Droid, considered by many early reviewers to be a worthy challenger to the Apples iPhone has landed on store shelves. Whether it will also challenge Apple's popular phone in terms of sales has yet to be seen, but there were some hardy shoppers lined up to be among the first to slip one into their pockets. With the DROID, Motorola has perhaps created its most attractive and intriguing piece of technology yet. Forging an alliance with both Verizon and Google, Motorola has come up with a second compelling reason to count the phone maker down, but certainly not out, while the other two giants have finally found a seemingly worthy device to position against the iPhone.

Verizon and Motorola finally lifted the curtain on their new Droid Android phone yesterday. Make no mistake, this is Android’s flagship product, and the first phone that will pose a significant threat to Apple’s iPhone. The phone is a three-way effort between Motorola, Verizon and Google. It looks a lot like the iPhone, and may even be as thin or thinner than the iPhone 3GS. It also has two key advantages over the iPhone – a slide out physical keyboard, and use of the Verizon network. Unlike previous Android phones, the Droid is rumored to be powered by the TI OMAP3430, the same core that the iPhone and Palm Pre use, and which significantly outperforms Qualcomm 528MHz ARM11 based Android phones that exist today Droid will also be running v.2.0 of Android, with a significantly upgraded user interface.

If you’re hankering for the Droid, the hot, new smartphone from Verizon, listen up: Flipswap, a mobile device recycling site, is offering Apple iPhone users up to $450 for their devices. Even the original iPhone, now two years old, will get you $100. That’s enough to help offset, or even cover, the cost of breaking your contract with AT&T, exclusive U.S. distributor of the iPhone, and buying a Droid. The device costs $99-$199 with a two-year contract.