DROID 2 R2-D2 Edition: My worst fear realized!

Posted by | 08/10/2010 | 9 Comments

It’s true: Verizon has fulfilled my worst fear for the Droid - A version of the DROID 2 that everyone will surely call “R2-D2” because it’s actually named after Star Wars’ R2-D2! To quote Darth Vader at the end of Episode III (and please, imagine the exact same voice for this) “NOOOOOOOO!!!1!11!!!ONE!!”

Okay, obviously I’m exaggerating a tad (my actual worst fear involves butterflies and a chainsaw), but yeah, I did kind of call this my worst fear. As some who have known me for a while may recall, years ago, I put together a couple of comedic dialogues that made their way on to the MobileTechRoundup podcast (#28 and #67, respectively), expertly performed by the MoTR Boys. The second of these I described as “My Worst Fear Realized!”

More recently, I did a take on that for the Motorola DROID debut called “What I fear most about Droid“, which basically boiled down to everyone fighting to name their DROID “R2-D2″ (with some Samuel L. Jackson para-quotes tossed in for good measure). Just good clean nerd humor at the time, but it seems strangely prophetic today as Verizon has unveiled the new DROID 2, including a special edition R2-D2 version! Yes, an actual, not made-up, DROID that looks (and I’ll bet sounds) like R2-D2! From the press release:

R2-D2 DROID 2

In honor of the iconic Astromech Droid from the Star Wars™ Saga, Verizon Wireless will offer a limited-edition R2-D2 version of the DROID 2, available only online in September. The special version of the phone will feature exclusive Star Wars content and external hardware designed to look like the trusty Droid from the film saga. Visitors to the upcoming Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando, Fla., can see a preview of the limited edition phone and sign up to receive alerts when the phone is ready for sale.

That’s on top of the standard features of the DROID 2, including slide-out keyboard, 3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities, 3.7″ display, 5MP camera, full push corporate e-mail, and the magic of Android 2.2 including Adobe Flash 10.1. Of course, all that is insignificant next to the power of the Force, which you’ll no doubt need if you hope to grab one of the R2-D2 versions. May the Force be with you.

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Category: Mobile

About the Author (Author Profile)

My name is Mark Sumimoto; I am Sumocat. I dabble in all areas of mobile computing, but my focus is Windows-based Tablet PCs and pen input. They’ve been part of my arsenal since 2004, and I’m proud to have pioneered the field of ink blogging, earning a spot as a Microsoft MVP for Touch and Tablets in the process. My current tools include a Fujitsu Lifebook T900, TEGA v2, and iPhone 4. Email me: sumocat [at] notebooks.com
  • Paul Harrigan

    Endangering the tone of the entire Droid advertising campaign in order to take advantage of “cute” promo for 33 year old movies seems really risky.

    What’s next? The Jar Jar Binks edition?

    • http://sumocat.blogspot.com Sumocat

      I don’t know about that. They named the line DROID. They’re solidly targeting the geek crowd with their Matrix-y, Terminator-ish visuals. A limited edition based on a scifi icon isn’t that big a risk.

      That said, I think the macho tone of their campaign has already gone as far as it should. The tagline for the DROID X was “Are you man enough for this phone?” That’s one step away from measuring your junk to see if you can handle DROID Johnson. Hasn’t stopped women from buying DROIDs (I know two), but how far can they really push this guy-only theme?

      • Nunniabusiness

        You dont know any girls.

    • Mavik_1

      Your a fag

  • http://www.notebooks.com Xavier Lanier

    At least it doesn’t come with Pico projector that projects clips of Princess Leia… Maybe that’ll come in next year’s version.

    • http://sumocat.blogspot.com Sumocat

      There would be fanboys killing each other in the street for that.

  • Adam

    All I can say to this is-
    (1) my inner need is in love with this and,
    (2) OMG!!!!!!!
    And I thought we Australians were
    the only ones that could do subpar advertising!

  • Joe D

    I saw this coming around about the same time I found out Motorola had to pay just to use the Lucasfilm-owned “trademark” name Droid.
    “Gee- I wonder how long before we start seeing the inevitable spew of Star Wars themed “special-edition” garbage?” I said to myself.

    Well, Now I know. I’m sure fan boys will be clamoring for this… thing – doesn’t mean it’s attractive or well executed in any way. R2D2 doesn’t have a square head, but why let that one little inconsistency stand in the way of milking the cash-cow a little more, right George?
    I hope they included decent ringtones and wallpapers to make up for that weak-ass graphic.

  • Serialnumber210

    I bought one of these phones yesterday. Star Wars came out when I was a 6th grader, and it permanently captured my imagination. This phone is as fun as a phone can be, and doesn’t come with the whiny fanboy rhetoric that seems to accompany most of Apple’s device owners. The corporate email functionality hitched up to my exchange server in a matter of 3 minutes without having to buy the Touchdown app. The interface is still the most intuitive user friendlymobile GUI on the market. And yes it does sound like our little rotund space bot from 1978. I love it. I must admit though, if they even consider releasing anythign associated with jar jar binks, ill have to consider vomiting.

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