I have a confession: I haven’t owned a wireless phone since 2004.
So the whole smartphone thing hasn’t even been on my radar these last five years. Sure, my brother in-law bought a first gen iPhone, and I had a chance to play with it for a couple of hours one day, but it didn’t make me run out and buy a plan.
For starters, I live in a rural area, and until recently coverage was spotty at best. ATT doesn’t cover my area, so even if I wanted an iPhone I’d be SOL.
I hadn’t even looked in the last 5 years, because the last plan I had required 50% or better of my minutes to originate within a certain area. My wife had a tough time keeping tabs on her usage, and after the third month in a row of $200+ charges on a plan that was supposed to cost $69.99 made me lose my mind, I ditched the plan altogether.
I can’t say I missed having a wireless phone much. Last phone I had was a phone. It didn’t text. It didn’t do web. I have a phone at my house. I also have computers and laptops, and I just didn’t feel compelled to even pay attention to what was going on with smartphones in 2009.
I can’t even tell you what made me notice the Motorola Droid on Saturday. As far as I know I hadn’t seen any of the ads, and I certainly wasn’t in the market for a smartphone. Must have been a blog article. Anyway, I like tech as much or more than the next Connected Internet reader, and I spent quite a bit of time Saturday reading reviews, blog articles, watching YouTube videos, and researching Android OS in general.
That turned into more obsessive reading and watching on Sunday, and on Tuesday the wife and I went to the Verizon store for a hands-on with the Droid and another Verizon Android phone, the HTC Eris. The hands-on left me feeling that in some ways the Droid surpassed the iPhone, in others it was second rate in comparison, but the overall impression I had when I left was very positive.
The following day saw me spend the ENTIRE day with me dividing my time between playing with Android OS on my Mac via Google’s Android SDK and building plans on Verizon’s site and on Verizon affiliate sites looking for the best deal.
Ok, I am 43 years old, and while I’ve changed a lot over the years, in some ways I’m the same guy I’ve always been. I can tell you with certainty that with the level of obsessive behavior I’ve displayed over the course of the last five days regarding the Motorola Droid that there will be one in my pocket by Christmas.
So why is a self-professed “Apple” guy eschewing the iPhone and going with upstart Google?
It’s the network, stupid.
If you are in the States and live in a large, urban area you can go with whatever service offers you the right combination of plan, price and device. If, like me, you don’t live in the city, your options narrow. Verizon is everywhere. Unless you live in Armpit, North Dakota chances are you are in their coverage area. Just compare the 3G coverage offered by ATT with Verizon and you’ll see what I mean. Verizon’s huge network is Android OS’s most important feature when it comes to gaining market share. Based on the network alone Verizon will sell millions of Android devices.
Android is a moving target.
Android devices have been on the market for just a little over year now, and Android can already claim half as many apps in the Android Market as Apple can in the App Store. That disparity will shrink fast and a year from now we may see an Android Market that offers more apps than Apple does for the iPhone.
Android is promiscuous.
You don’t have to go with one provider to get an Android device. If you want an iPhone ATT is your only option.
Buzzword of the week: Multitasking.
Had a job interview lately? Make sure to include multitasking and detail orientation in your sales pitch. The electronic age has altered our attention span to where we’re usually doing several things at once. This is a crucial limitation of the iPhone. It doesn’t multitask. I’m sure Apple will address this soon, but in the meantime, if you want a device that is as slick as the iPhone that allows you to use several applications at once, Android has you covered.
Ohmigodhaveyouseenthatscreen?
The screen on the Droid is twice the resolution of an iPhone. You have to get one in your hands to see just how sexy this thing is. When you visit a web site in landscape perspective it actually looks like the web site you’re used to seeing. This will also be a plus for gaming on the Droid. It’s a plus all around. Everything looks better with a higher resolution. Bump your 1920×1200 monitor down to 1280×800 and tell me you don’t agree.
Is the Motorola Droid the iPhone killer?
No, but I don’t think any device needs to be an iPhone killer. The iPhone is an awesome device and doesn’t need to be replaced. That said, I do think Verizon has their must-have device, and I think this thing will sell both plans and other Android devices.
Google is a very smart company. They have been positioning themselves these last few years to make a serious play for desktop and pocket space. While we have to wait a while to see what Chrome OS is going to offer us, Android is here now, and it’s maturing rapidly.
It’s not an iPhone, but it’s damn close. It also integrates Google products that a lot of us are already relying on. GMail, Google Reader, Google Calendar, Google Docs.
Android is here
….and it’s great. It will only get better. I think Verizon is going to sell a lot of plans. I also think that if Google continues to display the tendency to make good choices and refines Android in the ways they need to, it will be for wireless devices what Microsoft’s Windows is to the desktop.
Does the Motorola Droid live up to the hype? I absolutely think it does. Go get your hands on a Droid, or any other Android device for that matter, and tell me if you think I’m wrong.
