Analyst estimates 100,000 DROID smartphones sold in first weekend
By Darren Murph 
posted November 10th 2009 9:12AM
posted November 10th 2009 9:12AM
The lines may have been subdued, but one way or another, it sounds as if Motorola managed to sell quite a few DROIDs over the weekend. According to analyst Mark McKechnie at Broadpoint AmTech, the outfit managed to move around 100,000 of 'em during the opening weekend, with most stores moving at least half of their original shipments. He also estimated that Moto would sell one million Android-based phones in Q4 2009 alone (which includes the CLIQ, obviously), and that he viewed the first few days as "encouraging." It's been a long, long while since we've been able to say this, but hey -- nice job, Motorola.
Also you need to realize that 6 phones went over the last 2 weeks:
Droid,
Droid Eris,
Cliq,
Moment,
BB Curve 8530
Imagio
How many these phones that were sold of the last 2 weeks would be interesting.
Apple was smart to release back in June--which is sleepy time for new technology products. Imagine if VZW had one phone to release and no other telco was releasing phones?
What I find troubling about that article is that it's one person saying this, not dozens. Also, if you know anything about the stock market, this is post-hype deflation. As the phone builds up steam, so will Moto's fortunes (not every company has a reality distortion field to rely upon).
Lastly, how is it that the writer claims all these issues, yet there's no listing about a review done by him? I'm wondering if he just cherrypicked from articles.
I have an iPhone and love it. I don't care about the keyboard and the flash camera is minor. But open development? Using Java (instead of stupid Objective-C)? With a free turn-by-turn navigation app? And a removable battery? I am jealous of other smartphone owners for the first time ever.
If Motorola Droid was released for AT&T it would DEFINITELY be my next phone. As it stands, I'll see what phones are good when my contract is up and what the new iPhone is like.
Sanskrit - put your dribbling enthusiasm for Droid back in your pants. A lot of your so-called "non issues" are in fact very real issues. The camera is a real issue. The pictures it takes are worse than the pictures taken with the iPhone 3GS. Most of the people who have reported on the physical keyboard say it's difficult to type on and that the touchscreen keyboard is faster. And that isn't as good as the iPhone's keyboard either, nor is its autocorrection.
Paradigm shift my ass. Have you even read any of the reviews that compare them directly? Have you seen the quality difference in the pictures? Your inability to be objective about Droid makes you just as bad as the so-called Apple fanboys.
iDavey: The reason why BB don't sell like iPhones, but end up selling more is: fleet purchases for businesses.
Again, the iPhone is a consumer product, that happens to do business stuff (ActiveExch and that's pretty much it). Consumer always buy in flocks/herds, consumer operate on the same schedule (get paid at the end of the month, etc..)--hence open day is like the "big sale" rush. And considering Apple spreads FUD on availability/stock and of course "coolness" in being 1st to 'have it'.
Businesses operate differently, they buy things when they need it or when it's on a schedule. Also, with BB having 100% BES, which is the iTunes of the business world, there's a sense of lock-in, just like iTunes to the consumer. And that you can use your BB on any country and 100% get email period is a huge business advantage. And fleets buy huge qualities over time.
Second: just look at the forums... if you looked at the Droid forums of the past week, fleet managers are salivating at the Droid as a replacement for the BBs and WinMo devices--and literally *screaming* about the Droid's consumer-quality setup for ActiveExchange, which is insuffient for their fleet/corporate setups. If you look at most iPhone forums, it's mainly talk about home theater/electronic compatibility (GPS, etc..) where the majority of business users with an iPhone has likely dropped it and went back to BB or WinMo by now. So if Verizon solves the stupid ActiveExchange issues (PIN, policy, SSL) you'll see a number of huge fleet orders coming through shortly.
Droid is replacing WinMo+BB
iPhone is replacing Palm+Nokia
The thing is Droid (and Droid Eris) are also aimed at Palm.
Unfortunately, I will probably be returning mine.
It sucks because this phone is really f-ing sweet. It is fast as hell, the phone sound quality is awesome, I love Android, the screen on this thing is sick and the phone has a comforting, "hefty" feel to it; I even like the much-maligned keyboard, though I originally was wishing they had gone more Razr-esque with the keys.
The deal-breaker is the camera. I don't know what the hell Motorola did with this thing, but I cannot get it to focus at all. Mine also has the "clicking" noise some people have reported when trying to focus. I went back to the store and the tech un-boxed two replacements that had the same problem. What's worse, I have not seen any kind of acknowledgment of the issue from Motorola or from Verizon.
I am going to hold on to this thing until my month is almost out, but if the issue isn't fixed by then it's going back. I am kind of bummed, because this phone has everything I need and want beyond the camera. I guess if it comes down to that I'll check out the Eris and, if it's too much of a step down from the Droid, think about going on to another network.
I am still keeping my fingers crossed that they will release a fix soon.
Also, Engadget, it's annoying that I clicked on this story in engadget.com, and then put up this comment only to find that it went to engadgetmobile.com, which must not have many readers because mine was only the 11th comment. Your comment system is painful enough without inflicting multiple versions of said system upon the unsuspecting public.
Verizon is planning an OTA fix for the phone on the 11th of December. I don't know if you want to wait that long, but it has been addressed.
@Jack:
Spare me. I'm perfectly aware that there are issues with the phone. There always is when it comes to new launches. I'm saying (you know, that IMHO part, in case you're not up to the new hep speak those teen cats are always jiving about) that IN MY HUMBLE OPINION these are not issues (for the record, I'm using the physical board far faster than I am the softboard). Yes, it's been said that the Android softboard needs work, or else there wouldn't be a Better Keyboard app or people trying to get HTC's keyboard app.
As for the camera, I tested my Droid camera up against my brother-in-law's iPhone and I failed to see any problem (yes, there are some phones that are giving issues, else Verizon wouldn't be planning a December 11 OTA fix), but from what I understand these are few and far between as well.
And yes, there is a paradigm shift. When you use one kind of phone and you switch to another, that's a learning curve. We all go through it.
So spare me the crap and just admit if you don't like the phone, you don't like the phone. BFD. The Droid is doing well and will only do better and that's the way it goes. I didn't get it because I wanted to stick it to El Jobso. I got it because it's the phone I wanted.
@Sanskrit: The daily ups & downs of Motorola's stock price aren't the main concern, nor are the problems with the device, which may or may not be fixable with a firmware upgrade. The main concern is how few they've sold for all the advertising & hype leading up to the launch.