The great Droid X scavenger hunt has officially begun

Yes, the official Verizon and Motorola sponsored Droid X scavenger hunt has begun.  Remember that @DroidLanding twitter account we talked about a couple weeks ago?  Of course you do, we're all trying to decipher the up-until-now vague hints and clues they've been dropping.  Things are a little clearer now, as Verizon has released the official sweepstakes rules for the treasure-hunt style giveaway, which started yesterday at Midnight.  The tweets should start getting a little less cryptic, eventually becoming actual GPS locations of the prizes.  Did we mention the prizes? How does 21 brand spanking new Motorola Droid X phones (valued at $569.99 each according to the rules themselves) sound?  Yeah, I thought so -- sounds good to me too. 

If you haven't already, make sure you're following @DroidLanding on Twitter, and follow the jump to read the official rules.  [Verizon]

OFFICIAL RULES. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A Purchase Will Not Increase Your Chances of Winning.

1. Sweepstakes Period: The Verizon Wireless Droid Scavener Hunt (the "Promotion") begins 12:00:01 Eastern Time ("ET") on July 7, 2010 and ends 11:59:59 ET on July 15, 2010 (the "Promotion Period").

2. Eligibility: Open to legal residents of the 48 Contiguous United States and the District of Columbia, 18 years of age and older as of July 7, 2010. Employees of Verizon Wireless (the "Sponsor"), McGarry Bowen, Marketing Werks, Don Jagoda Associates, Inc., their respective parents, subsidiaries, divisions, affiliates, suppliers, distributors and advertising, promotional and judging agencies (collectively "Sponsor and its Parties") and the immediate family members (spouses, parents, children, and siblings and their spouses) and household members of each, are not eligible to participate or win.

3. How to Participate in the Promotion and Claim a Prize: During the Promotion Period, there will be a Scavenger Hunt, where 21 Certificates for a free Droid Phone will be hidden across the country. Clues as to where the 21 Droid Certificates ("Certificates") will be hidden will be tweeted on a regular basis from @DroidLanding. To view the tweets, visit https://twitter.com/droidlanding. Dates and times of Certificate placement will vary, but the final clue of each GPS location for each Certificate will be tweeted at the time it is hidden. Participants will have 4 hours from the time of the posting of the final clue to find the Certificate and once it is found, follow the instructions on the Certificate to claim their prizes, subject to verification. In the event two (2) or more participants find a Certificate at the exact same time, Sponsor representative will conduct a random drawing from among all those that found the Certificate to determine the winner. Prizes unclaimed within 4 hours from the time of the posting of the final clue will be randomly awarded (in Sponsor representative’s sole discretion) to an eligible person in the vicinity of the hidden Certificate. By participating, you understand, and will agree in writing, that if you find a Certificate or are randomly awarded an unclaimed prize, Sponsor’s representatives will be on site to videotape and/or photograph and record the event, in their sole discretion. Therefore, if you find a Certificate, you hereby grant the Sponsor, its affiliates, subsidiaries, assigns, licensees, and legal representatives the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to use, reproduce, edit, market, store, distribute, have distributed, reproduce, re-arrange, change (including blurring any trademarked items on clothing), add to or delete from, translate, adapt, or otherwise revise and/or alter the video footage, photographs, or material developed ("Footage"), publicly and privately display, communicate, publicly and privately perform, transmit, have transmitted, create derivative works based upon, and promote the Footage, for editorial, commercial or promotional purposes, in their sole discretion.

Sponsor and its Parties reserve the right at their sole discretion to disqualify any individual that acts in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Promotion may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Sponsor and its Parties and their respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees and agents, and any and all Internet servers and access provider(s) (collectively, the "Releasees") are not responsible for: any incorrect or inaccurate information; human error; technical malfunctions; failures, omission, interruption, deletion, or defect of any telephone network, computer online or e-mail systems, computer equipment, servers, providers, or software, including any injury or damage to participant's or any other person's computer relating to or resulting from participation or inability to participate in this Promotion; inability to retrieve any clues from Twitter; theft, tampering, destruction, or unauthorized access to, or alteration of clues; data processing that is processed late or incorrectly or is incomplete or lost due to telephone, computer or electronic malfunction or traffic congestion on telephone lines or the Internet or any website; or for any other errors or problems of any kind relating to or in connection with the Promotion, whether computer, network, technical, printing, typographical, human or otherwise or any combination thereof, including, without limitation, any errors or problems which may occur in connection with the administration of the Promotion, the Scavenger Hunt clues or in any Promotion-related materials. Material(s) provided by Sponsor on Twitter are only to be used solely for the purposes of this Promotion and cannot be used for any other purpose or use. By entering the Promotion, entrants affirm that they have read and accepted these Official Rules.

4. Prizes and Approximate Retail Value ("ARV"): Prizes (21): A Verizon Wireless Droid Phone ARV $569.99 each. Service not included with phone. The total ARV of all prizes to be awarded in the Promotion is $11,969.79. Limit one (1) prize per person/household.

5. General Rules: No substitution or transfer of prize permitted except at the sole discretion of the Sponsor who reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value in the event the prize is unavailable. All applicable federal, state and local taxes are the sole responsibility of winner. Prize is awarded "as is" with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied by Sponsor. By participating in the Promotion, participants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor. The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, modify or suspend the Promotion if it is not capable of running as planned, including, but not limited to, infection by computer virus, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures (where clues could not be posted) or any other problems beyond the control of the Sponsor (including cancellation of Scavenger Hunt) and award the applicable prizes that were claimed/awarded prior to cancellation and the remainder of prizes will go un-awarded. Prize winners and all entrants, as a condition of participation in the Promotion, agree to release and hold harmless Sponsor and its Parties and each of their respective affiliates, officers, directors, agents, and employees will have no liability or responsibility for any claim arising in connection with participation in the Promotion or any prize awarded. Prize winners assume all liability for any injury or damage caused, or claimed to be caused, by participation in the Promotion, the receipt, ownership or use of prize awarded or any typographical or other error in these Official Rules or the announcement of offering of the prizes. Void where prohibited and subject to all federal, state and local laws. Acceptance of prize constitutes permission to use the winner’s name and likeness for promotional purposes without further compensation except where prohibited by law. Sponsor is not responsible for any typographical or other error in the tweeting of the Promotion materials or the offering or announcement of the prizes. As a condition of participating in the Promotion, participant agrees that: 1) under no circumstance will participant be permitted to obtain awards for, and hereby waives all rights to, punitive, incidental, consequential or any other damages, other than for out-of-pocket expenses; 2) all causes of action arising out of or connected with the Promotion or the prize awarded, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; and 3) any and all claims, judgments, and award shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, but in no event attorneys’ fees. You hereby represent and warrant that you have read these Official Rules and are fully familiar with its contents.

6. Winners List: For a list of winners, available from July 20, 2010 to August 20, 2010, and for the official rules visit www.droiddoes.com.

7. Sponsor: Verizon Wireless, One Verizon Way, Basking Ridge, NJ 07960.

Jerry Hildenbrand
Senior Editor — Google Ecosystem

Jerry is an amateur woodworker and struggling shade tree mechanic. There's nothing he can't take apart, but many things he can't reassemble. You'll find him writing and speaking his loud opinion on Android Central and occasionally on Threads.