Motorola Mobility’s (NYSE:MMI) Droid Razr went on presale from Verizon Wireless Oct. 27 for $299.99 on contract, with the carrier guaranteeing shipments no later than Nov. 10.
That sets up the Razr for some potentially solid holiday sales. It’s tempting the believe every high-end phone is designed to compete with Apple’s iPhone. The timing of the Razr, launching roughly a month after Apple’s iPhone 4S, might suggest this is true.
Moreover, there is the idea that the premium Android phones rally together to attack the iPhone. Think of the battle as a band of smaller Autobots versus the larger, nasty Megatron.
However, at their Oct. 18 Razr introduction event, Motorola and Verizon teamed for a Faster. Thinner. Smarter. Stronger. marketing campaign.
For all that hyperbole, the companies could be targeting Samsung’s Galaxy S II, which Verizon opted not to carry, presumably because it would provide too much competition with the Razr and its forthcoming Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone.
Consider the similarities between the Razr and AT&T’s Galaxy S II, which share the same screen size and many other geegaws.
Both have 4.3-inch, Super AMOLED displays and both are powered by 1.2GHz dual-core processors. Both run on 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks. Both have high-quality, 8 megapixel cameras that record video in 1080p.
Both are super slim compared to the competition. However, the Razr, at only 7.1 millimeters thin, blows the 8.89 millimeter S II out of the water in the competition of svelte handsets.
In fact, if it weren’t for Motorola’s signature rectangular shape compared to the more rounded aesthetic of the S II, the two phones could be mistaken for belonging to the same family. As it is, they’ll be slugging it out this holiday season in a less familial feud.
One can’t help but wonder if the Razr will win over customers who prefer a really, really thin phone (Motorola says it’s the thinnest on the market).
Of course, both the Razr and the S II could get shunted aside in customer attention when Verizon finally ships the Galaxy Nexus, which runs the Android 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich” operating system.
Let the cannibalization begin.