Verizon Goes on Offensive Against iPhone Again With 'Droid Does' Teasers

[pdjudd]

Windows worked out pretty well being an open platform that can be installed on x86 hardware.

Re-read my post where I specificually said "Other than the desktop market". That would include Windows since they are the one with 90% market share. Also read where I (and many other tech experts) have argued that success was a fluke.

I also disagree with your assertion of Windows Mobile - Sure it was crap, but it still was hugely successful until the iPhone came around. Of course the cellular market is rife with competition from several other platforms. Open OR closed, you have to make a good product.

Just because a platform is open doesn't mean it'll be a success. Doesn't mean it won't be, either.

The quote I was addressing was that open platforms always win. I have yet to see that be the case anywhere outside of the desktop market. My point stands. Who cares about quantity - it's quality and your ability to leverage prior successes. That can be had even on closed systems.

I don't know but just look at Google as a company and see how they've grown with this mentality. Sure they are the smallest of all the OS's but I wouldn't count them out just because of it. Their platform will continue to evolve, its on version 2.0.

Google's approach is internet based services which is platform agnostic. They don't care about hardware in as much. It's kind of hard to say who they are competing with, if anybody. The only OS they have is Android, which is the same flawed approach of Windows Mobile. Who knows what Google is planning, but whatever it is, its not a desktop based one.

WinMo isn't doing great, but you look at the ZuneHD, and talk of WinMo 7 and you can't help but think that when its released it will be on par with Android and iPhone OS.

But that's the future - anything can happen when you make a plea for "some day" what matters is what is happening now.

 

[Number 41]

But you are looking/comparing 2 different markets. I mean why do you think Jailbreaking is so popular. People love to customize their phones, run what they want, all those things...Android is a lot better in that sense than the iPhone (legally that is) and that was my point.

I'd be shocked if the numbers on jailbreaking were more than 3-5% of all iPhone users.

I know it's tough for most of us (who took the time to sign up for an Apple-oriented message board) to fathom, but the overwhelming majority of consumers really don't give a crap about most of the things we complain about or the things that "Droid Does."

At the end of the day, most phones do about the same thing, and people are swayed by things like "Having the cool phone everyone else wants." Apple's got that. They need to work hard to keep it, but until that changes, they'll be in the driver's seat.

 

[Legolover64]

I eagerly look forward to this device's release. Finally, something to show Apple what's up, and what they're doing wrong. Pretty much every point in that video (except the 5 megapixel on, resolution means nothing, it's optics) is a huge fault that the iPhone is missing. I'm excited to see what happens. Please, koolaid drinking fanboys, remember that competition is good. Apple is not your best friend, and so you don't really need to stand up for them...

 

[Unprocessed1]

iDon't Droid Does will be very effective. Tops Dell's "Lolipop" ad which was ah-mazing.

Haha, that was a very funny ad, it's tough to forget it

 

[cababah]

The people getting productive on the iPT are the same people that would get productive on the iPhone. That's because they're the same thing, sans the camera, 3G and GPS on the iPT. Same apps are available on both, so why would there be a difference in productivity?

Maybe because the iPT crowd has to rely on a Wi-Fi connection to be "productive" while iPhone users can use cellular data to get things done. Having to rely on Wi-Fi all the time is kind of counter-productive IMO.

 

[ellsworth]

Did anyone else notice the legal copy at the beginning of the commercial bottom-left in white stating: "LucasArts Film LTD..." What's the deal with that

 

[kironin]

I hate Verizon more than I do AT&T. They all suck.
and if I wanted a physical keyboard I wouldn't haven't gotten an iPhone. 3 MP produces plenty nice pictures.

that said, competition is fine.
if it actually lives up to the hype in terms of usability.

of course there are some critical apps I use daily that would be a show stopper if not on the Droid, so specs aren't everything.

 

[xhambonex]

I'd be shocked if the numbers on jailbreaking were more than 3-5% of all iPhone users.

I know it's tough for most of us (who took the time to sign up for an Apple-oriented message board) to fathom, but the overwhelming majority of consumers really don't give a crap about most of the things we complain about or the things that "Droid Does."

At the end of the day, most phones do about the same thing, and people are swayed by things like "Having the cool phone everyone else wants." Apple's got that. They need to work hard to keep it, but until that changes, they'll be in the driver's seat.

Yeah I'm sure the number is low, but if Apple offered the feature to customize the background and Android didn't then everyone would be confused why something so basic wouldn't be offered. I mean iPhone customers put up with no MMS for 3 years, that doesn't people didn't care.

Google's approach is internet based services which is platform agnostic. They don't care about hardware in as much. It's kind of hard to say who they are competing with, if anybody. The only OS they have is Android, which is the same flawed approach of Windows Mobile. Who knows what Google is planning, but whatever it is, its not a desktop based one.

Well they have cared enough to work with HTC and Moto very closely to get these devices up and going. The only have Android now, I don't know why you think its a flawed approach, I mean I could be way wrong but isn't Symbian the same thing you are saying won't work. It has the largest marketshare 46% and its open source.

Google is planning a Chrome OS, whether that be for notebooks, laptops, or desktops no one is certain but I think the target is note/netbook level devices.

 

[cababah]

True, iphone has the most apps, but the number of apps are growing on android, while many probably being crappy too. Most of the apps on the iphone seem to be games, which are mostly lame tilt screen stuff (sorry but it is terrible for gaming, except for card games IMHO) or silly stuff like iFart. The whole "smart phone" phenomenon is kind of overrated to me.. Its just another way for biz to provide another mostly useless utility (e.g. monthly fixed cost). I guess thats why I still don't have one Regarding PMP not being productive, I kind of disagree with that. If the touch had a louder speaker, better battery life, it could be very useful: I currently use my cell for reminders, schedules, alarm clock, etc.

I respectfully disagree about the iPhone being terrible for gaming. Show me a cell phone that offers better gaming than the iPhone. Granted, it is no PSP/Nintendo DS, but for a phone, it is pretty darn good at being entertaining and killing some time. I don't think people use their iPhones to sit down for hours beating a game but more to kill brief periods of time and for that, I think it does an excellent job.

Once again, the idea that you see the monthly fixed cost is personal opinion. If you were to take a poll of the iPhone users you would notice that it is one of the few devices that actually provides an enjoyable internet browsing experience (data use).

I guess we see the term "productivity" a little different. I consider it the ability to do online banking wherever, view important websites, check/respond to e-mail as productive tasks where you listed calendar, appointments and an alarm clock. I don't really consider that productivity but more "organizational" tasks which any piece of technology does these days no matter how cheap.

 

[DarkKnightNine]

Competition is a good thing!

While the commercial is very convincing and targets very relevant iPhone weaknesses, it does make one very huge mistake. It openly challenges Apple to do better. And unlike Microsucks, Apple is likely to response in favor. Competition is a good thing. The iPhone has dominated for far too long. I'm happy that someone has finally made a decent challenge to Apple so they can get off their proverbial arses and make the iPhone even better. Can't wait to buy the new and improved iPhone. Thanks Verizon.

 

[arjen92]

Nice, another geek cell-phone only geeks want (so that would be me). I don't see the advantages except if you want to invest time into it.

Widgets you don't need (especially not when an app opens just as quick), multiple apps, I can't even do multitasking (neither can women, they only change what they do immensely fast so it looks like they do multiple stuff, just like the ipod touch and iPhone). Who wants to make pictures in the dark (really, in the dark, oh look at me; I'm in the dark, you can't see where I am).
5 MegaPixels says nothing, It's all about the lenses, size of the chip, white balance etc. Just give me a DSLR. "I don't want to always carry my camera with me, just make pictures with my phone", yeah like you need 5 MegaPixels for facebook, come on.

So really, no competition. And if you want to install every app available without apple to interfere, you can always hack your iphone, probably the same hassle as finding and installing stuff you want on your android.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

I'd be shocked if the numbers on jailbreaking were more than 3-5% of all iPhone users.

I know it's tough for most of us (who took the time to sign up for an Apple-oriented message board) to fathom, but the overwhelming majority of consumers really don't give a crap about most of the things we complain about or the things that "Droid Does."

At the end of the day, most phones do about the same thing, and people are swayed by things like "Having the cool phone everyone else wants." Apple's got that. They need to work hard to keep it, but until that changes, they'll be in the driver's seat.

Then prepared to be shocked. As of August 5th it was at 8.43% of iPhone/iTouch users have jail broken. This is up from 6.93% 3 months before hand. That is quite a jump in Jail broken phones in a very short span of time.
http://justanotheriphoneblog.com/wo...age-of-jailbroken-iphone-users-rises-a-little

 

[skeep5]

Saw pics if this thing over at AI.

Yuck.

If that's the real photo of this product, Double Yuck.

 

[Number 41]

Yeah I'm sure the number is low, but if Apple offered the feature to customize the background and Android didn't then everyone would be confused why something so basic wouldn't be offered. I mean iPhone customers put up with no MMS for 3 years, that doesn't people didn't care.

Of course it means people didn't care -- the iPhone 3g launched with no MMS a year after the original iPhone launched with no MMS and people still flocked to it. They might have been mildly annoyed, or dropped the occasional "Oh, I kinda wish my phone did that" when a friend received a picture message, but it certainly wasn't a dealbreaker when it came to moving product. And, I certainly don't think they would've gained many additional sales if it was around.

Ditto background application running.

Ditto custom springboard screens.

Ditto custom alert sounds.

Ditto lack of open-source support and open-platform development.

Apple has done 3 launches of the iPhone platform with basically the same complaints circling around each time. Each time, there have been phones on the market that did the things Apple didn't, and each time consumers flocked to Apple for the iPhone.

The bottom line here is that, at this particular moment in time, the complaints of the hardcores simply don't register with the average consumer. They're happy with the iPhone product (AT&T service is another matter entirely). The things Android is attacking are things the consumers have already voted against with their wallets.

Android needs to do something game-changing with their technology to swing things -- the same way Apple will (eventually) need to make another game-changing move with the iPod/iPhone line to stay ahead of the development curve.

It's chess. Right now, Apple is about 15 moves ahead of Google. That's not to say it'll never change, but it's foolhardy to pass off the truth as "Fanboi nonsense."

 

[LagunaSol]

While the commercial is very convincing and targets very relevant iPhone weaknesses, it does make one very huge mistake. It openly challenges Apple to do better. And unlike Microsucks, Apple is likely to response in favor. Competition is a good thing. The iPhone has dominated for far too long. I'm happy that someone has finally made a decent challenge to Apple so they can get off their proverbial arses and make the iPhone even better. Can't wait to buy the new and improved iPhone. Thanks Verizon.

Indeed. Here's what the haters don't understand: the "flaws" in the iPhone could be fixed almost overnight if sales demanded it. Multitasking? Apple flips a switch and it happens. 5 megapixel and LED flash? Stop the assembly line, cram them in. These competitors are doing nothing that Apple couldn't easily do themselves almost instantly.

The problem for the competitors is they don't have it that easy. They can't just conjure up Apple's software design and application ecosystem. That's a multi-year process (which is why we haven't seen WinMo 7 yet). They think they can just bump up the hardware specs and woo buyers. Not gonna happen (see Zune HD).

Is it frustrating to us Apple customers that Apple doesn't include all these features right now? Sure. But if Verizon thinks they'll have a competitive edge because their phone will have a 5 MP camera with a flash, they're smoking something funny.

 

[Number 41]

Then prepared to be shocked. As of August 5th it was at 8.43% of iPhone/iTouch users have jail broken. This is up from 6.93% 3 months before hand. That is quite a jump in Jail broken phones in a very short span of time.
http://justanotheriphoneblog.com/wo...age-of-jailbroken-iphone-users-rises-a-little

I'll take credit for my small addition to that number with my recent jailbreak.

I figured around 5%, so 8.5% is more mildly surprising than shocking.

Wonder if Apple is watching Cydia to see what features people are modding on for their next iPhone OS update. Probably not, but it's nice to think someone might be paying attention.

 

[i.e.Mac]

From what I can tell, according to the "crypted" coundown thingy on droiddoes.com, it will either be released or a big news event about it will occur in 10 days, 6 hours and 55 minutes. (well, the 10 days part is the important bit.)

 

[McBeats]

Not losing customers at all....

http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=66212

but that was a half yr ago, before 3gs release...

 

[gugy]

bye, bye iPhone on Verizon.

Not that I care but I highly doubt Steve Jobs will be kind to Verizon after this.

 

[heads up]

that commercial got me interested....... then I scrolled down and saw a pic of the phone. I'll pass on that, thanks anyways.

 

[LagunaSol]

I find it amazing how 100% of the people in this thread haven't used the device in question, and probably a huge percentage also hasn't spent any time with Android in general.

I've spent time with Android. My take? Unrefined and unready. Geeks may swoon over its "open" status and potential for hardware variety, but the vast majority of customers won't care one bit. Put an Android phone next to an iPhone and Joe Q. Consumer is going to pick the iPhone - because it's more user-focused and because it has mindshare.

You know what? Let's just have the iPhone. It's the best. That way Apple will never innovate further, and you'll all be happy there's no competition.

I don't know that anyone is saying that. And there certainly isn't anything wrong with criticizing an Apple competitor either.

I'd love to see competitors pushing Apple to do better. And as an AAPL shareholder and a user of their products, I'd also love to see those competitors fail with their "iPhone killer" attempts.

 

[I WAS the one]

I owned an iPhone and a G1 and let me tell you something. Android is getting there. Apple needs to put more attention to improve the iPhone because Google is hungry for success. I can do a lot more with my G1 and I need to admit also that the iPhone looks more cooler in the GUI and the iPhone never crash to the point I need to restart it as I need to do with my G1. but I was playing with the Hero from Sprint and HTC did a great job with the GUI and the velocity of the OS in android. so... Apple starts this movement and they need to stay on top before is too late.

 

[The General]

Remember the Samsung Instinct ads? "Instinct vs. iPhone" ... Yeah. Look how that turned out. They sold, what? 3 phones? Good luck, Verizon.

 

[xhambonex]

I'd love to see competitors pushing Apple to do better. And as an AAPL shareholder and a user of their products, I'd also love to see those competitors fail with their "iPhone killer" attempts.

And that's what will continue to happen, though I will say that if you took away the logo and the name and put it side by side with say the HD2 or Hero or even the Droid you might not get the same results.

The point, the name and brand pulls a lot of weight.

The bottom line here is that, at this particular moment in time, the complaints of the hardcores simply don't register with the average consumer. They're happy with the iPhone product (AT&T service is another matter entirely). The things Android is attacking are things the consumers have already voted against with their wallets.

It's chess. Right now, Apple is about 15 moves ahead of Google. That's not to say it'll never change, but it's foolhardy to pass off the truth as "Fanboi nonsense."

Ok heres the difference, this isn't trying to get iPhone customers to switch, its more of an attempt to keep its customer base around and grab hold of the rest of the android market.

You're right most people are plenty happy enough to put up with whatever and keep their iphone. I have an iPod touch, I hate the fact that it doesn't let me use songs for an alarm clock, I deal with it though because I don't want to buy something else. And the majority of iPhones users are the same way.

Personally I still know people who are complaining since they haven't got MMS to work.

What Apple does best is creates products that are good enough to make you forget about what it lacks...but that doesn't mean people don't want something. Just look at the switch from iPhone to iPhone 3G to iPhone 3GS, you say people are fine without these features, but once Apple makes them available everyone thinks it standard and can't live without it.

 

[pr5owner]

Apple is way above other companies when it comes to technological innovation

you sound like your 12yrs old, apple really isnt above anyone except for creating brain washing ads

I agree that there are things that the iPhone doesn't do that many including myself would like, however the things that the iPhone does cant be matched on any device. I have used BB, Android, WM, and WebOS and all the browsers are pathetic compared to the iPhone. Second none of the others have an iPod, I dont want to carry another music player. I think that the amount of "razr" people that have adopted the iPhone speak to how well it does most of the things you want.

the current version of Mobile IE is based on deepfish, it does more things than safari does, or have you even used another phone other than the iphone? maybe in the last 3 years? opera mobile and opera mini have been out for quite some time now

dont like those 2? try skyfire

Come on guys...

I consider myself a heavy iPhone user and I agree with at least some of the criticism on the device:
- 3MP camera is average nowadays, I hoped for a 5MP on the 3GS
- BTW, I hope there would be a front facing one as well (2MP for iChats)

3MP is LAUGHABLE at best, in fact i think its a joke to be anyting less than 5

FFS samsung even has a 12MP 3x zoom GLASS LENS camera phone

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone...nveils-12mp-phone-with-3x-optical-zoom-639246

what does that 12MP make your 3mp cmos camera iphone look like?

also this isnt the first glass lens samsung phone, they've had a 5MP, 6MP, 8MP and a 10MP. its been out for at least 4-5 years, far longer than the n95 being first announced.

If that's the real photo of this product, Double Yuck.

yeah because the look of the phone is most important, same with the color of the car when purchasing a new vehicle. nothing else really matters.

in fact as long as it has an apple logo its fine right?

lol good thing you dont live in japan where people are actually up to date with technology

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/02/why-the-iphone/

Remember the Samsung Instinct ads? "Instinct vs. iPhone" ... Yeah. Look how that turned out. They sold, what? 3 phones? Good luck, Verizon.

you sound like you have no clue about what phones are out there, try these sites to improve your knowledge of the competition

http://pdadb.net/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/index.php