DROID 2 Global Benchmarks and System Info, Hello 1.2GHz Processor
We first showed you our exclusive shots of the Droid 2 Global and now have even more goodies from this amazing looking device. Who wants some Quadrant system info and benchmarks? Unfortunately we don't have screenshots …
Context & Ripple Effects
Motorola and Verizon launched the original Droid 2 with Android 2.2 and Swype barely six weeks ago at $200 on contract, and the story since has been a spec duel with T-Mobile, whose G2 went official on September 9.
Droid Life's follow-up — exclusive photos of a 'Global' variant earlier this month, now paired with Quadrant system info showing a 1.2GHz processor — reads as an unannounced clock-speed bump over the retail Droid 2, surfaced through enthusiast benchmark runs rather than any Motorola press material.
First-order effects
- Verizon gains a faster Droid 2 variant in its lineup heading into the holidays, giving Motorola a direct answer to the G2 without waiting for an official announcement cycle.
Second-order effects
- Quadrant scores become the de facto public scoreboard for unannounced hardware — rivals' pre-launch devices now get their specifications published by enthusiasts before marketing does, compressing carriers' control over the reveal calendar.
Third-order effects
- If clock speed keeps doing the differentiation work between near-identical Android handsets, the competitive contest shifts further from software experience toward raw silicon specs — a race manufacturers can only win with each successive chipset generation.
The trend: Android handset competition in late 2010 is consolidating into a benchmark-visible silicon arms race, where unannounced processors surface through community tools before vendors say a word.