Today is the launch date for the Motorola Droid 4, the latest entry in Verizon's long-running series of Android smartphones with large keyboards. The new model is the first in the series to have 4G LTE.

It has a 4-inch qHD (960 x 540) capacitive Touchscreen with Corning Gorilla Glass, the same as its predecessor, and a bit smaller than the displays on many of its rivals. What sets it apart is the large 5-row QWERTY keyboard that can slide out from behind its screen -- few Android handsets these days have physical keyboards.

The Droid 4 runs  Android OS 2.3.5 (Gingerbread) on a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, slightly faster than the chip in the Droid 3. It has 1GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in memory -- users can add additional capacity with a microSD card. An upgrade to Android OS 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) is in development.

This Motorola model's support for 4G LTE should give it download speeds of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps. It also has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

Shutterbugs will appreciate the 8MP rear-facing camera with 1080p HD video capture and second front-facing HD camera. It also has HDMI video output.

Price and Availability
The Motorola Droid 4 costs $200 with a two-year contract -- $100 below the price Verizon charges for some of its handsets. However, those who don't qualify for a subsidy will have to pay $550.

It is available now on Verizon's website. The device is also available in this carrier's retail stores.

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