
Droid Does Website Screenshot
So, Verizon is poised to release their answer to Apple's iPhone: DROID. In an ingenious marketing blitz, Verizon (in partnership with Google and Motorola) is promising "everything that iDon't ... DROID does."
Ingenious, because Verizon is iHinting that all of the claims they're making are aimed squarely at the iPhone, but by not mentioning Apple directly as a competitor, they can make claims about every competing phone, and without Apple legal asking forcefully requesting that they be truthful about what the iPhone can and cannot do in their advertisements, even though consumers will likely assume the claims relate primarily to the iPhone.
Until recently, the claims about what DROID can do, and what the iPhone (cough...and assorted competitors...cough) don't do, was limited to a series of quick blurbs as part of a guantlet-laying-down commercial assault. Now, Verizon's DROID webpage includes a lengthy list of accomplishments, making it fairly easy to pit the two against each other in a comparative feature-list death match.
Genuine (if sometimes technical) "DROID can, iPhone Don't" advantages that favor Verizon will be highlighted in green. Items which the iPhone actually does better will be struck out in red. If features appear more than once on the list, subsequent appearances will also be struck out.
...it's just posted up a specs page listing 256MB of RAM and a 600MHz CPU. That's up from 128MB and 412MHz in the first-gen and the 3G, and it's basically exactly what was rumored. Of course, the 3G S also has that new PowerVR SGX graphics chip that supports OpenGL ES 2.0, so the total speed boost is probably more than just pure clock speed... SOURCE
iPhone do. Granted, it takes bad night shots, but because Verizon later lists "Flash" as something DROID does, I'm not giving them two points, simply because they've described the same feature in two different ways.
iPhone don't. I'm giving DROID this one. Technically, the iPhone does do a network, and on paper, it's a fast network. With that said, the network that the iPhone does do, AT&T 3G, is pretty much the one thing about the iPhone that iPhone users routinely love to hate. Verizon, on the other hand, is often recognized as providing the best network in the industry. Will that change if people buy and use DROID phones as much as iPhone users use their iPhones? Maybe. But, the fact is, this is probably the best selling point for purchasing a DROID over an iPhone.
iPhone don't. Though, in this case, that's a good thing, and a strike against DROID. The iPhone is slightly thinner. (12.3mm)
If that's a deal breaker for a prospective buyer he/she should, well, avoid both the iPhone and DROID and go with a Palm Pre, which allows unrestricted multi-tasking for all of its apps. Finally, as much as I'd like to point out that multitasking is just another way to create performance issues on a smart phone, we'll just give this one to DROID.
Instead of touting the camera (again) in an area in which the iPhone would probably win (the iPhone has great touch based controls for lighting and focus when shooting pics or videos) Verizon just rehashes a bunch of features that they've already hashed, and throws out the term "focus".
That's a long list. 67 items long. The final tally?
Of those 67 items, only 13 are features that DROID can actually boast that the the iPhone don't do:
Of those 13, the features that are probably the most marketable as "if you need a smart phone that does this, you can't do it on the iPhone so maybe you should buy DROID instead" styled propaganda (keyboard, replaceable battery) are the same features that other smart phone makers (Palm Pre, cough) have tried to exploit in order to put a dent in the iPhones popularity and which have, by and large, failed spectacularly at doing so, due to consumer disinterest in said features.
Some of the 13 are features that, if anything, aid the iPhone's popularity (open development, multitasking) by their very absence, for a variety of reasons.
If the iPod has taught device makers anything (but apparently it hasn't) it's that cramming more features into a competing device and calling it "better for it" is a horrible strategy.
Approximately 20 of the remaining 54 items on the list are either 1) duplicate entries in which the same feature is listed multiple times under various different names or 2) features which are outclassed by similar features or specs on the iPhone. (Games, available apps, size.)
The last 34 or so items are features that the iPhone simply does not lack. Saying iDon't in reference to those features is wholly inaccurate.
Ultimately, a list like this is only worth much of anything if independent reviews back up the claims, and there simply aren't any real in-depth, hands-on review available to tell us whether that great big screen is as good as it sounds, if those two extra megapixels result in better pictures, if the keyboard types as well as tiny keyboards tend to type, which is to say, not very well, and if those 10,000 apps are of generally higher quality on average than the 95,000 available for the iPhone.
Of course, there's also this: A similar list, tilted in Apple's favor, could be drawn up to counter Verizon's 67 claims. The iPhone, for example, is available in a scaled down $99 version. DROID will start at $199. The iPhone has great touch controls for its camera app that are not duplicated on DROID.
Ultimately, DROID is another smart phone that does a lot of neat things, sometimes better than the iPhone, sometimes worse, that nevertheless faces a major uphill battle to win the mind-share of consumers who, for the most part, really want to own an iPhone.
Time will tell.
Yeah, I'm shallow, but the Droid is ugly. Seriously, the Cliq is sexier (if not precisely sexy), so what gives?
The rest, well, the next iteration of the iPhone may have them, or hopefully not (physical keyboard, I'm looking at you).
It isn't that I want the Droid to fail; it's that I don't see why it should succeed where the Cliq (also Motorola) or Pre wouldn't.
The Droid is definitely too Star Wars for its own good.
No no no, the old iRivers were Star Wars. The Droid is just unfortunate. (But I see what you tried to do, there!)
I wonder if it'd hold up if challenged...
Huh, that's interesting. I don't recall a time before "droid", and I've heard it in lots of contexts, after all, it's just short for "android", isn't it? Although I don't know that R2D2 should be an android, although C3P0 would? Anyway, language is fascinating.
Wow, that film apparently has a scary amount of mental real estate!
"everything that iDon't ... DROID does."
They could at least not steal their advertising slogans from 20-year-old Sega commercials.
- Real Keyboard
- WVGA 854x480
- 32GB Expansion
- The Network
- Multitasking
- 3.7" Display
- Dual Mic Technology
- 5 Megapixels
- Open Development
- Gtalk
- Android 2.0
- Notification Panel
- Replaceable Battery
The list of things that the DROID allegedly does that the iPhone doesn't may be small but it does have an impact as to the perceptions about the device and more importantly its value over the Apple product. Of course, Apple will most likely implement its own variations of these into the next iPhone.
I've said for a while that tactile buttons for a keyboard are more of an advantage than a disadvantage because you don't lose visual real-estate. Apple may have a hard time backing out of pure touch screen because the touch screen was the major initial selling point and the iPhone may not really be 'iPhone' in terms of spirit because of it. Also, tactile buttons make gaming on a device much easier... the touch screen for gaming is frustrating almost every time - but I wouldn't totally fault Apple for that - developers should approach interface design with a better sense of usability and consider the mechanics of the game. In whole, the touch screen fares well with most other apps outside of games so there's really no need for Apple to change it there either.
I'm not really going to mess with higher rez... I mean... that's for graphics junkies. Many people still think 1080p is better than 480p... and don't consider that viewing distance has a significant role in all of it too. So, the higher rez... may or may not be all that much of an 'advantage' and may or may not be simply a gimmick.
The removable battery is a good thing, but I also understand why Apple may not offer that. I think with Apple it has a lot less to do with making you buy a new one than it does prohibiting someone from cracking open the case and reverse engineering it. As you stated, the iPhone doesn't have 'open' apps in the same way that DROID will... so reverse engineering is a bigger deal to Apple, and rightfully so. On the other hand, it does sort of suck that you can't replace the battery when it begins to fail... win some / lose some.
Dual Mic.... it's not really a 'new' thing. Some Motorola phones have that - it just acts as noise canceling and echo reduction. In a way, it seems kind of contrived - rather than add a contrived feature to a device, why not just make a better device? I can see why it's a 'plus' because I sometimes am in windy areas or noisy places with my job and trying to talk to people means I need to step off the job site into a vehicle or trailer, and then you're not monitoring things... but overall... people have dealt with it for a while and my industry doesn't warrant the heavy use of iPhone or DROID... and those who have it for practical reasons I just can't picture them in a situation where echo cancellation and noise reduction is an issue of the device more than it is the carrier.
Multitasking on a phone might be cool, but Windows Mobile has been doing that - to what level of success I can't really claim as overly great, but it does it. When I had my HTC TyTn II it multi tasked and did many of the things the iPhone did... it was harder to do them, but I did them. Overall, the multi-tasking aspect would only be a plus if DROID did them efficiently, as in didn't eat battery power or if it prioritized tasks - like sending an email in the bg was lower priority than... streaming music.
I'm with you on the Gtalk thing... its a chat client... and? moving on.
5MPx... wooo I can finally take 5X8 pics with a phone.... ok I was being sarcastic. Most phone pics aren't really something that people keep and cherish. This may change and the quality of pics is getting better in phones, but it's still not something that the mexapixels have much to do with. I think the fact that they're not talking about color correction or lens shape says more than talking about mexapixels.
Open development is nice, but I think it's also going to be a pain. One of the issues I've always felt Linux had was that while you 'can do anything'... and 'there's likely an application for it'... there are so many of the same apps or kind of apps that update every hour (seemingly) that it becomes a jumbled mess of stuff. Sometimes art should be left to artists - not that budding developers aren't in any way developers, but opening it up to just anyone will make it harder for budding developers to be noticed. On the other hand it might urge them to make better apps so that they are noticed. We'll see.
32GB expansion - right NOW the iPhone doesn't, but given that the iPod is in 8GB, 32GB, and 64GB... my bet is the next iPhone will follow suit so while this is 'iDont', it is 'iWill' and to even think that Apple would be 'copying' in that sense is ridiculous because the iPod implemented it (which is the iPhone sans camera, mic, and phone)
I'm not overly excited about DROID, and it'll have to prove its worth, but I suspect that the majority of users will use the features not because they need it, but because it's there. DROID doesn't seem to have many reasons to buy it, only excuses - and so-so to bad ones.
Oh... and as for the 10,000 apps thing... I think Verizon is really trying to compare to 'launch' number which isn't exactly fair of them either since developing phone apps was something that Apple pushed and innovated. Verizon coming in later with 10,000 apps already developed isn't really anything to boast about. Besides, I'm sure the apps overlap in many areas.
@Iconclasm
peaking of which if you haven't seen the newest one, it's great
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpOvzGiheOM
Brings back memories. I started on Win 3.0 which was junk until Win 3.1 or was it 3.1.1?
[Great well researched and detailed article.]
Yeah... I think that "trust me" ad was a bit premature and seemed almost scared, but it was targeting the college kids I think. Win 7 is pretty smooth IMO... better than Vista and the 'issues' aren't really Windows issues but Intel drivers put out by Intel... but all in all... Windows 7 reminds me most of how solid 3.11 and 2000 were.
What people need to realize is that a list of "features" is never going to kill either the iPod *or* the iPhone. Companies never seem to try and figure out *why* people want Apple's products, they always start with "what can we put in a phone that Apple doesn't put in their product" not realizing that, with Apple, it's about leaving things out, not putting things in.
I agree... the iPod / iPhone devices are appealing to such a broad audience whereas things like DRIOD try to cater to certain parts of them... in a way it's as though emulating devices try to over specialize and therefore breed their own weaknesses. Things are compared to the iPhone and not the other way around - because devices like Pre and Droid are attempting to merely meet a standard rather than exceed a standard. Rather than take the whole package and expand upon it or enhance the experience, they attempt to take what they think are the best parts and focus on just those... and dilute or over extend the rest... iPhone isn't something you 'kill' anymore than you could 'Kill' Final Fantasy games...
I honestly don't know anyone who says that other than people who 1) haven't used an iPhone as their primary phone or 2) have never used one, period. I don't doubt that there are *some* people who really really hate the touch keyboard, but it's not the issue its detractors want it to be.
Having used both the HTC TyTNII (AT&T Tilt) and iPhone... I miss the tactile buttons for doing certain things. I can navigate on feel and I'm POSITIVE I'm on a button. Texting on my tilt was easier since I could see the whole screen. I had the option to touch it in, but I could type or use a stylus. The nice thing was that it didn't force me, the user, to adapt to a new way of doing something if I was comfortable with an 'archaic' way of doing it. I didn't have to scroll up or down to reference a return statement... but that's me. I know a few iPhone / iPod users aside from myself who remark that there is merit to tactile buttons... it's not a detraction, we can work around it, but why if we don't have to?
One, depends on the game. I'm playing Hook Champ, currently my favorite game on the iPhone, and man oh man is it *as good as* early Mario for precise controls. Also, games like Monkey Island and the recently re-released beneath a steel sky are *perfect* for the touch screen. And, I'm playing a Diablo clone (Dungeon Hunter) which does well, too. I can't imagine trying to play those games with the tiny keys on a Pre or DROID.
At any rate, touch controls weren't used well early on, are getting better and better as the platform matures. Given that I've now played several games from start to finish, I can say that the controls aren't always perfect, but they're very very good.
Yeah, I understand that. Games like Inotia or Zenonia are some of my favs... and apps like chess and words with friends utilize the touch elements and controls perfectly... it does depend on the game. My main thing though, was with games like Inotia and Zenonia your fingers take up some of the real estate - not much but enough that the view *seems* compacted and encroached upon. I'm sure they'll get better and later versions of the 'i' devices will bring forth more responsive screens... it's going to get better, but right now it's just a general pain, and it was right now that I'm talking about.
It's a couple things. One, you can make specific design choices by sealing the battery. Two, most people never change batteries, anyway. Three, it opens up an upgrade path which might not exist is people just replace the battery, instead of the phone.
Yeah, I just didn't want to speculate more than I should. Though, I do feel that if a device is good and worth keeping then replacing the battery isn't a bad idea - it also keeps the resale value high in that if I tire of the iPod Touch 2nd gen and get a 4th gen in a year or so, then if I could change the batteries I could sell mine to someone irrespective of the battery life and condition. I can't blame Apple for stifling that to some degree, but I'm not going to be happy about it either.
Actually, you can get a 32GB iPhone, I just meant that you can't buy a 16GB iPhone, and then later just pop in a card to bump it to 32GB. You either stick with the 16GB, or upgrade the whole phone. I can see how that might annoy some people, but again, it's a design choice. Where do you put that slot? What does it add to the size shape of the phone, etc? Do people want it bad enough to bother changing what *we* want to do to include it?
I think the space taken from a MicroSD card is negligible as is the access time between the phone and the card, but I also understand that the greater the access is to the software and hardware, the greater chance of 'stealing' things from it becomes. Again, I can't blame Apple for it... and I don't have to be happy with it - but it's not, at this point, a deal breaker for most owners so they've no incentive to implement it.
Actually, for me, having an app idea that relies on multitasking to be as cool as it could be, I wish they had it. :) But, in general, I don't miss it much. I like DROIDs idea of limiting it to six apps, actually.
I can't say I like that idea. I can see the merit in it, but I have 5 'pages' of apps and they're organized well - main, social, games, utilities, and the settings is by itself on the last page with my bottom bar with Music, icarpenter, iconverter, and whats on TV. I think with only 6, I'd get frustrated because what I use changes weekly and I would feel it a hassle to change things, but I'm indecisive at times so its' just a 'me' thing, really.
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