WorldEdition
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Droid 2 Global (and specs) make brief cameo on Motorola's website
There and gone again: a Droid's tale. Looks like Motorola's website had a temporary hiccup on the site, and out its proverbial mouth came a listing and some specs for the Droid 2 Global -- which, as you might gather from a name like that, appears to be a Droid 2 with Quad Band antenna for world use (sound familiar?). The site also lists a 1.2GHz processor a redesigned QWERTY keyboard, and a host of key words for the business demographic. Or rather, it listed such things, past tense, as the information has now been pulled. No pictures were ever posted, but if we were betting folk, we'd wager a name like that and a call-out to "redesigned keyboard" means everything else is just as you'd expect.
Motorola Droid Pro, Droid 2 World Edition, and MZ600 'tablet' leak for Verizon
Hey guess what, Verizon loves Android and Motorola, and the hit-making trio seem to be up to their old tricks with a bevy of new phones spotted by a Boy Genius Report tipster in Verizon Wireless' systems. The serial numbers and hints of product names help flesh out and clarify a rumor Boy Genius was peddling a week ago, with the super specced Droid Pro and what looks to be a secondary version of the Droid 2 "World Edition" apparently slated for those international-friendly GSM+CDMA chipsets (like Verizon's Storm before them), while a third MZ600 "tablet" device is also in the works. Before you get your hopes up, that's probably just VZ's lingo for the slate-style touchphone that was included in BG's earlier rumor, and not some sort of iPad-slaying Android monstrosity. Not that we'd mind being wrong on this front, and there's nothing here to contradict additional rumors we've heard of Android 3.0 tablets being aimed for Q4 on Verizon.
The BlackBerry 8830 World Edition, now in Verizon Red
The 8800 series is perhaps the most uptight, business-oriented model currently in RIM's lineup, owing in no small part to the fact that it lacks a camera altogether. Seems a bit strange then to launch the 8830 in a shockingly casual, let-your-hair-down shade of red -- but hey, we're glad they've taken the plunge, and we imagine it'll actually sell quite well against the original silver. Verizon's red 8830 features the same specs as its blander brother, including GSM / GPRS on the 900 and 1800MHz bands for international roaming and EV-DO for when you're on home turf. Look for it to hit Verizon's online store tomorrow for $299.99 on contract after rebate.
Alltel antes up BlackBerry 8830 World Edition
They're a little late to the party, but it looks like Alltel has started slipping its own variant of RIM's BlackBerry 8830 World Edition into retail channels in the past few days. Thanks to a 900 / 1800MHz GSM radio packed in there beside the standard CDMA / EV-DO fare, the 8830 gives subscribers to CDMA carriers like Alltel a somewhat painless route to international roaming without juggling multiple handsets. The cameraless posterior means that the 8830's pretty much all business -- but with GPS in the mix, it's a darned good business to be in, we reckon. Check it for $250 on contract after rebates.[Via PhoneMag]
Sprint scores silly marketing points, pairs BlackBerry 8830 with private island
Sprint must figure that if you need a phone whose name includes the phrase "World Edition," you're probably the jet-setting type. Like, the type that needs a private island, apparently. A tipster pointed us out to a pretty clever new ad campaign involving Sprint's BlackBerry 8830 World Edition that offers an enticing combo package: an 8830 for $200 (after contract and rebates, of course) and an "Exotic Island plus amenities" for a shade over ten mil. Total cost: $10.5 million. Of course, if you actually go through the process of trying to place an order, the site calls you out on it -- but here's where it gets interesting, they actually offer to take your information through an email and get you in touch with the appropriate brokers if you are, in fact, serious. Talk about customer service![Thanks, Jake]
Western Digital gets NASty with My Book World Edition HDDs
Western Digital is at it again with its My Book lineup of HDDs, but rather than bumping the storage capacity from the already roomy (albeit bulky) 1TB Pro II Edition, WD is adding an Ethernet port for remote access ability. The My Book World Edition II sports a shiny white finish and touts 1TB of storage, RAID 1 capability, a USB 2.0 port for stringing on more external drives, and the obligatory gigabit Ethernet jack to boot. Additionally, this device pays a bit more attention to detail by offering up a "unique capacity gauge LED that allows users to discern at a glance remaining storage space," but the real story is its ability to be accessed from any internet connection as a standalone device. Essentially becoming a NAS drive at heart via the included Anywhere Access software, this Book also includes Data OnHand software which makes the drive active in Windows Explorer regardless of your location, and boasts the ability to let friends and family access / upload files without having to actually be near the drive. Notably, the My Book World Edition II is deemed "user-serviceable," and should be available by the week's end for $499, but if you're interested in the half-sized 500GB My Book World Edition, you can snag it for just $279.[Via Yahoo, thanks Steve]
