Again, we have no idea why Verizon is burying the launch of the HTC Droid Eris alongside the Motorola Droid tomorrow (well, apart from the slow CPU and older Android build) but if you had any doubts that Big Red was going to launch this riff on the Hero, well, these screenshots of the employee training course should put those to rest. Interestingly, the buttons and logo placement are slightly different from the pic that was leaked to gdgt, but this version certainly looks like what Eric Schmidt was holding the other day, so we’re thinking this is the final iteration. We’ll see what’s what tomorrow, we suppose.

If you have an original Storm purchased through Verizon then first, our condolences. At the risk of rubbing it in (since you’re still on contract) we have to tell you that the second generation Storm2 — the full-screen BlackBerry you should have waited for — just got an official $179.99 (after $100 mail-in rebate and 2-year contract) October 28th release date as expected. Storm owners can, however, take solace in the BlackBerry OS 5.0 update now available for download that boasts several improvements including those keyboard and general usability enhancements we already knew were coming

Verizon’s on a roll with Android handsets these days, first with the heavily-advertised Motorola Droid and the reclusive / unannounced Calgary, and now with this fleeting glimpse of Android hardware progenitor HTC. Yes, it’s got 3G (or the Verizon equivalent of it), Sense UI, a trackball just barely discernible on the bottom, and from what Boy Genius Report is saying no physical keyboard whatsoever — all virtual. We’re definitely sporting a Hero vibe, but really, would it really have too hard to find a decent light source for this shot?

Verizon has yet to give a firm date on when we can all get our hands on some Droids, but we know one thing’s for certain: it’ll be fully revealed for the first time one week from today, October 28. The invitation that’s been extended to the media confirms that it’ll come from Motorola (of course), it’ll be Verizon’s "must-have device of the year," and it’s got a very close association with giant, scary, glowing eyes. A far cry from Google’s friendly green bot, isn’t it?

The Droid’s shaping up to be a beast of an Android phone — well played, Verizon — but Motorola’s banking much of its future on its MOTOBLUR platform, which the Droid curiously lacks (though Android 2.0 adds at least some of BLUR’s functionality back in). Don’t worry, though — Verizon hasn’t forgotten about BLUR altogether, and the rumored Calgary is looking to arrive as the carrier’s next Android phone from Moto featuring BLUR in all its social network-aggregating glory. More of this gadget »

Oftentimes a picture shouts a thousand words. Other times it belts out precisely a dozen. Straight from Verizon Wireless’ official Twitter account comes this, a confirmation that the Palm Pre we knew was coming to Big Red, well, is coming to Big Red. If you can hold off through the tempting holiday rush, you’ll find Palm’s first-ever webOS device on VZW "early next year." Huzzah!

[Via Boy Genius Report]

The "there’s a map for that" ad was a pretty aggressive way to broadside AT&T and the iPhone, but it looks like Verizon’s just getting warmed up. We’re hearing that the carrier will be kicking off a major new campaign this evening during the Yankees-Angels game that’ll feature "a very different look and a whole new attitude," calling out the "iDevice" (their words, not ours) for all the things it can’t do. That’s a bold offensive for a carrier that historically has lacked breadth and depth in its smartphone lineup, but with the big new Android releases coming down the pike, this might be perfect timing — and a strong implication that we can seriously put those endless Verizon iPhone rumors to bed for a little while.

The New York Times has a lengthy piece on RIM’s and Verizon’s failed attempt to upset the iPhone’s dominance with the BlackBerry Storm launch. Interesting, but not as interesting as this little nugget:

"This week, Verizon and R.I.M. are trying again with a Storm do-over, the Storm 2."

More of this gadget »

Verizon mentioned that it’d pick up "several Android-based devices" as part of its sweeping tie-up with Google last week, and we know two of them — a tweaked version of the HTC Hero and the unannounced Motorola Sholes / Tao / Droid — but what else is in the pipe? Turns out that Verizon’s historically boring Open Development program — designed to let anyone with a good attitude and some elbow grease gain the know-how to connect a device to Verizon’s network — is about to heat things up by spitting out an Android handset of its own in early 2010, according to Unstrung. Oh, and the best part? It’ll apparently feature WiFi tethering out of the box, a feature carriers are typically loath to support; of course, the whole point of "open development" is that Verizon theoretically shouldn’t care what’s being developed, so it’ll be interesting to see whether the company throws any marketing weight and retail support behind the device or if it’ll be left to fight for attention on its own.

[Via PhoneArena]