Just one month after the Droid 2 was released, there are reports that Verizon will axe the unit and replace it with a new model that can make calls to countries outside the US.
A phone likely to be called the Droid Pro is expected to launch soon. It is identical to the Droid 2 except for one addition under the hood – it can perform international calling. Verizon currently operates almost all of its phones under a network standard known as CDMA. CDMA technology offers the best reception in North America but has absolutely no use overseas. A competing standard called GSM can be used just about everywhere. Verizon and Sprint rely on CDMA while T-Mobile and AT&T use GSM.
However, Verizon has been very slowly testing technology that allows its phones to have reception capabilities for both network standards. Known as “worldphones,” they operate in CDMA form in North America and GSM when CDMA is unavailable.
We’ve known about the Droid Pro for a while. When its name first popped up, some thought it might be an entirely new Droid device altogether. But make no mistake – it is simply a Droid 2 with the new worldphone capabilities. This is all according to Internet rumors reported by Brighthand.com.
This is the first, though, that we’re hearing about the Droid Pro possibly replacing the Droid 2 altogether. If this is the case that would almost certainly mean it will carry the same price as the Droid 2, or it means Droid 2 sales have been abysmal which is unlikely to be the case.
There is a question about what kind of customer confusion this could lead to. After all, consumers have heard about the Droid, Droid X, Droid Incredible, Droid Eris, and Droid 2 – all within the span of 10 months. Adding another name to that jumble would just spur up more questions.
Perhaps Verizon will just keep the Droid 2 name and quietly sneak in the new models without much fanfare. That’s what we’d do.
