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The Android OS has finally made it’s way to the Verizon network for the first time. With the release of the highly anticipated Motorola Droid and the sleek HTC Eris, these so called “Droids” are sure to become Verizon’s hot movers this holiday season. Let’s take a brief look at some of the features on these 2 new droid devices…

HTC Eris:

• 528MHz Qualcomm Processor
• 320×480 Screen, 3.2in Display
• 5MP Camera
• Android 1.5 OS
• 8GB MicroSD
• WiFi/GPS/Bluetooth/3G
• Battery Li-on 1300mAh 5.2hrs talk/408hrs sb

Motorola Droid

• Arm Cortex A8 Processor 550MHz
• 480×854 Screen, 3.7in Display
• 5MP Camera
• QWERTY Keyboard with trackpad
• Google Voice Search
• Google Maps with Voice Guided Directions
• Android 2.0 OS
• 16GB MicroSD
• WiFi/GPS/Bluetooth/3G
• Battery Li-on 1300mAh 5.2hrs talk/408hrs sb

To check out the full features and specs of the Droid check out Verizon’s futuristic looking site here. The Motorola Droid and HTC Eris are both available now through Verizon’s web store and at Verizon locations nation wide. Pricing for the Moto Droid will be $199 after a 2 year agreement and only $99 for the HTC Eris. If you are thinking about making the jump over  to Android now is the perfect time with these two weapons. Expect a full video review from the GadgetLab on these new Android devices coming soon.

PlayStation 3 users can finally rejoice as Netflix will introduce streaming video for the PS3 system.  The system will require a boot disc in order to function but should see a complete integrated system later next year. Users can log onto to their Netflix account and request the new PS3 disc starting now, as the disc should be shipping out tomorrow November 6th.

The new Motorola Android powered Droid Smart Phone will land at Verizon on November 6th. The new Droid is said to compete with the likes of the iPhone and potentially save a struggling Motorola. The Droid is equipped with a 3.7 inch 16:9 touch screen with a full QWERTY keypad. The device also features a 5MP camera and is able to capture videos in DVD quality at a speed of 24fps. The Droid will use a 550MHz processor to power the new Android 2.0 device and sport a 1,400mAh lithium ion battery offering 6.4 hours of talk time. One of the most promising features on the Droid is the Google powered FREE voice guided navigation. Here are a list of the other applications that come pre-loaded on the Droid: Gmail, Youtube, Facebook, Google Talk, Amazon MP3 Store, Android Market, and visual voice mail.

Verizon and Motorola are also including a GPS mount for the phone and an Alarm Clock style base charger. The phone will be available for $199 after a $50 MIR from Verizon. Rumors have it Best Buy will offer it for $199 as well but with out a mail in rebate. No matter which you choose either option will require a 2 year service agreement.

For a 360 Degree view of the device hit up the video below.

Sony Ericsson and T-Mobile have announced the new fashion inspired Equinox flip phone. The Equinox has what Sony calls pulsating light effects. These effects allow the user to assign special light effects to five of their favorite contacts. The light effects come in amber, sapphire, beryl, diamond, and amethyst colors. Looking past it’s good looks the phone will be a 3G capable device and will also feature a 3.2MP camera. This stunning flip will also be quite multimedia friendly as it sports an integrated media player with FM radio. A-GPS location with Telenav and stereo Bluetooth round out the specs. The Equinox will be exclusively available from T-Mobile starting on the 28th of October.

One of the most popular phones is now available in the GSM variant for the first time in the US. The successful Palm Pre smart phone (which featured for Sprint) is now unlocked and available from Expansys USA. The good news is that Pre fans who are on a GSM carrier can now get their hands on the sleek device. Now for the bad news… Besides Costing $715 dollars this version (which is German) has no US 3G support. The phone also features the German QWERZ keypad instead of the traditional QWERTY keypad. Seems like those GSM users are better off switching to Sprint to pick it up for $80 (after 2 year) with full 3G coverage and the standard keyboard. For all those hardcore Pre fans who can deal with these setbacks the phone is available here.

Sure you can set off fireworks in October, but they’re certainly a lot more fun in July. I guess that’s kinda how I feel about the Mac-PC conversation.  It will be interesting to see what happens during the holidays, but it would have been outright fun to stand back and watch a “back to school” fight for market share… but alas…. It’s October so here we go.

Even with the new Windows 7 OS, the big advantage for PC-makers this holiday season will remain its low price point. This season, retail sales are expected to again drop slightly (see Business Week article), and even with sleekly designed iMacs, Apple really does not have a Macbook that fits into the holiday shopping budget of most families. Meanwhile, Netbooks are coming out in the $300’s. With many used laptop garnering $150+ in trade in through services like ours, Netbooks will become an affordable holiday gift for many families.

Still Apple enters the holidays with many advantages. PC makers can and will roll out new models, but Apple will remain the most coveted product on the block. Apple’s four-month-old Snow Leopard OS has better security than W7. There’s that lingering Vista debacle… and while W7 is improved, it’s taking a lot of slack for being difficult to upgrade (you have to back up your files, then reformat your PC, and then reinstalling all of your old programs, assuming you still have the CDs).

Microsoft’s answer?

“For the vast majority of people that get Windows 7, most will move to new hardware,” says Parri Munsell, Microsoft’s director for consumer product management.

Point? It doesn’t need to be easy to install because nobody is going to install it. Could that actually be true? Can PC makers expect that the vast majority of consumers who want W7 will go out and purchase a new computer?

I think so. Netbooks with flashy new features including touch screens will make up ground against Macs cool factor, and as I said considering lower price point for most PC laptops, they’ll win hands down. Windows 7 is looking like an enhanced OS that will inspire consumers to upgrade and I think even start to heal the wounds created by Vista. When Vista launched fewer than 20% of Windows users upgraded. I think this time around Microsoft can expect 50% or higher. Note: This fact does not give MS forgiveness for not stealing the “keep it simple” page from Apple’s playbook. Yes, the majority will not install the OS themselves…. But what about the minority that will?

Gazelle is a great barometer for how product introductions will fair in the market. Consider the new iPhone for example. When it came out, many people looked to trade in their used ones either immediately before or after the launch of the 3GS so they could get maximum value for their phone. We literally got flooded with thousands of phones within weeks of launch. So far laptops and desktops are showing similar pick up. Looking back 45 days, we’ve seen a 30%+ jump in computer trade-ins compared to the previous 45 days. And so far this week, PCs make up 4 of the top 5 products being traded in on gazelle.com.

The Mac-PC battle continues. And coming off Apple record profits, this holiday season promises to be interesting.

T-Mobile has finally made the new Motorola CLIQ available to upgrade customers online today. The device will officially hit shelves on November 2nd for 199.99 after a 2 year service agreement. The phone has also launched in the UK under the name DEXT for a much cheaper carrier contracted price. T-Mobile hopes that this sleek Android device will grab frustrated SideKick users to the new social media monster. The New CLIQ features Mototblur technology which combines various social networking portals such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter all in one place without the need of logging into each service separately. Here are the rest of the specs on the handset:

• 320×480 display
• accelerometer sensor
• 3.5mm jack
• microSD, 1GB storage, 512mb ROM, 256mb RAM
• Android 1.5
• GPS
• 5MP Camera with HVGA video (24fps)
• Qualcomm 528MHZ processor

One of the worlds leading cell phone manufacturers officially dips their hands into mobile computing. Nokia which had announced a Netbook months back has finally made the device available to consumers. The Finnish giant together with AT&T will release it’s first ever “booklet” bundled with 3G data to the consumer market place. The new Nokia Booklet 3G will be sold exclusively at all Best Buy locations nationwide as well as standalone Best Buy Mobile stores. The Netbook will cost $299.99 with a 2 year activation and data plan from AT&T. The Booklet is also available for $599 with out data plan ( a bit steep for a netbook we think).

The new Booklet will feature a pure aluminium design that makes for a polished and luxurious finish. The computer will be powered by the standard Intel Atom processor and will run the new Windows 7 OS. With embedded 3G/HSPA and WiFi connectivity options and a weight of only 2.76lbs, the device will be extremely travel friendly. The Booklet will also serve up an HDMI port for for HD video with a 10.1 inch display. Other features such as integrated GPS with OVI Maps and Bluetooth complete the mobile package.

Look for the new Netbook to hit the shelves at Best Buy starting on October 22nd.

Verizon has officially released their first Windows Mobile 6.5 smart phone this week. The new Imagio from HTC is a touchscreen bar phone that is absolutely packed with features and style. The phone features a 3.6 inch WVGA vivid display and an antenna on the back that doubles as a kickstand. The device also sports a 528Mhz Qualcomm MSM7600 series processor with 256MB of ROM and 512MB of RAM. The camera steps up to a 5.0MP compared to the 3.2MP we saw on the Touch Pro2. Other features such as a 3.5mm headphone jack, microSDHC card slot, Opera and TouchFLO 3D user interface make the device a multimedia monster. Verizon has also introduced V Cast Mobile TV on this device. The service provides live TV programming from numerous cable channels (Bravo, CBS, Comedy Central, ESPN, MTV, NBC) and will cost $15 per month. The Imagio will set you back $200 on a new 2 year plan and is available exclusively only on Verizon.

Starting this October the Apple iPhone will finally make it’s way into South Korea. The Korea Communications Commission said yesterday it decided to allow Apple to provide its location-based services with iPhone users, without having to gain a government license. The country which in the past has only allowed domestic brands to enter the marketplace (Samsung, Pantech, LG) in order to boost technology/economy has finally opened their borders for the iPhone. Many industry leaders feel that the introduction of the iPhone will increase mobile data revenue due to online mobile use. The phone is also expected to open the doors for developers looking to build applications for the device as well. No news yet if carriers will be forced to disable certain features as it was for the Chinese release (no WiFi). To start off it looks like KT (Korean carrier) will be the first company to see the iPhone with both the 3G and 3Gs models starting in late October.