Android News
21 Phones Hidden Throughout the Country to Prepare You For the ‘Droid Landing’
July 7, 2010 | by Jorge Parrales
Android, Android News, Verizon
In case you haven’t been paying attention, Verizon Wireless is sponsoring a nationwide scavenger hunt that began today as a promotion to coincide with the release of their latest Android superphone, the Droid X. It is open to anyone, 18 years of age and older, who reside in the 48 Contiguous United States. It ends at 11:59:59 ET on July 15, 2010.
21 certificates for a free Droid phone will be hidden across the country from now through the 15th. Clues to the whereabouts of these certificates have been posted on the @DroidLanding twitter account since late June and these clues will continue to become more and more precise, ultimately leading to a final clue that includes the GPS coordinates for the precise location of these certificates. Participants will have four hours from the time the final clue is posted to find the certificate and follow the instructions to claim the prize.
I took some time to review all of the clues that have been listed so far, so that you can at least know what city each certificate will be based in. Feel free to leave comments on here to help me finish the list as more clues are given to us.
1. ???, Nevada
2. Unknown
3. San Francisco, California
4. New York, New york – [Located and claimed]
5. Dallas, Texas
6. Key West, Florida
7. Unknown
8. Hunstville, Alabama
9. ???, Tennessee
10. Houston, Texas
11. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
12. Cleveland, Ohio
13. Buffalo, New York
14. Chicago, Illinois
15. Denver, Colorado (We think)
16. St Louis, Missouri
17. ???, Michigan
18. ???, Minnesota
19. Unknown
20. Unknown
21. Unknown
Help us fill in the blanks! For the official rules and eligibility requirements, visit Verizon Wireless.
number 10 is probably near the johnson space center. Too bad i live 60 miles away from there….
#17 is in michigan
Are you sure. The clues for #17 (so far) are "Near a major metropolitan area" and "Near the home of the world’s largest cement plant." By my research, the largest cement plant is in Missouri.
The worlds largest cement plant marker is in Alpena county Michigan. Gordon
nope the worlds largest cement plant is in alpena michigan, they're not fully done building the one in missouri
alpena is in the middle of no where by all accounts. Y would they put it there.
Well, the clue says that it is NEAR the largest cement plant, so it could potentially end up in Detroit, Michigan.
Yeah i guess near and far can be relative. Or maybe it will be in alpena.
Yeah, hard to tell right now, since the clues are so vague. We'll figure it out as things progress, I'm sure.
Thanks for that clarification.
#12 Is in Cleveland because it rocks.
Oh man, they put a clue twice that #12 rocks, so I knew it mattered, but I couldn't figure out why. Now I feel stupid, haha. Thanks for the help!
Number 18 has gotta be bloomington mn. Should i go to the vzw store?
Not yet. It probably won't be in any actual stores. They'll post the actual GPS coordinates somewhere between now and midnight on July 15 for each certificate. There will be a Verizon associate at those coordinates for four hours after they post them. Keep your eyes posted to the @droidlanding twitter account for when they post the coordinates for #18.
#18 has to be Twin Cities area (Minneapolis-St.Paul), of which Bloomington is a suburb. #13 is probably in Buffalo. Stan Lee was born in NYC, but a later clue says that Droid is "Heading north. it can almost see Canada" and Buffalo is near the Canadian border. #8 is Huntsville, Alabama. That's where they built the spaceship that went to the Moon (Saturn V)
#11 is Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It's where the Cowboy HOF is and OK is a land-locked state. #15 is PROBABLY Denver, Colorado. It's the Mile-High City and near the Rocky Mountains. Clues say high altitude and mountains.
I read the rules.. doesn't say you have to be a Verizon customer.. or even have to sign up with them.. did anyone hearread otherwise?
You’re definitely right that you don’t have to be a Verizon customer. There is a possibility that you might have to sign up with them to actually redeem the phone, because the rules do specifically state that if you get the certificate, you have to follow the instructions written on it in order to actually redeem the phone. But at the moment, there are not any explicit prerequisites for winning the phone.
to bad for the rest of us that live outside of major cities in the real world won't get to find one close to home. thats always been my only beef with things like these. Everything is always in major cities. makes me sad. Bend Oregon is a major city. but then again we also don't want to be bothered. LOL
the part about a verizon rep being at the location for 4 hours after a gps location is posted makes me think the clues alone won't give it away, unless they have the verizon rep there for days…
Yeah, people shouldn't try looking for the certificates right now. These initial clues are really just in place to help people figure out which particular certificate to focus on. I'm based in Dallas, so I now know to focus exclusively on #5. Until the @droidlanding account posts GPS coordinates, which could now be anytime between now and the 15th, there won't be a Verizon rep out there with a certificate.
#6 is probably not in Key West, as it says "Start in the keys and work your way up." Probably closer to Miami… but somewhere in FLorida.
Anyone check out the photo of the first winner? Looks like you might actually get the device if you're the first person to the coordinates. Probably have to agree to their terms and conditions (i.e. be a or become a Verizon customer) but that box he's holding looks legit.
Latest clue for #8 is in a "city built on steel". So it looks like it is in Birmingham, AL and not Huntsville.
can't wait until it hits vegas… i wonder where it is… hmmmm
I think they're putting these things off the path a bit. I'm not that familiar with NY, but it seems like that device was placed where it wouldn't be accidentally found by a random person walking down the street. It would take the fun out of this hunt if a random tourist found the certificate without any knowledge of this contest.
#21 sounds like Washington D.C. = state that isn't a state?
Looks like #20 is going to land in Boston tomorrow!!!
As a follow up, the clue for #20: Tomorrow, Droid X designate #20 will use its 1 Ghz process to decide an important question. What' s more famous here: Tea or beer?
#19 HAS LANDED IN PHILLY. It's outside the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial!
21 minutes and no updates… I don't think anyone has found it yet!
#9 Is Nashville sadly I live in Knoxville T_T
- Droid designate #2 will be capturing La La land in 720p - In 4 days, Droid X designate #2 will be in southern California. Could it be masquerading in Hollywood as a camera? - Droid X designate #2 is by west coast. Absorbing the extra sunshine in 720p. Sounds like #2 is in the Hollywood area, At least an hour drive for me from OC,
#7 is seattle (July 10) In 4 days, Droid X designate #7 is in the city Dr. Frasier Crane called home. Too bad Droid X has no issues. (July 9) In 5 days, Droid X designate #7 will be near aviation factories. Perfect since Droid X is taking off at the speed of 1Ghz. (June 30) Droid X designate #7 has been spotted in the Pacific Northwest. Northeasters: buy your plane tickets.
#6 was claimed at Beefy King in Downtown Orlando. #13 was at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo. People are finding these within 15-20 minutes of posting GPS coords.
#9appears to be at country music hall of fame