Google's home page: a benchmark for simplicity in web design. Like clockwork, you can expect a text box, a pair of buttons, a logo (usually stylized these days), and not much else -- and if there's one thing you definitely won't see, it's an ad. So wait, what's this? Google is breaking from its time-honored tradition in a very big way today to pimp the launch of Motorola's DROID with an ad right below the search box, just like it did for the G1 last year. Not surprisingly, we've checked with our non-US editors and it seems that only Yanks are seeing this. We're conflicted about the whole thing -- we can understand that Google's stoked about Android 2.0 and the best Android-powered device to date, but this isn't really isn't as big of a deal as the first Android launch, so isn't it just a bit blasphemous? And even if it isn't, shouldn't everyone at least get on the same page about the capitalization of "DROID?"

If you walk into a Verizon store today and pick up a DROID, you'll be out $300 (before tax) out of pocket, then you'll twiddle your thumbs for a few weeks while you wait for some mysterious PO box in Texas to send you your $100 rebate on a debit card. Wouldn't you rather just pay $200 upfront? Or better yet, $150? Sears -- which, we have to admit, we didn't know sold phones -- is charging just $150 without a rebate for the DROID today, a full $50 less than Big Red proper with rebate. We don't know how good these guys are with customer service (Simplexity is running the store on Sears' behalf, it seems), but truth be told, we can deal with a little incompetency for $50.

[Via I4U]

It appears that last night's midnight opening in Manhattan went off like gangbusters, but the situation across the country is a little more subdued this morning with seemingly short lines and easy access to DROIDs at every location we've visited. We won't put out a number, but we can confirm that several Engadget editors have taken the plunge today -- and if riffraff like us can waltz into the store and get them, you should certainly be able to. Good luck being assimilated out there today, and be sure to post pictures of your experience in comments (up above we've got San Francisco's first buyer courtesy of Ross Miller, and after the break, you can live it up with the good folks of Albany as they were paid a visit by Tim Stevens).

After weeks of buildup the day is here: the DROID (and his little HTC buddy, the DROID Eris) is now for sale on Verizon's website. As expected Motorola's new flagship will set you back $200 after $100 online discount and two-year commitment while his underhyped Eris little bro is a penny shy of $100 after the same discount and contractual prostration. If you're looking to shed your contractual duties then you can hand over $560 in non-Android green for the option of going month-to-month.

[Via Gearlog, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read -- Motorola DROID
Read -- HTC DROID Eris

Heavy users are still going to need the 5GB monthly postpaid option (and really, let's be honest, a lot of us need well more than 5GB), but the occasional "crap, I really have to grab that spreadsheet off the intranet" moment might be well-served by Verizon's new prepaid data option announced today. "Occasional" really is the key word here, because it's not cheap -- $15 per day for 75MB, $30 per week for 250MB, or $50 per month for 500MB -- but hey, we guess we've gotta get Big Red used to the idea of offering a la carte data for a while before it becomes affordable to the masses. In the meantime, it'll be offered bundled with a USB760 modem (pictured) in Verizon and Best Buy locations starting on November 16.

For some reason known only to its users, push-to-talk and mil-spec protection seem to go hand in hand -- and that trend continues with Samsung's Convoy for Verizon. The beefy little flip offers 810F compliance for resistance against shock, dust, vibration, salt, fog, humidity, sunlight, and temperature extremes, EV-DO-based push-to-talk, Bluetooth 2.1, and a 2 megapixel camera plus VZ Navigator support. Verizon's also touting its "long battery life" (we'll be the judge of that) with a 1300mAh pack on board, so you should be able to chirp-chirp your way through the night if you play your cards right and you've got some willing participants on the other end. Look for this one to drop (quite literally -- it's rugged, after all) on November 15 for $49.99 on contract after a $50 mail-in rebate.

We've suspected it for a while, and now it's 100 percent confirmed: Verizon's latest Chocolate device, the Chocolate Touch, takes absolutely zero influence from the lovely BL40 with which it shares a name. That said, it definitely seems to continue the Chocolate line's music-oriented tradition with an integrated FM radio, dedicated music key, stereo Bluetooth, equalization tech from Dolby Mobile, and a curious "Join the Band" function that lets you add in your own beats to the music with a full on-screen drum kit. It's got a 3.2 megapixel cam, full touch display, and for the impatient among us, the best news might be that it's available today -- yes, today -- for $79.99 on contract after rebate.

Twinning nicely with its 8520 counterpart currently available on T-Mobile, RIM's BlackBerry Curve 8530 marks the brand's new low-end full QWERTY device with a 2 megapixel camera, 528MHz "next generation" core and QVGA display all paired up with EV-DO and WiFi, marking Verizon's newfound commitment to launching WiFi on BlackBerrys that we first saw on the Storm2. It's got a full 256MB of storage on board (expandable with 32GB microSD cards, theoretically, when they're available) and is going to see duty in your choice of black or "smoky violet" -- just hold out for November 20, when it'll materialize for $99.99 on contract after rebate.

Verizon is making no secret about which Android device it wants to make waves this week -- that'd be the DROID from Motorola -- but there's another model that'll be available the same day with one-tenth the fanfare: HTC's DROID ERIS. Codenamed Desire ahead of launch, the phone is essentially Verizon's custom remix of the venerable Hero as found on Sprint and various GSM carriers around the world, featuring a 5 megapixel camera, 3.2-inch capacitive display, WiFi, 3.5mm headphone jack, and microSD expansion up to 16GB. Check it out in your local store hiding somewhere in the shadow of the DROID starting Friday for $99.99 on contract after a $100 mail-in rebate, which -- if you can forgo a physical keyboard, faster processor, and high-res display -- works out to a cool hundred less than Moto's entry.

You know what's worse than showing your Bitter Beer Face to the world after you passed on Apple's iPhone and let AT&T enjoy the spoils? Raising your early termination fee to stratospheric heights. Just over a year ago, we honestly though this whole ETF thing was headed in the right direction, as most of the major carriers (VZW included) sought to prorate contracts in order to lessen the charge as one's contract drew closer to an end. Now, however, Big Red is evidently gearing up to pull a 180, with the slide above showing a $350 ETF for "advanced" devices (read: probably anything deemed a smartphone). The newly hiked rate will go into effect on November 15th, and while that $350 will decrease by $10 per month over the life of the agreement, this pretty much guarantees that you won't be adding a line, disconnecting and then flipping that phone on eBay.

When the Motorola DROID debuts in Verizon Wireless stores bright and early this Friday, one nice little feature that won't be making an appearance yet is tethering, for computing with your laptop on-the-go when that Android 2.0 interface just won't cut it. We're pretty sure that missing functionality won't be lessening the early adopter crowds too much, but if you are so inclined, Gearlog's confirmed with VZW that its "Broadband Access Connect" tethering plan is indeed coming to the device, but not until sometime early 2010. Now, how about muscling Motorola and / or Google for some of that double-finger pointing our fine European friends get to indulge in?

Whoa -- we just got word that AT&T is suing Verizon for false advertising over Big Red's "There's a map for that" ads. We're reading the complaint and motion to stop the ads right now, but here's what AT&T says is the big problem:

In essence, we believe the ads mislead consumers into believing that AT&T doesn't offer ANY wireless service in the vast majority of the country. In fact, AT&T's wireless network blankets the US, reaching approximately 296M people. Additionally, our 3G service is available in over 9,600 cities and towns. Verizon's misleading advertising tactics appear to be a response to AT&T's strong leadership in smartphones. We have twice the number of smartphone customers... and we've beaten them two quarters in a row on net post-paid subscribers. We also had lower churn -- a sign that customers are quite happy with the service they receive.

AT&T also says its network reaches about the same number of people as Verizon's, so we're thinking it's a little miffed that it's being portrayed as an also-ran here. We'll update as we learn more, keep it locked!

Update: So this seems like a very narrow lawsuit, actually. As we've been told, AT&T thinks Verizon is trying to fool viewers into thinking that they can't use any AT&T phone services outside of 3G coverage areas by showing two essentially different maps. Since Verizon's entire network is 3G, the gaps in the red map are actual service gaps -- but Verizon doesn't show that the gaps on the AT&T map might be covered by AT&T's huge 2G network. We can see how that could be misleading, but at some point you've got to compare apples to apples, and AT&T even says it has "no quarrel with Verizon advertising its larger 3G network" in its complaint, so we'll see how the court reacts.

Update 2: Interestingly, Verizon's already changed the ads once at AT&T's behest, editing them to remove the phrase "out of touch" and adding a "Voice and data services available outside of 3G areas" small print disclaimer at the end. Apparently that wasn't enough for AT&T, which says the ads still confuse non-technical viewers into thinking AT&T provides no service at all outside of its 3G coverage.

Update 3: Okay, we've read everything -- there's really not much more to this suit than the arguments over the maps. We're thinking Verizon could have easily dealt with this by just using dark blue and light blue on the AT&T map to differentiate between 3G and 2G coverage, but at this point we don't think Ma Bell is all that interested in anything except getting these ads off the air. All that said, it's hard to deny that Verizon's ads made a perfectly valid point: using an iPhone on AT&T's network in New York or San Francisco is an exercise in frustration, regardless of whether you have 2G or 3G, and we've had zero problems on Verizon. Let's just hope AT&T is working as hard to fight these ads with its actual service as it is with its lawyers.

If you want to know what Verizon's upcoming Chocolate Touch will look like, look no further than this little number, the SB210, that's just been unveiled for LG's domestic South Korean market. Naturally we can expect that the firmware will be a good deal different, but the hardware looks exactly like the spy shots we've seen so far of the next Big Red handset to wear the storied Chocolate brand -- which, it bears repeating, won't be the much hotter BL40. In the SB210's case, the big feature here is an integrated database of 280 golf courses that hooks up with the GPS to offer distance information and lower your handicap (theoretically, anyway). The phone's available now on SKT for 638,000 won -- about $538 -- so we're expecting a much lower subsidized price when this thing comes to Verizon later this week.

We're not sure how much more Motorola DROID tidbits you need to whet your appetite until its November 6th Verizon launch, but in hopes of keeping those cravings at bay, we've got the entire user guide here. No revelations so far, but seeing as we're already in possession of the phone, we weren't really expecting any. See it for yourself either via the gallery below or as a PDF just past the read link.

[Thanks, BBLeaks]