According to BGR who has a pre-release version of the Droid, he states:
Quote:
The QWERTY keyboard is actually pretty usable and has a soft-touch rubberized finish. We?ve been told the keyboard design isn?t final on this unit, thus the two no-shows.
Yes it is fugly as hell. I am hoping the final device keyboard will be better. It has both a physical and virtual keyboard btw, so I don't see it as a step backwards.
I have been doing a lot of reading lately between the Storm2 and Droid as I am due for a new contract. The iPhone was revolutionary when it came out initially, but I dont think it has progressed a whole lot. The App Store is saturated with crappy apps, and only a few that I use regularly. Personally, I prefer my BB on VZW as messaging and coverage is more important to me then apps. Function > Pretty imo.
They could at least have put some sort of effort into the aesthetics of their iPhone "competitor". Ugly square shape, plain white buttons and a keyboard that looks like it was slapped together....but wait, what a pretty gold mouse thingy....NOT!
Blocky, Boring and Basic looking.
Thats Googles 3 B's approach to everything isn't it? (search for example)
I hope this is not the final product. That golden mouse thingy looks like something pulled out of a hardware test lab. In any case, competition is good. I don't want Apple to rest on their laurels.
Before everybody starts to praise the physical keyboard and how this is missing on the iPhone, here a thought.
Every country overseas requires a different keyboard (e.g. Germany has the QWERTZ instead of QWERTY keyboard and the ä, ö and ü), France requires a different keyboard, all Scandinavian countries etc., etc, and not to forget the Asian countries. The Pre, and now the Droid will have to be produced with different keyboards if they want to sell them overseas. Translation: more expensive.
Apple uses software to accommodate all languages. I think that is very smart. Moreover, typing on it with Apple's character recognition system is really easy and fast.
Also, every key is another small little component that can fail.
I prefer Apple's approach.
So do I.
I speak English, Spanish and French and I love the way I can jump from one language to another with a touch of a button on the iPhone, each language with it's own correction mode.
Those commercials were running all durng the Yankee playoff game yesterday. YOu have to admit - that ad is very cool.
what!
As someone who is a career marketing professional, I can say quite confidently that they're terrible. By terrible, of course, I mean the only that matters...no one will get it. At all.
Obviously once the product itself is advertised, there will be similar, and much more concise, ads.
But this particular commercial, running during playoff games, is expensive and ineffective. The five Apple geeks that actually watch baseball might get it. That's it. Otherwise, its a perfect example of why Verizon is still at least 3-5 years behind AT&T right now. In every aspect from network to phones to advertising.
Stem the tide? Dude are you nuts? Verizon is in a great position. The iPhone is great but it would be like claiming that lack of Mac sales harms Intel. The sales just go to the alternative. Verizon is making sure there are plenty of alternatives, has an equally low rate of churn and still is growing by leaps and bounds.
AT&T just announced. 3.2m iPhone activations (I think it's most ever in a qtr), nearly 40% new to AT&T. 3rd qtr churn at record low (for AT&T).
Though VZW postpaid churn is still lower than AT&T (at least up through 2Q), it has been increasing; it was 0.85 in 2Q07 (before iPhone) but it's been up over 1, and as high as 1.14, in every qtr during this last year. The gap between AT&T and VZW postpaid churn used to be around .35. Now it's just around .07.
Late last year/early this year, Verizon was surveying departing customers and one item on the list of reasons was "iPhone". They are concerned; they thought the Storm and other BBs would stem the tide, but it hasn't happened. The 3GS just hit the accelerator again.
VZW will announce soon. It'll confirm this one way or the other.
AT&T had a strong quarter --- thanks to Tracfone. AT&T Wireless gained 1.385 million postpaid subscribers, lost 176K prepaid subscribers and gained 817K of MVNO (Tracfone) subscribers. When Verizon Wireless announces its result, they will probably say that they gained 1.3 million postpaid subscribers --- which is a virtual tie with AT&T Wireless on a full iphone launch quarter.
Total ARPU ain't going to move a lot upward because 1.28 million new iphone subscribers at $100 each month gets combined with 817K of Tracfone subscribers with $15 ARPU each month.
Yes, AT&T's postpaid churn has reduced to Verizon Wireless' level --- but it is less impressive because AT&T has 20 million fewer postpaid subscribers than Verizon Wireless.
Comments
I was actually excited to see the phone. Then they dropped a FUGLY keyboard on it. Poor, poor Verizon. They just haven't got it yet.
Motorola Droid looks promising from the early Review that I read. It
has much higher specs, a good processor, good camera with flash and
loads of other things.
The QWERTY keyboard is actually pretty usable and has a soft-touch rubberized finish. We?ve been told the keyboard design isn?t final on this unit, thus the two no-shows.
Yes it is fugly as hell. I am hoping the final device keyboard will be better. It has both a physical and virtual keyboard btw, so I don't see it as a step backwards.
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/...roid-hands-on/
Driod starting up video.
I have been doing a lot of reading lately between the Storm2 and Droid as I am due for a new contract. The iPhone was revolutionary when it came out initially, but I dont think it has progressed a whole lot. The App Store is saturated with crappy apps, and only a few that I use regularly. Personally, I prefer my BB on VZW as messaging and coverage is more important to me then apps. Function > Pretty imo.
it looks like it was designed in the 1970s
They could at least have put some sort of effort into the aesthetics of their iPhone "competitor". Ugly square shape, plain white buttons and a keyboard that looks like it was slapped together....but wait, what a pretty gold mouse thingy....NOT!
Blocky, Boring and Basic looking.
Thats Googles 3 B's approach to everything isn't it? (search for example)
Now with film quality camera.
No number pad
There's an app for that...
These aren't the droids you're looking for.
Done in by Lucas himself!
edit: It's a different prototype, rumored to be called the Motorola Sholes, which turned out to be the Droid.
Before everybody starts to praise the physical keyboard and how this is missing on the iPhone, here a thought.
Every country overseas requires a different keyboard (e.g. Germany has the QWERTZ instead of QWERTY keyboard and the ä, ö and ü), France requires a different keyboard, all Scandinavian countries etc., etc, and not to forget the Asian countries. The Pre, and now the Droid will have to be produced with different keyboards if they want to sell them overseas. Translation: more expensive.
Apple uses software to accommodate all languages. I think that is very smart. Moreover, typing on it with Apple's character recognition system is really easy and fast.
Also, every key is another small little component that can fail.
I prefer Apple's approach.
So do I.
I speak English, Spanish and French and I love the way I can jump from one language to another with a touch of a button on the iPhone, each language with it's own correction mode.
Those commercials were running all durng the Yankee playoff game yesterday. YOu have to admit - that ad is very cool.
As someone who is a career marketing professional, I can say quite confidently that they're terrible. By terrible, of course, I mean the only that matters...no one will get it. At all.
Obviously once the product itself is advertised, there will be similar, and much more concise, ads.
But this particular commercial, running during playoff games, is expensive and ineffective. The five Apple geeks that actually watch baseball might get it. That's it. Otherwise, its a perfect example of why Verizon is still at least 3-5 years behind AT&T right now. In every aspect from network to phones to advertising.
In any case, competition is good. I don't want Apple to rest on their laurels.
Could Appleinsider please limit the number of times that exact comment is posted, to like a hundred times a day?
Stem the tide? Dude are you nuts? Verizon is in a great position. The iPhone is great but it would be like claiming that lack of Mac sales harms Intel. The sales just go to the alternative. Verizon is making sure there are plenty of alternatives, has an equally low rate of churn and still is growing by leaps and bounds.
AT&T just announced. 3.2m iPhone activations (I think it's most ever in a qtr), nearly 40% new to AT&T. 3rd qtr churn at record low (for AT&T).
Though VZW postpaid churn is still lower than AT&T (at least up through 2Q), it has been increasing; it was 0.85 in 2Q07 (before iPhone) but it's been up over 1, and as high as 1.14, in every qtr during this last year. The gap between AT&T and VZW postpaid churn used to be around .35. Now it's just around .07.
Late last year/early this year, Verizon was surveying departing customers and one item on the list of reasons was "iPhone". They are concerned; they thought the Storm and other BBs would stem the tide, but it hasn't happened. The 3GS just hit the accelerator again.
VZW will announce soon. It'll confirm this one way or the other.
Total ARPU ain't going to move a lot upward because 1.28 million new iphone subscribers at $100 each month gets combined with 817K of Tracfone subscribers with $15 ARPU each month.
Yes, AT&T's postpaid churn has reduced to Verizon Wireless' level --- but it is less impressive because AT&T has 20 million fewer postpaid subscribers than Verizon Wireless.