Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home IT Management
    • IT Management
    • Mobile
    • Networking

    Motorola Droid X Available for Preorder from Best Buy for $199

    By
    Clint Boulton
    -
    June 27, 2010
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      After last week’s launch event, the avid niche of Android followers knows Motorola’s Droid X is coming to Verizon Wireless July 15 for $199 with a $100 mail-in rebate and a two-year deal.

      But some folks may not know they can preorder the Android 2.1-based, multimedia-focused device now from Best Buy. The retailer said June 25 that consumers can preorder the smartphone, which boasts a 4.3-inch screen and 720p HD video-capture playback, for $199 without the mail-in rebate. Credit Engadget for noticing the news first.

      “With the buzz we’ve seen around the Android platform, Best Buy is confident that consumers will be thrilled about the Verizon Droid X by Motorola pre-sale,” said Scott Anderson, senior director of merchandising at Best Buy Mobile.

      “It has been a great summer for smartphones with the HTC Evo and iPhone 4 launches, and the addition of the Droid X adds another strong option for our customers to consider.”

      A funny thing that Anderson should mention Sprint’s HTC Evo, which many folks are comparing to the Droid X because they share the same operating system and especially the same, fashionably (or unfashionably) large 4.3-inch display.

      There are apparently a lot of mixed emotions about the display size, which Motorola co-CEO Sanjay Jha says is responsible for eating up 60 percent of a smartphone’s battery. Current Analysis’ Avi Greengart, who attended the Droid X launch in New York City June 23, told eWEEK:

      “Personally, I find devices with displays smaller than 3.5 inches to be too small, and anything over 4 inches to be too big-in this respect, the 3.7-inch screen on the original Motorola Droid and HTC’s Incredible hit the sweet spot in between. But it really depends on what the user tends to do with the device and how large their hands are.

      “Both Motorola’s Droid X and HTC’s Evo 4G do fit in a pants pocket-barely-and provide expanded screen real estate that enhances multimedia, navigation and typing. But both devices give me hand cramps if I hold them as phones for any length of time, and the large form factor just doesn’t work at all for many women with smaller hands.”

      Greengart’s position reinforces the Evo and some of the Droid devices as masculine mobile computing machines.

      Analysts Discuss Value Proposition of the Droid X

      Still, Gartner Research analyst Ken Dulaney said Motorola needed to make the Droid X for competitive reasons versus Apple, particularly the vaunted new iPhone 4, which is currently troubled by antenna issues.

      “It’s what Motorola needed to do,” Dulaney said. “They were sorely missing a slate form factor to compete more directly with Apple. It looks pretty good. I like the buttons on the EVO better … not narrow and skinny like the Droid X.”

      Dulaney ventures that the Droid X may be what consumers who purchased the original Droid probably really wanted had it been available, adding that it “may stop some of the bleed to AT&T for the iPhone.” Ouch for Android.

      Industry analyst Jack Gold noted that the Verizon launch even this week is a poke in the eye to Apple, which launched the iPhone 4 a day later on June 24.

      “It basically says, ‘See, we can get some really popular phones to compete with you. You’d better get the iPhone on our network pretty quick.’ Of course, Verizon wins either way.”

      So now it seems the hot smartphones for the summer range from the 3.5-inch iPhone 4 to the 4.3-inch Droid X. That’s some serious diversity, which is great for consumer choice.

      “One sign that the smartphone market is maturing is that vendors are further segmenting the market,” Greengart said. “There was always a split between the high-end, halo products and lower-priced smartphones, and now we are seeing multiple options in each category.”

      Gleacher and Company analyst Mark McKecknie said the new Droid X and Verizon’s corresponding Droid ad campaign will help Motorola’s new Droid X sell 1.2 million units in the third quarter.

      Not too shabby, but a drop in the bucket compared with the reported 1.5 million iPhone 4 devices shipped in one day.

      Stay tuned for the Motorola Droid 2, the heavily anticipated sequel to the original Droid from last November.

      Clint Boulton

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×