Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) today announced the latest addition to its Droid lineup, the Droid Turbo from Motorola. The phone helps reinforce Verizon's long-standing Droid phone line and will compete directly with Apple's new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Samsung's Galaxy Note 4 and other new phones from the likes of HTC, LG and others.
Verizon will be the exclusive carrier for the Droid Turbo, which it will launch Oct. 30. The 32 GB model will cost $199 with a two-year contract or $25 per month with Verizon's Edge handset financing program. The 64 GB model will cost $249 with a two-year contract or $27 per month with Verizon's Edge. PhoneScoop noted that, for a limited time, Verizon is offering all Droid Turbo customers a minimum of $100 for phone trade-ins and no activation fees. And Verizon will give Droid Turbo customers one free screen replacement during their first year of ownership if they break their phone's screen.
As The Verge notes, the Droid Turbo is similar to the recently upgraded Moto X from Motorola but offers a slight boost in specifications. The Droid Turbo has the same screen size as the Moto X, 5.2 inches, but it has a higher quad HD screen resolution (the Moto X sports a 1080p screen). The Turbo also features a Snapdragon 805 processor, 3 GB of RAM, a massive 3,900mAh battery and a 21-megapixel camera--all slightly ahead of what's available in the Moto X.
Notably, the Droid Turbo boasts Qualcomm's Turbo Charger technology, which Verizon said can provide 8 hours of battery life with a 15-minute charge.
As for the phone's operating system and features, the Droid Turbo is launching with Android 4.4 KitKat but it can be upgraded to the new Android 5.0 Lollipop platform when that operating system is available. The phone also features a number of services also available on the Moto X including voice control and the ability to launch the phone's camera with a twist gesture of the user's wrist.
Verizon first launched its Droid line of phones in 2009 as an answer to AT&T's iPhone exclusivity. Verizon's Droids universally run Google's Android operating system, and the phones helped usher in the Android operating system into the United States. The new launch of the Droid Turbo could help Verizon cater to its existing Droid customer base with a new and upgraded device.
Further, the Droid Turbo stands as an alternative to new phone launches from heavyweights Apple and Samsung. Apple last month began selling its new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and the launch has been widely viewed as Apple's biggest iPhone launch ever. And Samsung, for its part, earlier this month started selling its Galaxy Note 4, a massive phone with a 5.7-inch screen that represents the latest upgrade to Samsung's popular line of Note-branded phablets.
Interestingly, the Droid Turbo will also compete with Google's recently launched Nexus 6 phone, which also is built by Motorola. Google is in the process of selling Motorola to China's Lenovo.
For more:
- see this Verizon release
- see this PhoneScoop article
- see this Verge article
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