Confirmed: HTC Droid Eris will not get Froyo

We've suspected it for months, and I can now confirm what we'd feared all along: Verizon's HTC Droid Eris will not receive the Android 2.2 upgrade.

The Eris, launched alongside the original Motorola Droid last fall, took a back seat to higher profile devices from day 1. Verizon did update the Eris to Android 2.1 this past May -- it had originally shipped with 1.5 -- but the carrier has told me without a shred of doubt that the phone will not be bumped up to Froyo.

HTC Droid Eris: No Froyo

Droid Eris

Things started looking particularly bleak for the Droid Eris when Verizon stopped selling the device earlier this summer. It appears the phone's discontinuation is at least part of the company's reason for denying it the Froyo upgrade.

"We will not be updating the Eris to 2.2 because our device portfolio evolves and changes constantly," a spokesperson tells me.

Disappointing news, Eris owners -- sorry to be the bearer of it. On the up side, at least your phone isn't oddly locked to Bing like Verizon's latest Android offering, the Samsung Fascinate. We can only hope the carrier's questionable decisions will end here.

‘Known Issues’ Document for Samsung Fascinate Leaks

The Samsung Fascinate hasn’t been in the hands of the general public for more than a day, but Verizon is already hard at work compiling a ‘known issues’ list reporting various bugs and glitches that will need to be sorted out with future OTA updates. And the list is already quite long. Some of the various issues have short-term workarounds, though quite a few will leave you and your phone hanging if you experience them. Some of the more noteworthy bugs include:

Alert Notifications:
 There is no option to change the Calendar alert notification. 
Short term work around: There is no short term work around for this issue.

Blank Screen: 
If you are on a call and a second call comes in, you get the correct Caller ID information. If you answer the second call, the caller ID screen goes blank and does not show any caller information. 
Short term work around: There is no short term work around for this issue

Email Sync: 
In some cases exchange e-mail and yahoo mail can stop syncing
Short term work around: The user can manually sync
Planned Resolution: A fix for this issue will be included in the MR 1 release for this device.

Exchange ActiveSync Security Lock:
 The EAS security lock may be invoked earlier then the timer is set for.

Google and Bing Maps Latency:
 It has been reported that it takes longer then other devices to get GPS location information when using Google and Bing maps. 
Short term work around: There is no short term work around for this issue

Call Disconnect:
If you are on a call or in the process of receiving an incoming call and you press the search button the call may be disconnected.

 You can read an extensive list of other known problems over at the source link below. We’d like to think that most newly-launched devices get similar lengthy lists, but the shear number of bugs reported has us a bit worried about the Fascinate. All the more reason for VZW and Samsung to push out a Froyo update sooner rather than later, right? I know. Wishful thinking.

Samsung Fascinate (Galaxy S) finally hitting Verizon on September 9th

Finally! The smartphone that everyone has been waiting for Verizon to get their own version of finally has an official launch date on Big Red. Erm, not that smartphone.

In a surprisingly last minute announcement, Verizon and Samsung have just announced plans to have the Fascinate (VZW’s variant of the Galaxy S) on store shelves by this Thursday, September 9th, with online orders beginning tomorrow. And with that, the Galaxy S’ cross-carrier launch — from the Captivate on AT&T to the Epic 4G on Sprint — is just about wrapped up. Like the rest, this Fascinate packs Android 2.1. Alas, its been absolutely, positively confirmed that this one doesn’t have a front-facing camera, making the Epic 4G the only US variant that does.

Expect to pay $199 on a 2-year contract out the door. Or, you know, wait a week and get it for like a buck after contract on Amazon.

Verizon Offering Unlimited and 25MB Pre-Paid Data Plans

Verizon announced today that they are now offering Unlimited and 25MB 3G data plans for their pre-paid users. The pricing seems reasonable as well — at least on the unlimited plan, which comes in at at $30. At $10 a month, the 25MB plan is a bit steep. Be careful about overages on that 25MB plan; Verizon will charge you $0.20 per megabyte if you exceed your limit.

You can buy the pre-paid plans at Verizon stores today, but they won’t be available online until September 28th.

There is one catch though: Verizon is limiting the new plans to most of their 3G smartphones and multimedia phones, including the Blackberry, Palm, and most Android phones.

Verizon bound EVO-like HTC handset shows its face

We certainly were not expecting to finish off a Friday like this.  Images of an unnamed HTC handset have just hit the web which show off a handset which looks strikingly similar to the HTC EVO 4G, but with a little extra style.  The HTC handset is expected to launch on Verizon’s network and will include a 4.3 inch display, 3.5mm headphone jack, an 8 megapixel camera with dual-led flash, a kickstand, and a front facing camera. 

Basically, it looks like Verizon’s going to be getting its own version of the HTC EVO with a highly modified exterior shell.  We’re not sure what version of Android will be loaded onto this handset when it hits store shelves, but the words “with HTC Sense” embedded into the kickstand give us enough confidence to say it will not be running stock Android.