Verizon Wireless, AT&T, as well as regional carriers US Cellular and Cellular South are all trumpeting major Android devices releases this week as Google’s operating system continues to take the wireless industry by storm.
Most prominently, the long-awaited and much-hyped Motorola Droid X goes on pre-order today. Verizon Wireless’ successor to the original Motorola Droid will sell for $199 with a two-year contract. The Droid X comes running Android 2.1 (Eclaire) and features a 4.3-inch touchscreen, HDMI out, 720p video capture and an 8-megapixel camera.
Meanwhile, AT&T today laid official claim to the Android-based Dell Streak. Whether you call it a tablet (AT&T calls it a tablet) or a smartphone, the 5-inch Streak comes in at $300 with a two-year contract or $550 without. The Dell Streak features 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 5-megapixel camera and a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor.
Pre-orders of the Dell Streak begin tomorrow with general availability coming a day later on Aug. 13.
Android is no longer just for the larger carriers, with US Cellular and Cellular South both putting out big-time Android devices this week.
Cellular South launched the Android-based Motorola Milestone, which features a 3.7-inch screen, thin qwerty keyboard, and turn-by-turn navigation. The device is available online and in retail stores for $149.99 after a $50 mail-in reward card and with a two-year service agreement.
US Cellular announced availability of the HTC Desire. The carrier’s second Android-powered phone launches Aug. 27. The HTC Desire represents one of five Android-powered phones that the company is introducing this year and will be available in stores and online just weeks after the company launched the Samsung Acclaim.
Details on price for the HTC Desire at US Cellular were not immediately available.
According to a press release, US Cellular will get a Samsung Galaxy S variant of its very own in October, with two LG Android-powered phones following closely behind.
Android recently has seen its share of the smartphone OS market soar as more devices are released that run the relatively new operating system. According to Nielsen, Android has seen huge growth in the last six months. In fact, Android nosed past Apple’s iOS in the last quarter to grab a 27 percent share of new smartphone subscribers. Apple took 23 percent in the last quarter, according to Nielsen.
