The HTC Droid Eris began selling available alongside the Motorola Droid today in Verizon stores nationwide and its appears to be ahead of its Droid competitor in three key aspects.

In terms of price, the Droid Eris will cost $99 with a two-year contract after a $100 mail in rebate, making it the most affordable Android phone currently available - and its half the price of the Droid.

Secondly, the Droid Eris runs HTC's slick Sense user interface overlay, which is more aesthetically appealing than the Android 2.0 (also known as éclair) user interface.

Thirdly, the Droid Eris is lighter, and more pocket-friendly than the Droid.

However, credit is definitely due to the Motorola Droid where it wins in terms of specs. It's getting good reviews for its speed, audio quality, screen, overall build quality, choice of physical or virtual keyboard, multitasking functionality, home and car docking options, and free Google Maps Navigation, among other bells and whistles.

All in all, Droid Eris wins in terms of price and Motorola Droid wins with its advanced specs running on the Google Android 2.0 operating System.

It’s this simple: If you don’t buy an iPhone, buy a Droid, A Gizmodo reviewer write.

It’s the best phone on Verizon, and with Android 2.0, the second best smartphone you can buy, period. It’s flawed, deeply in some ways. But it’s the second best phone around, on the best network around.”

Software Android Google Motorola