Verizon's Motorola Droid price and release date confirmed

Verizon’s chief marketing officer, John Stratton, said the price of the Droid is set at $199, with a two-year contract and a mail-in rebate.

Meanwhile, speculation continues that Verizon is planning on rolling out three Droid phones by the end of the year. One of the Droids would reportedly be manufactured by HTC, while the second, code-named Calgary, would pair the Android operating system with BLUR capability

Stratton appeared to confirm those rumors by saying "the partnership between Verizon and Google will be a multiyear partnership … under the Droid franchise," according to PC Magazine.

Motorola is positioning the Droid as an iPhone killer – a handset that could surpass Apple’s best-selling smartphone.

Verizon and Motorola have been generating hype over the Droid with a commercial that targets iPhone’s flaws.

"iDon’t have a real keyboard. iDon’t run simultaneous apps. iDon’t take night shots. iDon’t allow open development," reads anti-Apple copy posted on the Droid website. "iDon’t customize. iDon’t run widgets. iDon’t have interchangeable batteries. Everything iDon’t, Droid does."

"As long as it's not buggy, it will do quite well," Current Analysis analyst Avi Greengart said. "I don't think this will single-handedly save Motorola but it's a crucial step."