BASINGSTOKE, United Kingdom - Following up on the announcement of Verizon Wireless' Motorola Droid in the US, the manufacturer has unveiled the Motorola Milestone, the first Android 2.0-based handset in Europe. The hardware and software specifications indicate that the Milestone is the GSM version of the Droid, which was earlier announced in the US.

At 13.7mm, the Milestone  is the world's thinnest QWERTY slider smartphone in market. The high resolution 3.7" touchscreen is multitouch-capable, making it the first Android phone to offer this technology which has been at the forefront of the iPhone since its launch in 2007.

The multi-tasking capable phone also offers cinematic navigation through music, videos and maps along with multi-touch pinch and zoom browsing. In addition to access to the Android Market, the device will be pre-loaded with Google applications such as Google Maps with Latitude,  Google Mail and YouTube.

Some of the key hardware and software specifications of Milestone also include the 5 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, connectivity to the Motorola Media Link and Motorola Phone Portal to manage and share media content across desktop, phone and the Web;  Bluetooth, and a 3.5mm headset jack.

In terms of software, the phone features unified Google and Microsoft Office Contacts, MOTONAV for turn-by-turn GPS navigation, and Exchange calendar synchronisation.

The media statement by Motorola reveals that the Milestone will first be launched in Germany and Italy, followed by other countries in the Europe. Pricing and exact launch dates are yet to be announced.

After being dormant for most part of 2009, Motorola is now pro-active in the last quarter of 2009. The Milestone/Droid is the manufacturer's second Android phone in as many months. With the announcement of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and now of the Milestone/Droid, the Android lineup now looks very lucrative for customers looking for high-end smartphones. Further, the position of HTC Hero as the best Android phone is under threat from competing manufacturers who have now raised the bar in hardware and software features of their devices. Being the market leader in Android devices, HTC can be expected to update its Android series in the near future. While the manufacturers are fighting for a share in the emerging Android market, consumers loyal to this platform should be more than happy to have several choices to chose from.