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See What DROID™ Does Next: DROID 2 by Motorola Pre-Sale Starts August 11 at verizonwireless.com.Built on Android 2.2 with Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1, DROID 2 Comes Equipped with More Power, More Speed and an Improved QWERTY Keyboard…..

Verizon Wireless, the company with the nation’s largest and most reliable wireless 3G network, and Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), a pioneer in the mobile industry, today announced that DROID™ 2 by Motorola will be available for pre-sale on August 11. Hitting all the right keys, DROID 2 is a feature-packed device that helps manage work and social life with an enhanced QWERTY keyboard, ultra high-speed Web browsing, 3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities, full push corporate e-mail, intuitive social messaging and Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 for access to the full web all built on Android 2.2.

When we announced DROID X last month, we reaffirmed our commitment to continue to bring unique Android experiences to the Verizon Wireless network,” said Jeffrey Dietel, vice president – wireless device, marketing and development for Verizon Wireless. “The DROID by Motorola was our first Android device, so it is important for us to include the successor to that phone in our portfolio. DROID 2 is not only a continuation of our commitment to Android but offers customers the features and form-factor they crave on the Verizon Wireless network.

With the new DROID 2, we’ve taken a big leap forward from the original DROID,” said Bill Ogle, chief marketing officer of Motorola Mobile Devices and Home Business. “We listened to consumers and are providing an even more robust experience built on Android 2.2 that includes a new keyboard, increased processing power, Adobe Flash Player 10.1 and 3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities to send, access and share information even quicker than before.

DROID 2’s super-slim design helps customers e-mail, text and tweet with ease. DROID 2 offers a redesigned symmetrical keyboard with raised keys for more responsive typing to push out notes and status updates. Speech-to-text input and the virtual multi-touch keyboard allow for quick messaging; or customers can also use Swype for even easier text input. In addition, full push corporate e-mail delivers enhanced features such as remote wipe and password enforcement so that information remains secure.

DROID 2 packs power and speed. Customers can enjoy the freedom of wireless with the 3G Mobile HotSpot and the ability to connect up to five compatible Wi-Fi® devices, and watch content on the full multi-touch 3.7-inch brilliant display, or share content captured on the 5-megapixel camera with enhanced functionality and DVD-quality video capture with DLNA connectivity to share on compatible devices.

Customers can also download favorite apps from Android Market™, which has more than 70,000 applications, and store them on 8 GB of preloaded on-board memory and the 8 GB microSD™ card, which can be upgraded to a 32 GB SD card for a total cargo capacity of 40 GB. Popular apps available on DROID 2 include NFL Mobile (downloadable), Skype mobile™ and BLOCKBUSTER On Demand® presented by V CAST Video. Customers can even manage their wireless accounts or their contacts from their phones with My Verizon and with Backup Assistant(SM).

It’s great to see amazing new smartphones like the DROID 2 come pre-installed with Flash Player 10.1,” said David Wadhwani, senior vice president and general manager, Creative and Interactive Solution Business Unit at Adobe. “With the completely redesigned and hardware accelerated Flash Player 10.1, DROID 2 users will be able to experience the full Web on the go.

Shortly after hamstringing the Froyo update for the original Droid, Big Red is tossing a tempting upgrade all up in your grille, as the Droid 2 ships with Android 2.2, mobile hotspot (a $20 / month add-on), Flash Player 10.1 and a revised QWERTY keyboard. It also ships with Swype pre-installed, though we’d prefer Swiftkey thrown in for good measure. You already know the specs by now — a 3.7-inch multitouch display, 5 megapixel camera, DLNA streaming, 8GB of onboard memory and a 8GB microSD card — but what you haven’t known is the on sale date. VZW is putting this gem up for pre-sale tomorrow at $199.99 on a 2-year contract.

Adobe Flash Player 10.1 lets mobile users experience millions of websites the way they were meant to be seen – with rich Internet applications (RIAs), content inside the browser, including games, animations, data presentations and visualizations, e-commerce, music, video, audio and more.

In honor of the iconic Astromech Droid from the Star Wars™ Saga, Verizon Wireless will offer a limited-edition R2-D2 version of the DROID 2, available only online in September. The special version of the phone will feature exclusive Star Wars content and external hardware designed to look like the trusty Droid from the film saga. Visitors to the upcoming Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando, Fla., can see a preview of the limited edition phone and sign up to receive alerts when the phone is ready for sale.

In other news, that R2-D2 edition Droid 2 we told you about last month is legit, and we’re having a hard time containing our excitement just dreaming about the design. Said phone will be available online only in September, and it’ll ship with “exclusive Star Wars content and external hardware designed to look like the trusty Droid from the film saga.” We’re guessing these will sell out in no time flat, but there’s no price being divulged just yet. Oh, and if you’re wondering how on Earth you’re going to swing this upgrade, Verizon’s allowing any customer with a contract ending by December 31, 2010 to upgrade now (to any other smartphone, including the Droid 2) sans penalty.

For more information on DROID 2 by Motorola, go to www.droiddoes.com. For information about Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

Source :engadget.com