Motorola, Verizon to keep spending on promoting DROID brand

The nation's largest carrier, Verizon Wireless, spent $100 million to promote the Motorola DROID, a move that paid off for both firms as Verizon customers finally had a phone that could go toe to toe with the iPhone, and the Schaumburg based manufacturer had its first hit since the RAZR. Now, both firms want to see history repeat itself. The duo has agreed for Verizon to receive some of Motorola's upcoming smartphones and promote them heavily. As we previously reported, two Android models from the manufacturer are supposed to be offered by the carrier in July. Speculation is that the devices are the Motorola DROID SHADOW with a 4.1/4.3 inch screen, and the DROID 2 with a improved QWERTY keyboard. For Motorola, keeping the success of the DROID name is important if the handset division is to be spun off as a separate entity-something that Co-CEO Sanjay Jha has wanted since joining Motorola. For Verizon, the carrier continues to get super spec'd Android models that can compete with the flagship models of other carriers. Thanks to a deal with George Lucas, Verizon owns the "Droid" name for cellphones.

Motorola DROID SHADOW Preliminary Specifications

source: WSJ