Verizon may finally have a phone that can compete feature-wise with the iPhone. The Droid made its official debut today following weeks of Internet buzz. Made by Motorola and running Google’s Android software, the system is an amalgamation of many smartphone trends.

The Droid will go on sale Friday, Nov. 6 for $200. It comes with a touchscreen, physical keyboard, the ability to simultaneously run several applications and a 5MP camera- with flash.

Beyond the usual social network synching, there’s also a free GPS program on Droid that offers turn-by-turn directions and live traffic updates. That’s a big advantage over the expensive GPS apps on other systems.  Unfortunately for Verizon, it won’t be exclusive to Droid for long – and may eventually appear on the iPhone.

Best Buy is already taking orders for the phone (allowing you to skip the rebate process at Verizon). And Engadget has a quick first-impressions piece up about the system after a few hands-on hours with it.

As the onslaught for 3D TVs in the home prepares to roll out, analysts are predicting consumes will quickly embrace the new technology.

Alfred Poor, an analyst with GigOM Pro, says there could be between 28 million and 46 million 3D-ready TVs in homes by 2013 – with up to 2.5 million selling in the next year alone.

It’s a pretty bold prediction. Right now, there’s only one set on the market and it’s prohibitively expensive at nearly $10,000. Panasonic, Sony and other manufacturers will roll out models next year, presumably at slightly lower prices, but beyond the price pain there are other hurdles they’ll need to convince consumers to clear.

3D HD sets still require users to wear special glasses. These not only add to the expense, but people typically feel a bit foolish wearing them – and some complain of headaches. They’re great if you’re sitting in a chair, but it remains to be seen if they’re as effective when you’re lying prone on a couch, beer in one hand and half-eaten bag of chips on your chest. And, unless you’ve got several extra pairs of the glasses , showing off the TV to a large group of friends will be nigh on impossible.

Of course, content providers – particularly the broadcast networks – haven’t signed on to promote the technology yet either. That’s likely to change within the next year or so, though. 

As game consoles become more and more integrated with home theater set ups, it may not be all that surprising that the video game industry’s footprint at CES is growing bigger and bigger.

The gaming showcase at the 2010 show will be 50 percent bigger this year, according to organizers, taking up some 13,000 square feet. Microsoft and Sony (natch) will be on hand, as will smaller companies DDR, Guillemot and Iron Will Creations.

CES was actually the birthplace of E3, but don’t expect the gaming trade show to move back into its parents house. Select game publishers will have hotel suites to show off imminent games, but won’t announce any new titles of note. At best, we might learn a few more details about Microsoft’s upcoming Project Natal – but that would come during Steve Ballmer’s Jan. 6 keynote.

The 2010 CES will take place January 7-10 in Las Vegas. 

The free ride at Hulu may be coming to a close.

Chase Carey, deputy chairman at News Corp. (which owns part of the online streaming service), dropped a major hint that the Website could begin charging for content as early as next year.

“It’s time to start getting paid for broadcast content online,” he told Broadcast & Cable. “I think a free model is a very difficult way to capture the value of our content. I think what we need to do is deliver that content to consumers in a way where they will appreciate the value. Hulu concurs with that, it needs to evolve to have a meaningful subscription model as part of its business.”

The upside here for consumers is he doesn’t see a pay wall going up around the entire site. Instead, he pictures special features (such as, say, unaired “American Idol” auditions) as the best place to begin testing a pay model.

It’s a risky strategy. Online audiences have finally started to show a willingness to view ads with television programming after years of resistance. Asking them to begin paying more to watch elements of shows they can watch for free at home will be a bigger hurdle – and could steer some of the audience back to the pirate sites Hulu has been drawing people away from. 

Today is launch day for the latest operating system from Microsoft (not to mention the grand opening for the company’s dedicated stores). The reviews are generally good and excitement levels appear to be pretty high.

Let’s not forget, though, that the initial reviews for Vista were also good and the excitement level was high then, too.

With that in mind, how are you feeling about the release of Windows 7? Are you eager to install it onto your system? Are you going to wait a while until the early adopter guinea pigs flush out the bugs? Or are you still smarting to learn that there’s no smooth upgrade from Windows XP and planning to just keep using that now-two-generations-old OS?

Sound off in the comments below. 

Thinking about buying a new Mac for the holidays? The selection just got a lot wider.

Apple introduced a slew of new products today – and (in a departure for the company) did so without a major media event. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s new in Apple’s online store.

iMacs – Apple has revamped the desktop machines with a slew of new features, including LED-Backlit screens, dual core processors, starting at 3.06 GHz (and going up to quad core) and 4GB of standard memory (upgradeable to 16GB if you really like to punish your OS by running dozens of programs at once. Wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse (see below) are standard.

MacBooks – The starter MacBook didn’t get cheaper (it’s still $999), but it was redesigned. Now featuring a unibody enclosure and LED-Backlit screen, it also has a built-in battery that boasts up to 7 hours on a single charge

Mac minis – The stepchild of the Mac lineup now has more memory and bigger hard drives. There’s even a version that can be used as a server.

Magic Mouse – Apple has completely revamped its mouse, ditching the trackball for a multi-touch surface. That means no buttons, but a touch-sensitive device that can act as either a one- or two-button mouse, depending on your needs. The Bluetooth peripheral (seen above) is also more customizable than it s predecessor. 

It’s hardly a surprise, but we can now officially add Barnes & Noble to the list of companies with their own eReader. The bookseller is taking on Amazon again with the Nook.

Shipping at the end of November, the Nook will sell for $259 – roughly in line with the Kindle. It features the dual touchscreens the rumor mill predicted, along with 2 GB of internal storage (which will hold up to 1,500 books, magazines and newspapers), a microSD slot and a MP3 player.

Like every other eReader on the market, the main screen will feature E Ink technology. The color screen below is used to browse covers when shopping and navigate to different features.

It’s the features that make Nook stand out. Owners will be able to lend eBooks to friends for up to 14 days. Better still, those friends won’t have to own a Nook to borrow the book. The device will send it to cell phones and computers as well.

Downloads on the go are done via AT&T’s 3G network or Wi-Fi, but customers who take their Nook to their local B&N get an added bonus. In-store, Nook owners will be able to read any eBook in the company’s collection for free.

Granted, that’s not much of a stretch. You can do the same thing with print books in any store – but it’s something the Kindle can’t offer.

The Nook does have disadvantages, though. Primarily, Barnes & Noble’s eStore doesn’t have the depth that Amazon’s does.

Barnes & Noble was briefly taking pre-orders for the device earlier today when it prematurely launched the Nook’s website. That’s down again now, but should be back up after a 4pm ET “official” unveiling of the device in New York. 

A little consolidation this morning in the burgeoning Web television field. Online news and entertainment site Tubefilter has acquired competitor Tilzy.TV for an undisclosed sum.

The two are hardly strangers. They worked closely together this year to create the “Streamy” awards – recognizing outstanding achievement in shows produced exclusively for the broadband audience.

While both companies are decent-sized fish in the tiny, tiny pond that is Web TV, they hope that by creating a larger organization, they can build the audience to a sizable enough number that larger advertisers begin to take notice of the medium.

Tubefilter is making a serious push for ad dollars, launching a digital version of the “upfronts” that broadcast networks host each year. The initiative attracted execs from Sony and IFC this spring.

Web TV is still small, but has attracted the interest of some notable Hollywood names. Neil Patrick Harris’ performance in Joss Whedon’s “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” created enough buzz for the character to cameo during this year’s Emmy awards. Rosario Dawson starred in “Gemini Division” for NBC.com. And Felicia Day is considered a leader in Web TV programming due to her work on “The Guild”.

Content providers have a new way to make money from the iPhone. Apple has announced that free apps can now have a microtransaction component.

That might not sound real significant at first blush. Apple has let paid apps sell small items for nominal amounts for a while now (The top-selling “Tap Tap Revenge 3” game, for example, sells a six-pack of additional songs for $2.99.) This is just an extension of that policy, right?

On the surface, sure, but this also makes upconverting users of free demos a much easier process – as it’s something that can be done within the demo itself, rather than requiring users to exit, search for the product in the App store and hope they don’t lose momentum (or get distracted by something else) along the way.

It’s also a handy way to make money off of apps that aren’t looking to convert people to a premium version. Studios, for instance, that offer free apps promoting elements of an upcoming film could charge for ringtones or exclusive clips.

Naysayers call it nickel-and-diming, but the long tail potential of these small transactions is considerable. Korea and China have built an entire gaming industry off of them – giving away the core game for free, but charging players for little things like armor and weapon upgrades.

3-D films are actually making an impact at theaters. And 3-D television is ramping up for a big push in 2010 and beyond. So what’s next?

How about 3-D laptops?

Acer has unveiled the Aspire 5738DG, a new PC utilizing its new 3D CineReal technology – which is basically a coating that’s applied to the screen that converts 2-D images to 3D when users wear a pair of polarized glasses. It’s software dependent, meaning it doesn’t require nVidia’s 3-D graphics processor. It will also up-convert any existing media you run through the machine into 3D.

Whether Acer is aiming to capture a share of the gaming or media enthusiast market is still unclear. The company said in a press release that its CineReal Technology will help the PC evolve “from a working tool to a daily household appliance” – which might be something of an oversimplification.

For now, the system is only on sale in New Zealand, but carries the expected high price tag ($1,484).