Friday could be a landmark day in the history of the smartphone industry. Motorola's Droid smartphone hits the U.S. market after an advertising blitz on the World Series. The phone will be exclusively available through Verizon Wireless, which hopes the phone will woo customers away from AT&T  .
To celebrate the launch, some Verizon stores around the country will open at 7 a.m. The phone boasts a physical keyboard, a full web browser, and an open "app store" environment. It runs on Google's Android mobile operating system.
Early reviews are favorable but not over the moon. Writing in The New York Times, gadget reviewer David Pogue said, "The Droid wins on phone network, customizability, GPS navigation, speaker, physical keyboard, removable battery, and openness (free operating system, mostly uncensored app store). The iPhone wins on simplicity, refinement, thinness, design, web browsing, music/video syncing with your computer, accessory ecosystem, and quality/quantity of the app store."
Competition for BlackBerry
But comparisons with Apple's iPhone may miss the real point, Greg Sterling, principal analyst with Sterling Market Research, said in a telephone interview. Business users may consider dumping their BlackBerrys for the new Droid phone. "It's the best-reviewed of the Android phones. A lot of business users will take a close look at it," Sterling said.
"The fact that Verizon is the carrier will give it a lot of attention from business users," Sterling added. "Verizon and AT&T are playing offense in this sector, while Sprint and T-Mobile are playing defense."
It's not just Apple that might see some erosion as a result of this entry, Sterling said. "BlackBerry is under tremendous pressure. BlackBerry users might look at the physical keyboard and the Verizon network, plus the real Web browser and the app offerings, and think about switching."
'Jabba-the-Hut-Like Competition'
The new phone may beef up Motorola's standing in the investment community and among business users. Mark Sue, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, praised Motorola in a recent research report for "reconnecting with carriers who are eager for something different." He said Motorola has moved past its past "bad habits of coloring products pink and neglecting the user interface."
But Samuel Wilson, an analyst with JMP Securities, said Motorola's reliance on Google's Android puts it at a disadvantage compared to Apple and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion. "The problem with Android phones is this: How do you gain a competitive advantage when you rely on somebody else for a key piece of the system?" Wilson asked. "Every successful smartphone vendor controls the hardware and software."
So will Droid ultimately prove to be a huge hit, like Motorola's long-ago Razr? "It's a crowded space for smartphones, and consumer fickleness will mean short product cycles and Jabba-the-Hut-like competition," Wilson wrote. "The street believes Droid is the new Razr, and I don't think that is going to happen."
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