New DROID ads show off Android, will make a man out of you
By Paul Miller 
posted Nov 9th 2009 1:23PM
posted Nov 9th 2009 1:23PM
[Thanks, DroidDoesItAll]
posted Nov 9th 2009 1:23PM
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My name is Andril, I have thisphone and I fully approve this message.
Digging all the new ads. Props to VZW and the gang, they're really going at it.
I like the ads because they accurately explain why the Droid, and other Android phones, are better than the iPhone in many ways. However, if Verizon thinks they are attracting anything but men with these commercials they are kidding themselves.
These ads are painfully uncomfortable. Extremely nerdy. Hey guys, I have a robot phone!
It seems Apple went for hipster, psuedo-intelligence; Palm went for thinking outside the box in a weird, creepy way; Droid went for nerdy as all can be.
The only benefit is the last ad had Mozart's Requiem in the background.
I'd agree the 3rd one is a bit stupid, but I don't think the first two are too off-putting. I like these adds a hell of a lot more than the Pre adds. I think Palm totally screwed the pooch on their adds as most people I talk to only remember the creepy lady and nothing about what the phone actually DOES. While these certainly feel targeted at the male demographic, at least they're picking a horse to ride. It didn't feel like Palm was talking to anyone.
Honestly, I can't remember the last ad campaign that had a success series of commercials that hit a competitor based on merits rather than faulty logic!
Awesome!
Wow, verizon is really going all out, first ads attacking at&t, and now these great droid commercials
i like em. let you know it does and they are pretty slick. but very much a male dominated target for these ads.
I actually liked the first 2 a lot, particularly the navigation one. They are much better than those creepy Pre commercials. I still get a chill up my spine when I hear that iRobot looking woman speaking to me, and not in a good way.
I'll give Verizon props for this whole gutsy play and for the Droid itself which is truly a nice smartphone. I'm a happy iPhone owner but as a gadget nerd I just had to drop by a Verizon booth at the mall yesterday and test out the Droid. I was impressed (even though I still like the iPhone better overall).
What I WASN'T impressed with is overhearing the sales rep talk down about the iPhone to a clearly Droid-enamored customer alongside of me. He was really going off. I even heard him say "the Droid has Wifi, the iPhone doesn't". EXCUSE ME? And the not-so-knowledgeable customer was eating it all up like candy to a 10 year old. I almost jumped in.
Okay, I know you're a salesman and you are paid to put a certain "gloss" on the facts to sell phones and keep subscribers. But don't speak complete bullshit.
While I'm at it, I'll say that the whole "open app environment" of Android is a little overplayed. Maybe one day this will translate into a huge advantage, but right now I'd rather be "trapped" in Apple's closed app environment with 10,000 apps to chose from, which includes many extremely polished, incredible apps. Android's app selection and level of polish is rather laughable. At the present time, "open" only makes a big difference to those who REALLY want the few important apps that Apple won't allow, like Google Voice and Latitude.
Hey, I'd go ahead and recommend the Droid to friends who really want to stick with Verizon, but I'd also make sure they know the TRUE pros and cons, not just the sales pitches thrown out by Verizon.
Thats true.. Id never get an iphone but I reccomend it for people who I think would like it.. Every platform has pluses and minuses..
To be fair, Apple does this all the time, and the fanboys eat it all up.
Salespeople are Salespeople. Harvard Graduates do not aspire to work at Verizon (or any other carrier) selling phones. In most cases anybody that reads sites like this are more knowledgable about all the phones than those that sell them. (This is also true in electronics as well, as I have helped many a customer over the years at Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, etc when the salesman was either clueless, lying.. or both). So yes, I think that is wholly unfair, but I wouldn't lay that at the feet of anybody but that particular sales rep.
As for the apps... your kidding right? Sure, the Apple app store has a head start and thus more application, but as for quality??? I'd say percentage wise things are fairly well equal. Both have their percentage of poorly executed apps, not to mention dumb pointless apps; and both have their share of good quality apps. If anything the good apps are growing at a substantially faster rate on the Android platform (only because of where they are on the curve).
Eventually (if it hasn't already), the haphazard way Apple "approves" apps is going to frustrate developers that have to worry about "duplicating functionality" (as if that is such a bad thing... hasn't anybody at Apple heard the phrase "build a better mousetrap"?) or just be at the whim of somebody at Apple just having a bad day, because there is no clear cut standard of what is approved or denied.
In the end, with all other things being equal, the platform that lets people innovate is the one that will win. Hell, that is how Windows has bested Apple all these years... Allowing the developers to develop. If they play the same game with the iPhone, Tthe developers are going to run to where they can make money, and regardless of how many iPhones are out there... if they can't get their apps published, they can't make money, and thus they will leave to a platform where they can.
'Hi I'm a PC. Hi I'm a Mac' -- nuff said about talking down tactics.
That rant is the semi-functional, giggly and brat that they were talking about in the commercial. MOVE ON!
Can you play FarmVille on it like on the Maemo Nokia N900?
No, you can only do that with Symbian phones. It's the only MOBILE PHONE OS that supports flash out of the box.
The Nav commercial is money! A lot of customers think they have navagation becuase they don't know the difference. So saying, "does it talk to you?" is a great way to dumb it down. That will be a big seller at Christmas time. As for the "does it appeal to women" comment it DOESN'T MATTER!! Most buying stats still show men buy the phone NOT WOMEN.
these are much better than the first three ads, but still a little too geeky for my tastes. they remind me of videogame ads.
by the way, why does the casing look so reflective in these ads. looks more silver than black.
Does anyone know where I can legally download movies that will play on the Droid? I don't own DVDs, so ripping them is not an option. I'm looking for a site/company that sells movies for download in a compatible format. From what I can tell, CinamaNow, BestBuy, Amazon and Blockbuster all will not work. Am I incorrect?