Verizon unveils revamped trio of Droid smartphones

Verizon Wireless took the wraps off a new trio of Motorola Droid smartphones.

The Droid Mini, Droid Ultra and Droid Maxx will sell for $99, $199 and $299 with a two year agreement with Verizon. Purchasing them off-contract adds $400 to the price. Pre-ordering opened July 23 and the devices should be available at Verizon Wireless locations August 20.

All three smartphones feature scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass, water-repellant nano-coating and Kevlar construction.

The Droid Mini features a compact design with an edge-to-edge 4.3-inch 720 pixel HD display and wireless charging capabilities.

Touted as the thinnest 4G LTE smartphone available, the Droid Ultra measures 7.18mm, and has a 5-inch 720 pixel HD display. The Ultra will be available in black and red models.

The Droid Maxx is the endurance champion of the lineup with a 3500mAh battery that gives users nearly two days of battery life on a single charge - which can be done wirelessly.

Verizon didn't push the usual list of hardware specifications choosing instead to focus on capabilities and features that might resonate more with consumers.

- Droid Command Center widget that allows users to access notifications for text messages, missed calls, battery level, weather and more.

- Wireless Display can mirror the smartphone screen onto a compatible HDTV to play games, browse the web and share pictures on a larger display.

- Quick Capture lets users access the 10-megapixel camera by shaking the phone twice, then tapping anywhere on the screen to take a photo.

- Touchless Controls and Active Display let users make calls, send texts, get directions, play music, set a reminder and preview notifications hands-free without having to unlock the phone

- Active Notifications lets users preview messages and app alerts without waking their phone.

- All three devices have 2 GB of RAM and run Android 4.2.2.

This story was originally published July 25, 2013 at 7:20 AM with the headline "Verizon unveils revamped trio of Droid smartphones."