Enter Droid

The new Motorola Droid smartphone, running Google's Android 2.0 operating system, on the Verizon network hit the market today and by 10 a.m. Pacific time I had placed my order online. According to Verizon, I should have my new phone by November 9.

In his review for the LA Times, Mark Milian calls the new Droid "the best phone on Verizon." Milian praises the technological advances in the Droid, including a 5-megapixel camera with flash, a pleasantly loud speaker, and a touch screen that is not only "gorgeous" but larger than Apple's iPhone with more pixels per inch.

The Droid also has a slide out key pad that remarkably doesn't add any significant thickness to the phone compared to the iPhone.

And the Android Marketplace offers more than 10,000 apps for the Droid.

There are, however, some drawbacks according to Milian.

If you plan to use the Droid to listen to music, watch videos or play games, the iPhone is probably a better option than the Droid for now.

But don't forget, the iPhone uses the AT&T network exclusively, which is generally considered inferior to the coverage offered by Verizon. So if voice, text and Internet access is a priority, then the Droid will give the iPhone a run for the money.

And speaking of money, the Droid comes in at $149 if you can get the instant rebate and have good standing on your Verizon account; much less than a comparable iPhone. There is, however, a rumor that Apple will soon release a $99 3GS iPhone in response to Droid.

Once I get my new Droid and have some time to put it through its paces, I will post a review of my own.