We just got some wild information from a trusted source about Verizon's Android strategy, and let's just say this shakes things up a little bit. Here are the big takeaways:

* Droid is the brand name being applied to Verizon's Android devices. It isn't a single phone.
* The Sholes -- the phone we've been calling the Droid so far -- may simply be known as the Droid.
* HTC's Desire will be coming to market as the "Droid Eris." (Allow us to save you the Wikipedia lookup -- Eris is the Greek goddess of strife.) Interestingly, it's already up on gdgt as such.
* Droid Eris will be released -- not announced, actually released -- on November 6. In all likelihood, it will not be announced or shown at Verizon's October 28 event -- that will probably just be for the Sholes.

That's all we've got so far, but it's a heck of a change in plans, isn't it? It's interesting that Verizon will be applying a sub-brand to its Android line -- and a pretty solid sign that Big Red's got a serious commitment to the platform going forward.