Will the Moto Droid get a UK release?

The Motorola Droid - currently only on Verizon in the US
The Motorola Droid - currently only on Verizon in the US

Motorola has announced its latest Android mobile phone, the Moto Droid, over in the US, but question marks have risen over whether it will launch in the UK.

The new phone is quite distinct from the recently released Motorola Dext, as it dispenses with the MotoBlur overlay, thanks to being dubbed a 'Google Experience' phone.

It also has 16GB on board storage, a 5MP camera with dual LED flash, a 3.7-inch display (with widescreen VGA resolution) and a full QWERTY keyboard - all in a 13.9mm package.

We spoke to Motorola to find out whether the phone will be getting a UK release, and were given a very vague answer:

"We've not yet announced availability of this device in other markets, but look forward to continuing to expand our Android-based portfolio around the world."

Re-tooling

Another snag could be the fact the phone may need to be re-tooled for the UK, in the same way as the Palm Pre, which took months to appear over here.

But there could be a ray of light on this front, as the Droid appears to be compatible with both Verizon's US networks (CDMA) and Europe (WCDMA) according to an FCC filing.

Either way, we'll be gutted if we don't get at least some form of the 'Droid by Motorola' (as it's officially called) as it's bringing the latest version of Android as well as the first phone to offer turn by turn GPS mapping thanks to an upgraded Google Maps experience.

The Moto Droid will be launching in the US on 6 November, but as you might have guessed from the above - there's no word on a UK release date.

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.