With all the hype surrounding Verizon Wireless" Droid smartphone there seems to be one thing that the Droid can"t do that Apple"s iPhone can and that is move a lot of devices in the course of one weekend. Verizon"s new Android based phone has failed to match Apple"s sales during it"s launch weekend.
The Droid sold an estimated 100,000 units in the first two days following its Nov. 6 release-a solid start for the much-anticipated phone. But this is nowhere near the 1 million both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S sold in their opening weekends, according to a post on TheAppleBlog.com.
A more fitting comparison is that of the original iPhone launch which moved 270,000 devices its first weekend. This news however does show that Verizon was able to destroy the Palm Pre opening weekend which only managed to sell about 50,000 units in it"s first weekend.
While it may be unfair to judge a devices longevity based on the sales of the launch weekend one thing is very clear, Verizon has spent a lot of money marketing a positioning Droid as the iPhone killer and with an estimated marketing campaign reported to be close to $100,000,000 USD it"s safe to assume Verizon is in it for the long haul.
How the device holds up in the coming weeks and months may prove how effective the marketing campaign and consumer adoption is, but only time will tell. However given the success and popularity of the iPhone it is doubtful the folks at Apple are worried about the marketing campaign that Verizon is running to cast a negative light on the iPhone.
Special thanks to Klethron for his contribution