2010 may well be the year of the Android--it may also be the year that Verizon starts getting some good, non-BlackBerry smartphones. Word is that the forthcoming Motorola Droid is only the beginning of a deluge of Android handsets for Verizon. Two handsets are expected to come from the carrier via HTC. The first is the Desire, essentially a re-branded Verizon version of the Hero.

Also rumored to be in the slate is the similarly-named HTC Passion--the Verizon version of the Dragon, which is said to feature the a snapdragon processor, an 4.3″ WVGA 480 x 800 display, and Android 2.0. The device is said to be shipping in Q4--heck, maybe 2009 will be the year of the Android, after all.