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2009-11-08 03:58:24
by Glenn Chapman Glenn Chapman Thu Nov 5, 10:01 pm ET
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) A Motorola Droid smart phone goes on sale Friday, joining
the growing ranks of smart phones on the open-source operating system backed by
Google.
With Droid, which will work on the Verizon telecom network, Motorola is taking
on mobile devide powerhouses such as Apple, Nokia and Research in Motion (RIM).
"People are gravitating to Android phones because they are different and
trendy. Droid may be the new 'in' phone," said analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle
Group in Silicon Valley.
Taiwan-based HTC brought the first Android phone to market late last year.
Google chief executive Eric Schmidt recently proclaimed that the smart phone
market was on the cusp of an "explosion" of Android devices.
Market tracking firm Gartner agrees, predicting that there will be at least 40
models of Android phones within a year, and that they will be the second place
mobile platform by the end of 2012.
Reports surfaced on Thursday that Verizon is poised to add an HTC Android phone
to its stable.
"In a few years Android will be the second most popular smart phone running
neck-and-neck with Apple," Gartner analyst Van Baker told AFP on Thursday.
Apple iPhones have become coveted devices since they were introduced in early
2007.
Verizon and Motorola have managed to create a marketplace buzz with mysterious
video featuring fighter jets releasing metal pods that slam like meteorites
into forest, sea, and prairie.
The pods crack open to give glimpses of Droid devices, then end with a cowboy
uttering "What in the world is that?" and a message that proclaims Friday the
"drop date."
Verizon poked at Apple with 'iDon't' advertising highlighting things iPhones
lacks, and US newspapers on Thursday sported full-page ads heralding the
Droid's arrival.
Droid devices are likely to pose more of a threat to Blackberry smart phones
made by Canada-based RIM than they are to iPhones, according to analysts.
"It's not an iPhone killer," Gartner vice president of mobile computing Ken
Dulaney said of Droid.
"This is really about changing the mix at Verizon. It will be some attack on
RIM."
Blackberry devices dominate the Verizon network, and the Droid offering will
give subscribers a tempting alternative to RIM devices.
Meanwhile, iPhones in the United States are serviced exclusively by telecom
colossus AT&T, which has no Android smart phones on its network.
"Droid is not going to draw anyone away from AT&T to Verizon," Dulaney said.
"It will keep people at Verizon from going to AT&T and keep some people from
going to Blackberry."
US smart phone users get discounted prices on handsets in exchange for signing
multi-year service contracts with carriers.
Breaking contracts typically results in hefty fees, a fact likely to discourage
people from switching to Verizon just to have Droid phones, according to
analysts.
"RIM is likely to get hurt in Verizon and lose a lot of business," Baker said,
suggesting subscribers will be lured to Droid handsets while not having to
change carriers.
Droid is built with a slide-out keyboards, which appeal to smart phone users
prone to typing as is the case with Blackberry devotees, said Dulaney.
RIM is rising to the challenge with the release later this month of a Bold 9700
smart phone.
"The Bold 9700 is outstanding," Dulaney said. "For those that like keyboards it
is top-of-the-class."
Blackberry devices appeal to a "different class of user" that likes typing and
demands a secure network for taking care of business or other sensitive
matters, according to the analyst.
"(US President Barack) Obama is not going to be using iPhone," Dulaney said.
"There isn't security in iPhone and Android is a little weaker with support."
Microsoft may end up a victim of Android's success, with the Google software
supplanting the Redmond, Washington technology giant's mobile operating system
as an industry standard.
"Android is taking the place of what Microsoft wanted to be, the licensed
operating system for smart phones," Dulaney said.