When the Droid goes to Europe, it's a milestone

If Motorola's Milestone, a new GSM handset being introduced in Europe, looks familiar, there is a reason. It is a Droid with a different radio deck. It is also Europe's first Android 2.0 handset.

The availability of GSM could, in the future, allow a version of the Milestone/Droid to be sold through a wider range of U.S. carriers as well.

A key difference between the European Milestone and the American Droid: Google Maps Navigation is not available in Europe, so a test version of Motonav is being used instead, according to Motorola.

Available in Germany from O2 on November 9, Motorola says the handset will also be available from Vodaphone in Germany as well as in Italy and Argentina, with unspecified carriers.

The Milestone is virtually identical to the Droid, save the addition of a pinch-zoom multi-touch capability in the browser. Technical specifications are available on this Motorola Web page, created for the launch.

The Milestone is expected to sell for the equivalent of $596 when it goes on sale next week.

David Coursey tweets as @techinciter and can be contacted via his Web site.