verizon

According to EngadgetMobile, the LG Chocolate Touch from Verizon is slated for a November 5 launch. Given the upcoming releases of the DROID and Droid Eris, which are both launching in the same period, this handset is going to get it's a$$ kicked. Then the fact that Chocolate Touch has almost nothing in common with the BL40 should also be taken into consideration.

Verizon has officially announced the highly anticipated Motorola DROID. The phone will be available starting November 6th for $199 on contract (after a $100 mail-in rebate), and will include the following specs:

• Android 2.0 OS;
• 3.7" 854 x 480 display;
• 5Mpix camera (with dual-LED flash);
• microSD slot (16GB memory card included);
• GPS;
• Slide-out QWERTY keyboard;
• 3G support;
• Wi-Fi;
• 3.

According to BGR, the upcoming HTC Droid Eris scheduled for a November 6th launch on Verizon Wireless will run a slow 528MHz Qualcomm processor and Android 1.5. What a shame, fortunately there are other HTC Android handsets to choose from.

BGR reported that both Motorola Droid and HTC Droid Eris will be released on Verizon on the same day of November 6th. It's not official, but it's safe to assume that the date is solid, as we've heard confirmations from other sources, indicating the same day.

Most of you have probably updated your handsets with the leaked build, but we still must inform you that the OS 5.0 for BlackBerry Storm 9530 is now available officially and can be downloaded through BlackBerry Desktop Manager for PC or Mac; or you can just visit www.verizonwireless.com/storm .

The guys over at the UnLockr found out that the HTC Passion, and upcoming handset Verizon, is in fact the carrier branded Android version of the HTC HD2. The Passion has the same menu key as the HTC Droid - the source explained that Verizon is trying to keep some uniformity among all of its Android devices - and is powered by the 1GHz Snapdragon processorcoupled by a 4.

PhoneArena has posted some live pics of the upcoming "tough" Casio G'zOne Rock C73 clamshell. They still haven't managed to find anything on the phone's specs and the possible release date, but we expect it to hit the shelves by holidays at the earliest.

Here's another Android handset set for release on Verizon, the HTC Desire. It's got 3G support (not sure why they would need it, since Verizon is a CDMA carrier), Sense UI, a trackball, and no physical keyboard, just virtual. Overall it reminds us of HTC Hero. Our only complaint here - the photo is just too damn dark!

A Samsung's representative has posted a comment at the official fan page of the Samsung OMNIA II stating that the phone will be released in the U.S. by the end of the year with all the relevant software updates preinstalled on the device. The exact release date will be announced by Verizon, which is the only U.S. carrier to offer the device. Hopefully it's November 1st.

These specs were recently posted on the Motorola website, but were taken down shortly after. We expect to hear an offical announcement/confirmation by VZW tomorrow, on October 28.

The list includes pretty much everything we wanted to know about the Motorola Droid:

• Android 2.0 (Eclair);
• 3.7" WVGA touch display (480 x 854 pixels);
• full QWERTY keyboard;
• 550MHz processor;
• EVDO Rev.