Droid sales start early at Verizon stores

Verizon is hoping to get a jump on the upcoming holiday shopping season with today's launch of the new Droid smart phone.

The wireless carrier is marketing it as an alternative to Apple's iPhone and promoting it as the first "gotta-have-it gadget" in time for Christmas.

Verizon is opening all of its Florida stores two hours earlier - including those in Brooksville and Spring Hill.

Both local stores - located at 7191 Broad St. and 4314 Commercial Way, respectively - will open at 7 a.m. and close at 9 p.m.

The Droid has a larger touch screen compared to the iPhone and is designed to easily navigate Web pages and use applications.

It also is the first phone to include a free mapping application from Google.