Several devices, from the BlackBerry Storm to the Palm Pre, have hit the market hoping to be an iPhone killer, but none of them have so far succeeded. And while it's unlikely the new Motorola Droid will knock the iPhone off its perch as the top consumer smartphone in the world, it could be in a position to pose the most serious challenge yet to the iPhone's unquestioned supremacy.
One reason for optimism is the fact that the Droid is the first Android-based phone being sold exclusively by Verizon. Although Verizon has lagged behind Sprint and T-Mobile in releasing devices that run on Google's open source mobile platform, it is aiming to catch up quickly. Verizon and Google recently entered into an agreement to jointly develop wireless devices based on the Android mobile platform. With more than 86 million wireless subscribers, Verizon is the largest carrier so far to support Android-based devices.
Round 1: The hardware
As noted previously, the Droid runs on the TI OMAP 3430 processor, one of the top processors on the market. All indications are the Droid will exploit the processor's potential to the fullest, as Verizon is touting the device's ability to run simultaneous applications as one of its key features. In addition to its application-switching capabilities, the TI OMAP 3430 is also a very fast processor. The Boy Genius Report says that the processor has made the Droid "the fastest Android device we've ever used."
Round 2: Keyboards and screens
One of the few complaints users have about the iPhone is that it doesn't have a physical QWERTY keyboard users can access for easy typing. The Droid plans to one-up its rival by offering users a full horizontal slide-out keyboard that features broader keys than devices such as the BlackBerry Tour.
As far as screen displays go, Computer World's Seth Weintraub has noted that according to Federal Communications Commission filings, the Droid's screen displays video at 854x480 pixels, which is higher than the 640x480-pixel display that is used by the iPhone 3GS.
Round 3: The operating systems
J.D. Power's surveys of smartphone users have consistently given the iPhone operating system the highest scores for reliability and ease of use. The Android operating system, on the other hand, is still a relative unknown even though devices that employ it have been on the market for more than a year.
One reason Android is a wild card is that its performance so far has largely depended on the quality of the device on which it runs. If the Droid really does live up to the hype as the fastest Android smartphone yet to hit the market, we could see Android live up to its potential for the first time.
Round 4: Applications
This is another advantage for the iPhone, as Apple's App Store has been a runaway success that has served more than 2 billion downloads and features more than 85,000 applications. When Google first developed Android as an open source mobile operating system, it said the platform's goal was to spur innovation within the mobile development community and also to give users the ability to switch to new carriers without switching their mobile devices. So far, though, Google Android Market has not yet been able to create an online applications store comparable to the App Store, although that could change once Android becomes available on more devices over the next year.
Round 5: Carrier quality
IPhone users love to complain about AT&T. And they've got lots of survey data to back them up, as Verizon has continuously come out ahead of AT&T in customer satisfaction rankings and studies on call quality and data coverage. The problem for Verizon is that it has lacked a home-run device such as the iPhone to drag away customers from rival carriers. With the BlackBerry Storm selling well initially but also receiving mediocre reviews, Verizon is hoping that either the Droid or the Storm sequel will give it the flagship device it has been looking for.
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