14 DAY TRIAL // Since the third quarter of the year is over, one might want to know what would the new one have in store for us, and taking a look at Verizon's roadmap for this quarter, as well as for the next one, seems like a good place to start. Especially since the leaked info on Verizon Wireless' plans for the following months are set to confirm a series of devices already rumored to be on their way to the market.
One such handset would be the Motorola DROID Pro, which is expected to arrive at Big Red sometime in late October or early November, and which should prove a great enhancement over the existing DROID and DROID 2 devices.
Some of its specs include 1.3GHz processor and Android 2.2 Froyo, along with global connectivity options (suggesting that it would be the same device as the previously rumored Droid 2 World Edition), and support for Adobe's Flash Player 10.1.
Another Android-based device set to arrive at Verizon in late October-early November is the HTC Merge (aka Lexikon) also a global device, though with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor inside.
However, before these two phones would be released, another Motorola device is rumored to make an appearance at Big Red, namely the Motorola Venus, which should sport a candybar form factor and a QWERTY keyboard on the front.
Basically, this would be a similar device with T-Mobile's Charm, though with upgraded hardware specs, including a 1GHz processor and support both for CDMA and GSM / HSPA radios, not to mention that it would run under Android 2.2 Froyo.
Another Android phone slated for an October release would be the Samsung SCH-i400 Continuum, boasting a 1GHz processor, dual displays, and an internal codename of “Garnett.”
As one can easily see, Verizon seems set to refresh its Android family of devices with some high-end, appealing additions, though fans of other mobile OSes should get their share of novelty too.
Thus, the leaked roadmap, which emerged over at Engadget, points towards planned updates for some of the carrier's BlackBerry devices, including Tour, Bold 9650, and Curve 3G.
On the downside, however, we should note that the BlackBerry 9570, which emerged recently as a Storm2 successor, was removed from Verizon's plans.
Back to handsets that are coming to Verizon, we should count the Android-based LG enV Pro, expected to hit the shelves in November, and which is said to be the same enV Touch 2 device that emerged a few months ago.
Its specs should include a 1GHz processor and global radios (a trend among Verizon's upcoming handsets, it seems), suggesting that it would be among the nicest Android phones from LG.
Another interesting addition to Verizon's lineup would be the long rumored Motorola Stingray tablet PC, which should arrive in the first quarter of the next year.
The slate should include a 10-inch touchscreen display, along with a Tegra 2 chip, 16GB of on-board storage, and Google's Android 3.0 Gingerbread operating system to power it.
What's very interesting about this device is that it is expected to be upgradeable to LTE, even if it would arrive with CDMA connectivity in the first place, but specific info on this is missing at the moment.
Other devices should also find their way into Verizon's lineup, including three USB modems for LTE (from LG, Pantech, and Novatel), LTE MiFi (Novatel), and the ZTE-sourced FiveSpot mobile hotspot.