Google Kills The Droid? Nah. But Verizon Just Did.

I’ve expressed concern about the way Google is handling the Android Operation System. I even went so far as to suggest that Google Had Killed The Droid.

Today, Verizon put the nail in that coffin. And it’s about grabbing more of your money. Thanks, guys.

Of course, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when Verizon or any other business tries to make money, and let’s be frank: SmartPhones have a notoriously short shelf life. But with the update to Android 2.2 slated to happen to Verizon’s original Droid this week I find it incredibly short-sighted that Verizon has announced that the update will omit the two most interesting features of the so-called “Froyo” Android update.

It’s likely that Engadget’s analysis is spot on; Verizon doesn’t want last year’s Droid to be able to do everything that the two models being released this summer can do. But they really shouldn’t think us all too dumb to spot their lie on the matter.

I’m not overstating this; Verizon is claiming that the original Droid isn’t capable of doing tethering (using your SmartPhone as a wireless modem for getting data into a computer when there’s no WiFi available) or acting as a WiFi hot spot. I can promise you that the former just isn’t true (look in the Android Market for PDA Net and see how easy it is to get you Droid to act as a tether), and the latter is similar enough a trick that I’m certain it can be done, too.

Considering that Verizon is planning to charge for the ability to to tether the Droid 2 and Droid X, I just can’t understand this incredible short-sightedness. Compound it with the flat-out lie and it leaves me thinking the iPhone 4 might not be such a bad idea, after all.