The $99 Droid Eris Could Be Verizon's Sleeper Android Hit

• By Dan Frommer
• On 2:55 pm EST, Thursday November 5, 2009

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Verizon Wireless' Droid will likely be the carrier's favored smartphone this Christmas. But a second phone, the Droid Eris, announced today for $99, could be a real, sleeper hit.

This morning, we attended a Verizon Wireless event showing off their latest devices for the holiday season. When we arrived, we were most excited about checking out the Droid, the Motorola phone running Google's Android operating system that Verizon is marketing like crazy.

But we left more excited about the new Droid Eris, which is basically Verizon's edition of the HTC Hero. Why?

• It's nice and light, while the Droid is relatively bulky.
• It feels really good in your hand.
• It doesn't waste space with a physical keyboard, which, as iPhone users, we've gotten used to not having.
• HTC's "Sense" user interface is beautiful.
• It supports "pinch" zooming for Web sites and photos like the iPhone does. (Not as well as the iPhone does it, but better than not having it, like the main Droid.)
• It's $99, while Sprint's less attractive version is supposed to sell for $180!

Both phones should sell well, because they're Verizon's top two smartphones, and because Verizon's 89 million wireless subscribers will want to buy smartphones this Christmas. (No, we wouldn't ditch our iPhone for either. But that won't stop most of Verizon's loyal subscribers.) The Droid should be a huge piece of Motorola's comeback story. But we think the Droid Eris will also be a big hit.

Click here to see the Droid Eris and this Christmas's other top smartphones up close →