After months of speculation and rumors, Verizon Wireless and Motorola made it official today, announcing they will make the smartphone running Google’s Android 2.2 operating system available this week.
As Enterprise Mobile Today reports, Droid 2 will support Adobe Flash Player 10.1 and provides significant upgrades in both speed and security.
The new mobile security feature include complex passwords and policies, remote wipe and the ability to remotely lock the device to secure data if the smartphone is lost or stolen. It also includes support for Exchange calendars, Adobe Flash as well as tethering and Wi-Fi hotspot functionality, and, overall, performs much faster. The mobile OS also now allows for application storage on external devices and a more fluid mobile app market experience.
The Droid 2 — only the fourth smartphone to run the latest version of Android 2.2. — will be available for ordering online tomorrow for $199.99 after $100 mail-in rebate and two-year contract. It will be available in stores on Thursday.
“With the new Droid 2, we’ve taken a big leap forward from the original Droid,” Bill Ogle, chief marketing officer of Motorola mobile devices, said in a statement. “We listened to consumers and are providing an even more robust experience built on Android 2.2 that includes a new keyboard, increased processing power, Adobe Flash Player 10.1 and 3G mobile hotspot capabilities to send, access and share information even quicker than before.”
The news of Droid 2 comes at a time when industry watchers and early adopters are anticipating the rollout of Android 2.2., dubbed Froyo, as it includes significant enhancements to the Google-backed mobile Linux OS. Simultaneously, the Android OS is outselling other mobile platforms for the first time since debuting two years ago.