In case you want some more information on HTC’s new device for Verizon Wireless, we’ve got specs from Android and Me. The same device is being called a number of different names, too, so let’s try to keep them all straight.
First, Verizon had already leaked their plans last month for a number of upcoming Android devices, and the HTC Merge/ADR6325 was already on that roadmap. What’s amazing is how much of that old information seems to be consistent with the current leaks.
If you remember, the HTC Desire Z was announced in London a couple of weeks ago (along with the Desire HD). Verizon has been redying a clone of it (same specs) called it the Lexikon but that was merely an internal code name. Just as the roadmap said, Verizon will sell the QWERTY smartphone with world-roaming capability as the HTC Merge. Whether this phone will be known as the DROID Merge isn’t clear. Remember, the Samsung Fascinate didn’t get a DROID name.
And yes, the HTC Desire Z is going to be sold in the US as the T-Mobile G2. Same specs, slightly different phone. Both by HTC. Got that straight?
So, specs, yes, we have specs! Probably some of the best news on the Merge is that it’s indeed a world phone. It comes with a SIM card so you can use GSM when traveling abroad. Verizon uses the CDMA network, so most of their phones aren’t much use outside the US.
As you can clearly see from the picture above (and the photos from our earlier article), the Merge has a slide-out keyboard. That means you can use the whole display screen when entering data, unlike those virtual keyboards that cut your screen in half (portrait) or take it over entirely (landscape).
Hardware includes Qualcomm’s second generation Snapdragon chipset (MSM7630, with a Scorpion CPU), running at 800 MHz. Remember this chipset includes the Adreno 205 graphics processor, running 3-4 times faster than the first-gen Snapdragon’s Adreno 200 GPU. The handset features a 3.8 inch display (480 x 800), a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, 512 megabytes RAM, 4 gigabytes of internal storage, and an included 8 GB microSD card.
One of the few ways the Verizon phone will be different from the G2 is the user interface. The G2 is stock Android OS 2.2 (Froyo). The Merge also has Froyo but is getting the new HTC Sense UI 1.6 (the same one whose ROM is being passed around). That new version is going to back up contacts directly to their HTCSense.com website. Android and Me also says the phone will have Bing search and maps, just like the Samsung Fascinate.
No firm dates or prices, but I’m hearing late October/early November for a possible arrival time.
Source: Android and Me (including photo)