It seems that Android and Droid are everywhere these days, and that’s no wonder given an estimated $100M advertisement budget committed by Verizon for the Droid campaign alone. On top of that, we just love new gadgets and the buzz and excitement that go with it. Who doesn’t want to join the party?

Yet, with all that media noise it gets harder to objectively decide what features and functionality really matter the most before committing to a new smart-phone and the obligatory carrier contract. No question, the new Android phones and the Moto Droid are fantastic and give you just a glimpse of things to come, but the Blackberry Storm is in many ways an equal contender on a more mature platform. The launch of the original Storm last year was a bit of a flop – mainly because the software was just not ready for prime time and subsequent patches were slow to market. Here are 5 reasons why you should still look at the Storm when shopping for your next smart-phone.

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This almost feels like a mobile blog now, two entries in a row about new smartphone arrivals.  Verizon is gearing up to stem the tide of iPhone-envy-induced subscriber defections.  The mobile company officially announced today the launch of the highly anticipated Droid smartphone from Motorola, on November 6th.

Droid will sell for $199, presumably with a new 2 year contract, no information yet about deals for existing subscribers.  The features are impressive, especially considering the very competitive price tag when compared to the price of much lesser devices.

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Verizon finally broke their silence this morning and announced the release of the Blackberry Storm2 this Wednesday, October 28.

The Storm2 resembles much of its predecessor, with some cosmetic and some functional improvements (read bug fixes), but most importantly the addition of Wi-Fi. The Boy Genius Report is currently testing a production unit and will be posting a full review shortly.

There has been much speculation over Verizon’s unusually low-profile release of the Storm2. Could this perhaps be a direct result of the disappointing results for the original Storm – both in terms of total sales and customer (dis)satisfaction? There were rumors that the Storm had the highest return rate of any phone right after its original release.

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After months of speculation about Google’s entry into the mobile space, T-Mobile is introducing the first Android-powered mobile phone aptly named the G1, today.  The launch event is scheduled to begin at 10:30am EDT and will be webcasted here.

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The blogosphere has been abuzz with praise and anger over the new Blackberry code name “Thunder” that is expected to come exclusively to Verizon and Vodafone sometime in October.  What gets people talking is the fact that this latest Blackberry does away with the keyboard and will instead sport a large touch screen similar to the iPhone.

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Feeling the urge to check your Blackberry during meetings? Many people find this disruptive and disrespectful. One company, DDB Canada, is now implementing a penalty card system as found in soccer.

“Over the past year, I’ve become increasingly aware of and annoyed by staff who use their BlackBerries during meetings,” says Frank Palmer, chairman and CEO of DDB Canada. “Whether it’s done openly or covertly under the table, using a PDA during a meeting is completely unacceptable, disrespectful and hinders the progress of the meeting. While these devices are considered time-savers, they’re also extremely intrusive.”

Colleagues will show the yellow card to first offenders, followed by a red card for repeat misconduct. Receiving a red card results in the employee footing that month’s mobile services bill.

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