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Since it’s introduction, the AT&T logo has reminded many users of the Death Star. Sure, that’s not what it’s supposed to look like but no matter how many times they tweak it, I just see the Death Star. So it was amusing to me when over the weekend the first leaks (or release depending on your point of view) came about Verizon’s latest campaign about a phone called the Droid that’s poised to take on the iPhone.
The teaser campaign is somewhat an extension of Verizon’s ads over the last few weeks, in which it’s been touting the strength of its network coverage to the refrain of “there’s a map for that”. This new campaign isn’t nearly as subtle and takes aim at Apple with a whole series of “iDont’s” all pointing at perceived weakness of the iPhone. Well, one thing’s for certain, it doesn’t appear that there’s going to be a Verizon iPhone anytime soon unless you take an iPod touch and pair it with a Verizon MiFi.
I haven’t seen the Droid but I’m little skeptical. Rumor has it as a MOTO based Android device, and even running on Verizon’s network there’s a lot that it’s going to need to do. I also don’t love the campaign. Going head to head with Apple over issues like removable batteries and other features has failed for every vendor in the iPod space (SanDisk and Creative both tried similar approaches). Consumers are clearly OK with Apple’s feature set so it’s going to take a lot more than going negative to gain some ground. Here are the big issues that the Droid needs to be able to showcase.
Network vs. Network. It’s a perceived issue but perception is reality that AT&T’s network is the iPhone’s weak link in the US. Granted, I’ve had issues (over the summer at Kennedy airport in NY I needed to make an urgent call and no matter how many bars the phone told me I had, the call would not go through. I finally had to hop on airport WiFi and make the call over Skype). Over the last few months though AT&T has beefed up their network and I find in the NY area it works about as well as anyone else’s, which means I still drop calls and have some connection issues, the same issues I have with every network
Media centricity and sync. This is critical. Palm gets it. Microsoft gets it, RIM gets it. Only Google doesn’t seem to understand the importance of syncing content to a device from a PC and not just dragging and dropping. Right now the iPhone is the only device where media functionality drives purchases. Without a better Android solution for getting content on a device, it’s not a contender.
Cool factor. iPhones are as much about style and cachet and, like the iPod before it, transcend gender, age and other demographic tenures. Younger folks don’t mind using an iPhone even though older folks might use them too. Sort of the same way they feel about things like BMWs. This better be one hip Droid.
App catalog. It’s a different world. Apps matter and the depth and breadth of a platform’s catalog is going to help decide in a big way who wins and who loses. Largest selection and most exclusives win. The Droid better have some apps and functions I can’t get anywhere else and those had better be ones that matter.
At the end of the day, no one is going to out iPhone the iPhone. Handset vendors and carriers must change the game, much like Palm did by introducing Synergy and changing the way apps are approved and sold, or HTC by providing new degrees of features in a UI not available on other platforms. Attacking the iPhone head on is a little like trying to fly directly at the Death Star in an X-Wing.
This Droid had better find a better weakness or it’s going to end just another used phone for sale in a Jawa flea market.
Michael Gartenberg is vice president of strategy and analysis at Interpret, LLC. His weblog can be found at gartenblog.net. Contact him at Gartenberg AT gmail DOT com Views expressed here are his own.
5 Responses to “Can a Droid take on the Death Star?”
KojakWeb October 21, 2009
Cool factor. As a European Hero owner I could be accused of being biased. But on numerous occassions when I’ve used the phone in public, I’ve had the person next to me strike comment on how cool my phone was asked me more about it. They all liked the trackball, they all loved the widgets and they were all iPhone owners! I think it’s quite telling that people are starting to out grow the limitations of the iPhone’s GUI, and starting to look at alternatives (like Android and WebOS).
+4Rattyuk October 21, 2009
“They all liked the trackball, they all loved the widgets and they were all iPhone owners!”
I don’t believe you. But, even if I did, doesn’t it make you feel a bit odd that everyone else appeared to be using the iPhone?
Look the droid might be the best things since sliced bread. But at the moment it is a device based solely on hype. Verizon are obviously pissed that they don’t have it which is a little ironic in that they were offered it first but said no. Several million subscribers later the same management is in control and they are clutching at anything to pull back some of the losses.
The question about the droid that needs answering is can Verizon keep out of the way and let the openness of the thing work for it or will they try and control things. The first clue to this will be the app store. Will Verizon allow the droid to connect to the android store or will there be a Verizon run droid store.
If it is the latter then the device is done for and worse than that it will effectively fragment the android value in and of itself. So let’s see what happens when this thing comes out.
+2KojakWeb October 21, 2009
“….doesn’t it make you feel a bit odd that everyone else appeared to be using the iPhone?”
Not at all, the iPhone was released a good 2 years before the HTC Hero came out, and I wouldn’t even begin to deny just how successful the iPhone has been, still is and will continue to be. But, and maybe I didn’t stress this enough, it’s telling that:
a) the only people who asked me about my HTC Hero were iPhone owners, and not owners of feature phones or other smart phones. Read into that what you will, but Apple’s smartphone marketshare is small when compared to the other players, particularly Nokia.
b) they were impressed that my phone could support multitasking/widgets/etc., and they expressed frustation that their iPhones couldn’t do multitasking (save music playback)!
And that’s what struck me as odd, these people weren’t gadget geeks, just ordinary users, and yet they had grown to dislike the limitations of the iPhone. I’m not talking about a huge sample of people here, about 5 people, 4 of which were complete strangers. Whether you believe me or not is neither here nor there, most iPhone reviews have expressed the same sentiments on this issue, particularly on the 3gs. I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple were to completely change their UI/OS to support widgets/multitasking. I do believe that the iPhone is a better phone, it’s also a better multimedia device (it supports TV-Out), it offers a better casual gaming experience and has faster performance, and it is the reason why I also own an iPhone (it’s my business phone).
+2therombus October 22, 2009
I think you guys are looking at this ad the wrong way.
Anyone would be foolish to try and compete with Apple at its own game, especially at this stage.
I think Verizon is not trying to push the Droid is an iPhone-killer, but rather as an anti-iPhone. That is, focus on the fact that its NOT THE iPHONE more than try to convince Apple fans to switch. Believe it or not, not everyone wants an iPhone.
There’s a more detailed explanation here:
+5http://www.mopocket.com/2009/1.....rategy.php
Notneeded November 1, 2009
Not only can it take it on, the ewoks i mean the droids are slowly winning the battle next year the war.
+2