Today is the day! Verizon Wireless is rolling out the Motorola Droid with the hope of winning back market share from customers who defected to AT&T Wireless and the Apple iPhone. With the Droid, backed by Google, Verizon Wireless just might have a chance. Where the Blackberry Storm failed, Google and Droid might succeed.
Verizon Wireless is certainly attacking the iPhone head-on with its new Droid ads. Check out one of the commercials below. There is no doubt what the message of this ad is.
Of course, it’s just Day 1, so the verdict is still out, but smartphone consumers have been waiting anxiously for Verizon Wireless, considered to have the best network in the United States, to catch up to AT&T and the iPhone. Can the Droid on the best network compete with the coolest phone on a substandard network?
Keep in mind, Verizon Wireless had the opportunity to be the “it” wireless carrier. The company was given the chance to pick up the exclusive iPhone deal with Apple, but the company passed. The result? AT&T stole some market share and Verizon Wireless hasn’t been able to recoup those customers yet. Without its superior network and the continued hold on the business marketplace by RIM’s Blackberry, Verizon Wireless would really be in trouble.
Fortunately, Verizon Wireless realized that the clock was ticking. The Storm might not have delivered (although rumors of a new version of the Storm leave some consumers hopeful of improvement), but the Droid just might. Let’s face it. There seems to be a battle to take over the world in terms of brand dominance. For the tech-related world, Google and Apple are leading the pack but in very different ways. Now, they’re poised to battle somewhat directly. Who will win? This should be fun to watch!
And that brings me to my question — what smartphone would you get? The Droid on Verizon Wireless’ network or the iPhone on AT&T’s network?
Susan Gunelius is the author of 10 marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and technology books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, an award-wining blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com and Forbes.com, and her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, TodayShow.com, and more.
She has over 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Today, her clients include large and small companies around the world and household brands like Citigroup, Cox Communications, Intuit, and more. Susan is frequently interviewed about marketing and branding by television, radio, print, and online media organizations, and she speaks about these topics at events around the world. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.
I will go for iPhone mainly because my primary interests are gaming and browsing… best done in iPhone
I really like the design of the Motorola Droid. Got mine about 2 days ago.
Love the alarm clock feature with the dock station. Hope they make a new version without the keyboard so it can be thinner. The digital keyboard is good enoug for me.
Navigation is really fast thanks to Android 2.0. Typing is kinda hard on the keyboard because of the 4 way navigation pad that is in the way.
Nah, whatever I think the Droid is awesome and can easily take the iPhone.
Well I am not in love with the bumpers apple is offering. I found some cooler cases that remedy the antenna problem. Why do i have to wait up to 4 weeks for some crappy bumper? I still do not know why Apple sent out the new iphone 4g with a defect this bad?