The immensely hyped launch of the Verizon Droid or Motorola Droid whichever way you want call it was immediately followed by another announcement by Verizon Wireless stating that, it will shortly launch another Google Android OS based handset, nicknamed Verizon Eris, a.k.a HTC Hero.

The all new Verizon Eris is an exact opposite of the Droid handset and with its simplicity in design and features, it is definitely designed for the ones who prefer performance over looks. The Eris lacks physical keyboard, which could become a downside for the device, but has retained its elegance with a sleek design and is quite inexpensive, marketed at just $99 with services included. The Eris is embedded with proximity sensors that, measures the distance between the device and the user and also comes in pretty handy while you are on a call, as the sensors switch off the screen, thereby eliminating any chances of an accidental activation of its features.

Version Eris features a 3.2-inch HVGA touch sensitive screen with a 320×480-pixel resolution. Due to the fact that, the Eris supports HVGA, the display is vibrant and extremely gorgeous. The Eris is built around Google Android OS, v1.5 (Cupcake) platform. The light sensors that switch the phone screen on or off on base don the distance between the user and the device are complemented by a built-in accelerometer that works as an auto-rotation feature, changing the screen’s position as per the position of the phone.

As far as the input method is concerned, the Verizon Eris boasts of independent HTC developed on screen keyboard, instead of the default keyboard that Google has incorporated in the Android mobile operating system. The HTC keyboard in a bit better than the Android one with a white background, larger characters and most importantly the spacing between the characters has been greatly increased. The Eris also comes with a universal 3.5 mm music jack that supports all conventional headsets, providing an enhanced and rich music experience. The standard features include, Bluetooth, voice dialing, Verizon visual voice mail, a calculator, a calendar, a speakerphone an alarm clock, Wi-Fi, PC syncing, USB mass storage, and a voice recorder.

Via Cnet.