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Saturday October 17, 2009
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 Verizon's new Motorola Droid site is notable for more than its coded clock counting down to October 30. It's also full of direct attacks on Apple. The site says, in an Apple-like font with Apple-like graphic design:
idon't have a real keyboard
idon't run simultaneous apps
idon't take night shots
idon't allow open development
idon't customize
idon't run widgets
idon't have interchangeable batteries
everything idon't
droiddoes
For one last twist, the site makes its claims using Adobe Flash, which was recently announced for every major mobile OS except the iPhone. Flash on Android phones will require Android OS 2.0, which the Droid has.
The phrasing, ownership and branding of the site make a lot of interesting points. As John Gruber over at Daring Fireball points out, this is a Verizon site - Motorola doesn't make a single appearance. The competition set up here isn't Verizon vs. AT&T or Motorola vs. Apple, it's Verizon vs. Apple. As Rene Ritchie of the iPhone Blog says, Verizon wants to make it clear they have no intention of being a "dumb pipe" anytime soon.
Various Web sites are nitpicking Verizon's claims, but the most interesting phrase here is "open development." While Verizon is referring directly to Android's App Market, "open development" is a Verizon buzzword for a new project of theirs that approves mostly-non-phone devices through speedy means. Verizon gives up some control of open-development devices' branding, too. The irony here, of course, is that the Droid wasn't approved using the Verizon Open Development Initiative. If anything, it seems to be the opposite: the ultimate Verizon-specced, Verizon-branded device.
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October 19, 2009 4:31 PM
please don't suck, please don't suck, please don't suck....
October 21, 2009 1:52 PM
This is Verizons last chance to keep my business. If this phone is truly locked down I will take my business elsewhere. If the phone offers wifi I shouldn't have to pay for internet for $30 extra every month when its not as fast as my home, school or work networks. Which besides home is free.
October 26, 2009 9:07 PM
I was gonna get the Samsung Omnia II, but now the Motorola Droid.. Ah.. I'm melting to have this phone. I wish they would hurry up and interview it though... Does anyone know if it can taxt all 3 ways? i.e, full physical qwerty keyboard, full touch qwerty keyboard in landscape mode, and I already know about the regular touch-txt as if it were a normal phone. I asked this question on http://www.Motorola-Droid.org feel free to share your views.