It's really not a big deal. Funny that you made that comment though, considering I'm also quite happy with my many Windows PCs, my two 360s, and dozens of non-Apple items, many of which I wouldn't call "cheap". And you know, I've also been trying to fit Linux into the mix. Combining electronics from multiple sources is a really great way to go. Guess that's not rational at all by your standards.
@Maccadude33 If you would like to incorporate Linux into your MBP, I would suggest "Virtual Box" by Sun Systems.
Honestly, why Apple doesn't allow us to install other operating systems is beyond me.
I like the iPhone (to some extent), I just with it had Verizon's network backing it (that and Google Voice).
@megapenguinx
I have VirtualBox. It's alright, but nothing I care to use enough consistently. Plus it does like to bog down my system. I'd rather run Linux on a dedicated box anyway.
I like my iPhone, but the spotty service is a real annoyance... truly aggravating.
CDMA, pah. I'd love to get a GSM Droid, but by the time I'd actually seriously considering replacing my G1 they won't even be selling them anymore.
Also, I'd just like to say that I have no raeg for CDMA, it's just that I'm grandfathered into a really great plan on T-Mobile.
I actually do dislike CDMA. Apart from the annoyance of being dropped out of an EvDo data transaction every time I receive a text, I actually do like being able to call and surf at the same time.
3G-3G calls actually are noticeably clearer as well. I don't miss CDMA2000-family devices or technologies at all. There's myriad reasons why LTE is a GSM-family spec.
It looks better like this with the chrome accents instead of gold.
Yeah, the gold is really gaudy. I'd have preferred that they at least gave you an option with the color.
Yeah, looks way better with the silver.
are you the evil twin of Steve Jobs?
NEXT HEADLINE: MOTOROLA EMPLOYEE FOUND DEAD, REASON:SUICIDE
sorry, only apple scares the shit out of people to that extent.
And then he died.
In 2009, an Asian Engineer went to Motorola with an amazing new idea for an Android powered iPhone-competitor.
And then he died.
I KEEP GETTING JAVASCRIPT PROMPTS IN FUCKING IE8 and it crashes. THIS IS BULLSHIT. cant even submit commets had to use the memory leaking pos known as firefox. FIX THIS
chrome
Tried Firefox 2? 3? 3.5?
Just sayin'.
Chrome.
@Troll I've forwarded on your issues to our devs. Looking into it right now. We'll certainly fix anything we find.
Browser trouble? There are only many alternatives. Why in the world would you use IE to begin with? Either way, sounds like a personal problem.
The browser is becomes very unstable when entering an article. there is no submit button for comments . javascript prompt claims that there is a script that slows down internet explorer so i have to stop the scripts. then half the time i cant even open the comment replies in IE. i get the same thing when i use firefox. half the time it crashes in IE.
i do like the new fonts though.
@Troll Really weird stuff. Have you / can you test on another system to see if you get the same results?
Joshua: My school's computers run IE8 and it crashes every time I read the comments. Even so, reading just the front page is a terrible, terrible experience at IE8. I tried different school computers with varying specs but IE8 is unusable with Engadget. Firefox 3.5.5 here at home works well though.
dude you are so cool saw a problem jumped on it and tried to fix it engadget guy you rock
@ Troll
Remembered that time you stayed on topic?
@Troll, if you dont like IE or firefox, try Opera, it works great if you have a slow computer
Yea "take the chance" until you run face first into Verizon's ESN deny database! Lol... Another suck factor is that it cant be used overseas (except maybe in SK). Had it been GSM it would be as simple as unlock, pop in a SIM and roll. CDMA and their old school "tie you to a single phone" and esn, SUX AZZ plain and simple!!
Exactly. They may be 'clean ESN' units now, but when Verizon determines that there's 1 out of 5 'prototype' units unaccounted for, guess which one is going to be on the blacklist?
Only good this phone would be for is MetroPCS or Cricket... or any other carrier that doesn't care about bad ESN phones from other carriers.
I prefer the all-black exterior to the chrome bezel, although the silver buttons instead of gold would have been nice. I'm curious what the "enhanced LED lighting" for the front buttons is. I can't imagine that it's anything too spectacular or the seller would have been much more specific.
even though it is blurry i can read the NOT FOR SALE on the side.
I wish they never put that D-Pad there and made the keyboard more spacious.
Agreed. I trimmed my fingernails today and it made the keyboard MUCH more difficult to use
oh and unless ebay changed their protection policy then the seller is a NOOB. if he accepts paypal he must accept returns. it states no returns.
No, the new policy is that a return policy must be specified; You can choose to accept no returns, but you must state that.
Why would you pay more for a prototype? It's called a "prototype" for a reason. It is unfinished hardware. There is no way that it would be better to have this over the actual Droid, except just to say you have it.
Here's a reason: super user access. Motorola locks you out of super user access to your phone with the final release, but there's a good chance that a prototype would be DRM free.
Hey if you guys noticed...... He just bought it TWO DAYS AGO from another Ebayer!
Here is his Ebay history (He bought it from sellularphoneguy on Nov. 19)
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=mobileexpansion&ftab=FeedbackAsBuyer
Here is the original item that he bought
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250532592207
If you look at the rest of his for sale/sold stuff, it is stuff he bought but is charging over $100-$200 more.
The original seller had 5 of these, that's a lot of prototypes to go "missing".
Someone actually bid on it, a NOOB. lol
Item number: 170410030148
Gotta Love Ebay.
PT Barnum said it best "There is a sucker born every day".
Its a sucker born every minute......
and they are going to milk them for all they've got.