Credit: Boy Genius Report
|
Verizon is gearing up to launch a marketing blitz that pits an upcoming phone called “Droid” against Apple’s iPhone. Verizon isn’t divulging many Droid details at present, but a hands-on review and some supposedly leaked photos have surfaced. The phone is reportedly made by Motorola and features Android 2.0 software.
[…]
On Oct. 30, Verizon Wireless is widely expected to launch the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid, its entry into the Android smartphone market.
It’s ramping up to the event by kicking off an ad campaign that appears to put the Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone firmly in the crosshairs.
Although Verizon hasn’t officially announced details of the phone, The Boy Genius Report has posted a review as well as supposed photos of the device. The only information Verizon is currently offering is a teaser Web site.
Formerly known as the “Sholes,” the Droid is slightly thicker than an iPhone 3GS and has a slider keyboard, according to The Boy Genius Report. It is made of metal and very sturdy.
The Droid is also very fast, according to the review. Its QWERTY keyboard has a soft-touch rubberized finish, but the keyboard design may not yet be entirely finalized. The Droid will be shipped with a desktop cradle-cum-charger that will turn it into a multimedia station.
Let’s hope that Verizon doesn’t lock the phone down like a maximum security prison.
IMHO it’s a bad move to advertise against another brand, which Verizon is doing with the Droid “iDont” campaign. It’s cute, but it also helps Apple by positioning iPhone as the standard to which all phones should be compared. Why not convince us to buy the Droid on its own features instead of making us think of an iPhone?
AAPL “Shares were up 8.3% to $203.62 in after-hours trading, as the results easily beat the company’s forecasts. The stock has more than doubled this year and is now trading above its all-time high of $202.96 in December 2007.”
ROTS OF RUCK!
The DROID looks ‘old fashioned’ to me. I will go great with your ‘classic car’…
Fairly or not the iPhone is the metric by which everything is being judged right now.
I’m going to announce a new sentiment that will compete directly with apathy. It’s a key bored expression, and presents a stronger case.
iYawn
One thing I never liked about the iPhone. That’s AT&T, so I am hoping if not for the iPhone to come to Verizon then at least one that competes.
Droid might be that next phone if as someone else said. Verizon can keep it opened up and allow it to be what the user wants it to be. I have a iPod touch and believe me much of the App store is full of crap. I browse through it often and the reviews of many of these apps are rated pretty poor. So just having a bunch of lousy apps does not impress me.
Does this mean the iPhone won’t be coming to Verizon anytime soon? I thought there were rumors of it arriving at Big Red in 2010.
I will reserve judgment until I see it in the flesh.
Apple revolutionized the lame cell market with a device completely out of left field which is the reason for it’s success. So why is it, that every “iPhone killer” is a carbon copy of the iPhone with a sidekick keyboard slapped in? Haven’t we seen this before? I guess this is how the handset manufacturers operate…knockoff what the other guy is doing, slap a logo on it and call it a day.
“The Droid will be shipped with a desktop cradle-cum-charger that will turn it into a multimedia station.”
Something about spending my childhood inside a Catholic school makes me think there’s something very dirty in that sentence.
[
– ed.]
Too bad it only costs $23599 without a contract.
It has a lot of nice touches; there is a vent on the back to let out heat, -and- a removable battery, both big design upgrades over the iPhone. The screen is bigger, and it has a keyboard, but it’s only a milimeter thicker. Hopefully Verizon won’t screw it up, God knows that they have conspired to make all of their phones ugly and barely usable for years.
@5 – I love ya, man.
Started seeing the TV ads in the last day or so. Looks cool — multitasking, open development, etc.