Posted by Eric on September 8, 2010 at 01:02 PM CST
It had been speculated, and now it's official: Verizon Wireless will be releasing a special Star Wars-branded version of their just-announced Droid 2. The phone will resemble everyone's favorite astromech and come pre-loaded with goodies from the galaxy far, far away. Here's what the press release says:

In honor of the iconic Astromech Droid from the Star Wars? Saga, Verizon Wireless will offer a limited-edition R2-D2 version of the DROID 2, available only online in September. The special version of the phone will feature exclusive Star Wars content and external hardware designed to look like the trusty Droid from the film saga. Visitors to the upcoming Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando, Fla., can see a preview of the limited edition phone and sign up to receive alerts when the phone is ready for sale.

If you're an Android lover and have or want a Verizon contract, be sure to check out the phone at CV!

Source: Engadget

(Note: The photo above is of the regular Droid 2. Photos of the R2-D2 edition are not yet available.)

UPDATE #1: Verizon has launched its teaser site for the R2-D2 Droid 2 variant. There isn't much to see right now, but from the looks of it, the R2-Droid2's exclusive content will include sounds, video clips, TESB wallpapers, original artwork, movie stills, widgets, special apps, and something called "Jedi training." Perhaps it's that peer-to-peer lightsaber combat app I've been dying for.

UPDATE #2: The R2-Droid2 is indeed here at Celebration V. Dustin snagged this picture from the Verizon Wireless booth.

UPDATE #3: It appears someone has unlocked the photo gallery at the Verizon website. Here are four new images of what you can expect.



UPDATE #4: While the "boot-up sequence" section of Verizon's R2-Droid2 teaser site is still locked, it appears that the phone's custom boot animation (or a very good imitation) is already out in the wild. Droid-Life found the animation sequence online and was able to load it onto their Droid 2. Hit the link above for a video of the phone booting up (featuring a jittery R2-D2) and instructions on how to put it on your Android phone.
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