Droid phone uses Google for GPS apps

The forthcoming Motorola Droid handset will be the first to feature GPS tools based on Google technology. The handset will launch on Verizon on Nov. 6.

As we speculated, the Droid will go for $199 with a two-year service contract (after a mail-in rebate). With an unlocked version costing $599, it’s clear Verizon is putting a hefty subsidy behind the phone, suggesting it’s confident it will prove a success.

Verizon advertising for the device had knocked the iPhone for only running one applications at a time, (which is a fair point when you realize it significantly limits the attractiveness of any independent media player app). It turns out the Droid will have its own limit, running a maximum of six apps simultaneously. That seems a sensible balance between making sure the phone is as useful as possible and avoiding performance problems.

Another highlight of the Droid is that the 3.7-inch display has around double the pixels of most equivalent models, thus increasing picture quality. It’s billed as the thinnest handset ever to sport a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

The phone also features voice operated search. That tool had previously caused controversy when it appeared as a Google app for the iPhone. The technology appeared to breach an App store ban on using the iPhone’s face sensor, causing some speculation that Apple had unfairly relaxed the rules for a major firm.

When Google first launched the Android operating system, it was clear the potential was there for its existing services to become useful tools on cellphones. The Droid appears to reach that potential as not only does it offer search results based around current location, but will run the new 2.0 edition of Android. That includes navigation tools including turn-by-turn directions for both cars and pedestrians. As well as traditional maps, the system makes use of Google’s street view photographs where available.

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