Verizon’s Motorola Droid release appears imminent
Motorola’s Droid handset, the subject of a Verizon ad slamming the iPhone, appears to be ready to buy earlier than expected. Verizon has announced what appears to be a launch event for Oct. 28, while Best Buy looks set to sell a contract-free version of the phone four days earlier.
A Verizon media release says the event next Wednesday doesn’t specifically mention the device, merely saying the launch will see the unveiling of “the most desirable phone of 2009”. Given the hype the company has unleashed for the Droid, it doesn’t seem possible it could be talking about any other handset. The ad also confirms that the device is manufactured by Motorola, which had been widely expected.
Meanwhile screenshots leaked to phoneArena show Best Buy apparently scheduled to be selling the device from October 24 (Saturday). The price is listed at $599.99 with no contract. While it might seem odd to preempt the official launch, that price is unlikely to persuade any potential contract customers to buy an unlocked handset, so it’s not likely to harm Verizon’s immediate revenues.
Selling an Android phone for $599 is certainly ambitious to say the least. Although the Droid is looking to be one of the most impressive phones running the system, one of the key advantages of Android is supposed to be that an open source operating system makes for a cheaper handset.
It also raises the question of how Motorola and Verizon will pull of the balancing act of picking the right price for contract customers. For something that’s clearly pitched as a high-end consumer good – and specifically an iPhone rival – it’ll be a tough sell at anything much above the $199 point. But given the Best Buy price, that would mean a subsidy in the $400 range, which would be one hell of a commitment from Verizon.
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October 28th, 2009
[...] As we speculated, the Droid will go for $199 with a two-year service contract (after a mail-in rebate). With an unlocked version costing $599, it’s clear Verizon is putting a hefty subsidy behind the phone, suggesting its confident it will prove a success. [...]