The enterprise-ready, Android 2.2-running Motorola Droid Pro will be available for preordering on the Verizon Wireless network Nov. 9.
Verizon Wireless will begin accepting preorders for the Motorola
Droid Pro Nov. 9, before launching the Android 2.2-running smartphone
in stores Nov. 18.
Pricing has been set at $180, after a $100 mail-in rebate and with a
new two-year contract. Users will also need to subscribe to a Verizon
Nationwide Talk plan, beginning at $40 a month, as well as a 3G
Smartphone plan.
The first Android phone designed for enterprise users, as well as
consumers, the Droid Pro features a 3.1-inch touch display over a
four-row QWERTY keypad. Included are Adobe Flash Player 10, a 1GHz
processor and support for full-push corporate e-mail, as well as access
to corporate directories and calendar information. The Quickoffice
Mobile Suite, Skype mobile, Mediashare, File Manager and an AuthenTech
VPN client are all preloaded, there's WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth
connectivity, and it's one of the first Android devices to offer Cisco IPsec VPN connectivity for enterprise-level security.
A world phone, the Droid Pro has quad-band GSM/EDGE and tri-band
HSDPA/HSUPA radios for roaming, and according to Verizon can support
voice service is more than 220 countries and data coverage in 200-at 3G
speeds in 120-plus countries. In the United States, it can access
Verizon's EVDO 3G network, plus-for an extra fee-act as a hotspot for
other WiFi-enabled devices.
There's a music player that supports multiple file formats, and a
5-megapixel camera with image editing tools and video capabilities.
Motorola introduced the Droid Pro Oct. 5, along with the Citrus, an
entry-level consumer handset also headed for Verizon, though arriving
later in the quarter. The Verizon phones were two of six
Android-running handsets that Motorola introduced at the CTIA Wireless
2010 event in San Francisco. The Motorola Flipout, Bravo and Flipside,
all running Android 2.1, are headed for AT&T, while the sixth
phone, the Spice, will most likely head to South American markets.
The fast-growing popularity of Android-running handsets has been a
boon for both manufacturers and carriers. In a September report,
Gartner analysts forecast that Android devices were likely to outnumber iPhones and BlackBerry smartphones
by the end of the year, coming up behind Symbian as the second-largest
operating system. And indeed, each carrier is expanding its Android
portfolio and noting strong adoption among first-time smartphone users.
Sprint, for example, which now offers the HTC Evo 4G and Samsung Epic
4G, both 4G-enabled Android phones, posted a third quarter that showed
the Sprint brand CDMA platform to be net positive for the first time on
record-a feat executives largely credited to the Android handsets.
In time for the holidays, Verizon will soon also offer the Samsung
Continuum, in addition to the Samsung Fascinate and Samsung Galaxy Tab.
All three are part of the manufacturer's Galaxy S line of
Android-running devices.
Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.
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