Verizon Wireless is launching its Android-based Droid handset on Friday, and already confusion is swirling about how much the new handset will cost you. PC World's sister site, InfoWorld, reported on Tuesday that it will cost an extra $15 to use Droid's built-in Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync feature. This started a frenzy of other reports around the Web accusing Verizon of "nickel and diming" its customers with service fees. But is the Exchange cost true, and more importantly how much will the new Droid cost you versus competing phones like the iPhone on AT&T or the Palm Pre on Sprint?

Slideshow: Motorola Droid vs. Apple iPhone 3GS

With all the confusion out there, I've put together a handy chart comparing these phones to set the record straight. But before we get to the cost comparison, let's review a few things about Droid and Microsoft Exchange.

What is Exchange Support?

Many corporations and other businesses take advantage of features found in Microsoft Outlook that allow you to receive your e-mail on a mobile device and share information like contacts and calendar appointments with other users on your company's network. But to do all this, your company has to be running a Microsoft Exchange server, a physical piece of equipment that runs these services for a closed network of users. This is very different from equivalent services such as Gmail and Google Calendar that anybody can sign up for and access for free using their mobile device or home computer.

Business vs. Personal Use

So will it cost you an extra $15 to use Exchange on Droid? I spoke with Verizon spokesperson Brenda Raney about this issue, and the answer, it turns out, is yes and no. Just like any other wireless network there are different prices for business and personal accounts. On Verizon, data access (Web and e-mail) costs personal users $30 a month and business users pay $45 a month. If you're a business user, with a phone provided to you by the company you work for, then yes it is costing an extra $15 to use Exchange Active Sync support on your phone. But since your company is paying the access fees, the cost doesn't directly impact you, the end user.

On the other hand, if you're a personal user paying $30 a month, you could, in theory, still use Exchange Active Sync since the service is built-in to Droid's operating system, Android 2.0. But here's the question I have for you: how are you going to use it? As I noted above, using Exchange requires you to have access to an Exchange server, which is not a piece of technology the typical home user has access to or even needs. But if you do need Exchange access on your personal phone--which I'll say again is typically a very rare thing--don't worry about it, you won't be forking over any extra cash to Verizon every month.