14 DAY TRIAL // One of the currently available Android-based mobile phones that are expected to soon reach the end of their life cycle is the HTC Droid Eris, which is rumored now to be on its way to being replaced by another HTC handset, the Incredible. Verizon Wireless, the carrier that has Droid Eris available on its airwaves at the moment, is expected to put the HTC Incredible on sale around April 1, while also discontinuing the older Droid Eris the very same day.
The news on Verizon's upcoming plans emerged over at BerryScoop, which notes that the info comes from a trusted source. “We just got word from a trusted source that the HTC Incredible will be replacing the Droid Eris at Verizon Wireless. The Eris will be end of life on April 1st,” the news site notes, adding that the source also stated that the Incredible would become available for purchase at about the same time.
Moreover, it seems that the HTC Incredible is expected to arrive at Verizon as the carrier's own version of the Nexus One by HTC, the first mobile phone in the world to be sold directly via Google's own web store, and also the first one to land with Android 2.1 on board. As most of you might already know, Google already announced officially that a Nexus One model with support for Verizon's airwaves would be put on sale in the near future, but the Incredible will be a completely different device, it seems.
On the one hand, it makes perfect sense for Verizon to plan the release of more powerful handsets for its users, yet it comes as a surprise that it would discontinue Droid Eris so soon. The phone was launched in November, along with the Motorola DROID, which means that it will have enjoyed only five months on Big Red's lineup if it gets scrapped on April 1. However, this might very well prove to be only a rumor in the end, so stay tuned for more info on the matter.