There have been few official clues as to when the Samsung Droid Charge will ultimately release after its delay on April 28, even though units have been seen in Verizon stores. There is, however, hopeful news for the next round of Android and Windows Phones coming from Verizon Wireless. The Droid X2, LG Revolution, HTC Trophy, and Sony Xperia Play should all go on sale in May.
Instead of an anonymous source for the latest release dates, this source is called little-red birdie and is referred to as VZW_Rep by CNET, who has been reliable in the past. May 12 appears to be the release date for the Droid X2, LG Revolution and HTC Trophy. Previous announcements pegged them for a second-quarter release. May 26, two Thursdays later, is reportedly the release date for the Sony Xperia Play gaming phone.The only 4G LTE smartphone in the bunch is the LG Revolution. The only smartphone of the group shipping with Android 2.3 Gingerbread is the Xperia Play.
The LG Revolution has a 4.3-inch touchscreen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, DLNA, HDMI, DivX compatibility, 16GB of on-board storage, Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G/LTE mobile hotspot capabilities, FM Radio and a microSD card slot. Other features of the LG Revolution include recording/playing 1080p HD video and a rear-facing, 5-megapixel camera and front-facing camera for video conferencing. It also has a 16GB microSD card installed, a 1500mAh battery, a flash for the camera, voice commands from Nuance, voice dialing and voice dictation. It is suspected to have a $249.99 price tag.
If Verizon releases the LG Revolution around the same time as the Droid Charge, buyers will have to make a difficult buying decision. The LG Revolution's toughest competitors are fellow Android 4G LTE smartphones, the Droid Charge and HTC Thunderbolt.
Previous leaks suggest that the Droid X2 has a qHD (540 x 960) touchscreen, Android 2.2 Froyo (updated to 2.3 Gingerbread later), NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core 1GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 8-megapixel camera, FM radio, locked/encrypted boot loader and HDMI port. It is expected to cost $199.99.
Many of these smartphones appear in our list of the Top Best Android an' Droid Smartphones Now an' Later.
The Verizon HTC Trophy reportedly has all the features of the European version of the HTC Trophy, including a 3.8-inch (480 x 800) touchscreen, 1GHz Snapdragon (QSD8250) processor, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, FM radio, and 5-megapixel camera with LED flash. Expected price is $199.99.
The Xperia Play runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread with a 4-inch touchscreen that slides out to reveal game pad controls. It features Wi-Fi hotspot modes, customized home screens, a 5.1-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a personal organizer, a speakerphone, Assisted-GPS, messaging and email.