In addition to celebrating the 40th anniversary of “Sesame Street” by placing Burt and Ernie where its Doodles would be, Google started promoting the new Motorola Droid, which launched today from Verizon Wireless (also available for purchase at Best Buy).
Click on the “Learn more” link and you’ll be whisked to this Google Mobile partners page:
Note the blue button in the upper right-hand corner. What does that look like to you? That’s right. It looks like a software download button, similar to the ones we’ve seen for Google Chrome and Google Sidewiki. It actually takes you to the Verizon Wireless Droid splash Web page. The link under it takes you to another Droid page that’s hard on the eyes.
Matt McGee over at Search Engine Land, whom I’ll credit for pointing this out, asks whether or not this is an advertisement for Motorola and the Droid phone.
I say: Hell yeah, Matt! Though I’d argue the emphasis is more on Verizon Wireless and the Droid than Motorola. But no matter. Journalists are scribbling madly about how the Droid will single-handedly save Motorola. It can and will, if people buy it.
Google, too, has high hopes for the Droid, the first phone to feature its Android 2.0 operating system build and feature the Google Maps Navigation GPS service.
I actually went to a Best Buy here in Connecticut Friday and hefted both a Droid and HTC Eris. I say “hefted” because Best Buy hadn’t activated either one to let users play with. For shame!
The Droid was a lot heavier in the hand, more so than my wife’s Treo 750, which I thought was heavy enough. This didn’t bother me, but my wife didn’t like it. Actually, we both liked the way the Eris felt better.
I am going to go back and try both when they’re active. I want an Android phone, but if I don’t think all of the bells and whistles on the Droid are worth it, I may go with the Eris, which is really nice.
Have you given the Droid a whirl? How about the Eris? What do you think?