Motorola Droid Challenges iPhone

Motorola Droid Courtesy Of BGR

How do you knock out the popularity of the Apple iPhone in one shot? Run a 30 second TV ad that points out everything the most popular phone in the universe CAN’T do and exploit the virtues of the little phone that could. That’s why this little Motorola ditty has been running for a week now:

And you know what? It’s a brilliant marketing concept. If Motorola and Verizon play their cards right, the iPhone will become known as the “iDon’t” phone. But still, they’re just standing on the shoulders of giants.

The landscape was forever changed by the iPhone and even Apple is competing with itself. Today, their latest earnings report was released and they exceeded expectations by pulling down nearly 10 billion dollars in revenue for the 4th Quarter in 2008. So it looks like the budget will be there for some improvements and upgrades to a phone that clearly isn’t going anywhere. Yet.

So what does the Droid offer? Shrouded in mystery since July, so far only The Boy Genius Report has had a hands on look, and they report some very favorable features, including a 3.7-inch capacitive display (854 by 480 pixels resolution) and a 5-megapixel camera with flash, autofocus and video recorder. The new phone also comes loaded with GPS and Wi-Fi capability. Plus it’s Bluetooth 2.0 compatible and has the treasured 3.5mm headphone jack. Don’t forget the ultra-slim, slide out QWERTY keyboard! That’s been a knock on the iPhone since it was first introduced.

Motorola Droid 2 Courtesy of Boy Genius Report

So what’s all the hubbub bub?

Quite simply, it’s the processor. Running a TI OMAP3430, BGR reports it’s lightning fast and the huge display is “awesome” and brilliant. Operating on Droid 2.0 Motorola is placing the unit with Verizon to catch hold of their extensive, nationwide 3G network for optimum running speed and connectivity.

So, like all handhelds, if it ain’t got the signal it’s pretty much a rotary phone with an antenna and a screen. Beware of the 2 year contract!

This is all really just an abject lesson in futility though. The top secret Google project being rumored about for years is about to blow all these phones out of the water. When they introduce their own Droid (Spring? Summer?) the word on the street is that it will take everyone to a higher level, never even hinted at yet.  And the kicker? Absolutely free of charge. Ads pay for it all.

The next slogan to upset the Apple iCart?

Phone bill? What phone bill?

Source: EgoTV » Tech