Verizon/Droid ad aimed at iPhone appears

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As promised, Verizon unveiled an ad in tonight's Yankees-Angels game aimed pretty squarely at the iPhone.  It is interesting to remember that the Motorola ROKR had Apple iTunes software on it three years ago... and Apple was negotiating to put the iPhone on Verizon (never gonna happen now!) at about the same time.

It also looks like George Lucas is getting some Droid money.  You'll notice a  “DROID is a trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd. and its related companies. Used under license.” in the materials.

Update: Keep an eye on those apostrophes in "iDon't".  Classy.

They also have a website - DroidDoes.com.

Comments (66)

uhh...okay??? Idk, is this supposed to be related to the Motorola Sholes or something? I'm 1000000 percent oblivious...

This thing looks pretty Good. BoyGenius keeps saying how thin it is. IT runs on the best Network and has a physical keyboard.

Do we now have some competition people? Consumers win!

If the weird code thing on the droiddoes.com website really IS a countdown, then it looks like it's going to end on Friday, March 5th, 2010, if my calculations are correct.

what about November? It says so at the end of the ad. quite obvious...

The first thing it mentions is the competition's lack of a "real" keyboard. You see that.....

As soon as that was mentioned it turned me off to whatever it was talking about because their attitude about sticking to "real" keyboards is keeping technology from moving forward. Apple is attempting to move people from physical keys because they are an outdated mode of computer input and needs a revolutionary change.
Multi-touch as it is now is not that change.....at least not yet.

But at least Apple is trying dang nabbit! Every other tech company on the planet it seems wants to keep things as it is now.
Gawd, sometimes I really REALLY hate this backward planet of ours. Whatever. We're all going to get nuked out of existence soon anyways.

As someone with fingers a bit larger than most smartphone keyboards are designed for (Surprise!) I am actually a much better typist on the iPhone than on other smartphones.

In the same way that you learn to type on a computer keyboard and move away from hunt-and-peck, you have to learn to type on the iPhone and trust the auto correct for most things rather than trying to correctly type each letter.

Sure some people prefer physical keyboards, but its not a given that they're better.

Yes real physical keys are better, that's why laptops and even the new tiny netbooks use them instead of some thin film type of keyboard. Apple uses the touchscreen keyboard to reduce the size and I'm sure the cost of the phone, not because it's a superior way to type.

youve never seen a phone with both keyboards. iphone is awesome but im pretty sure the droid is going to be a step up. But iguess were going backwards technologically lol! dont be so closed minded... apple isnt paying you to "suck its cock" so to speak.

Seriously I agree Apple is trying, but I would say any attempt to ditch the traditional keyboard is a mistake overall. The fact of the matter is this Droid (just got one and have used the iPhone as well) has a lot of things up on the i - and having the regular keyboard is no exception. I would say the droid's onscreen keypad is even quicker to use than the one on the iPhone, but then when you slide out the regular keyboard and can really use them side by side, you realize how much faster the reg keyboard really is.

Sega does what Nintendon't...

Probably will be in the same situation that Sega and Nintendo are in now in a few years.

That is the first thing i though of when i saw this. lol

"Are you a Mexican or a Mexican't?"

European or Your-a-pee'n

Instead of focusing on what they can offer, they focus on what their competition doesn't. That still means they are basing their designs and progress on what the competition does or does not create. No creativity whatsoever. Awful. I guess the name DOES say it all, "Droid" all robot no creativity.

According to Steve, the iPhone has widgets:
calc, weather, and stocks.

iPhone runs apps (sort of) simultaneously:
- listen to music while playing a game.
- check e-mail while on a phone call.
- receive a text message while using Safari.

On the other hand, Droid doesn't have a have a zillion apps.

I bet the Droid phone has a bad motivator and comes equipped with restraining bolts. :)

“I bet the Droid phone has a bad motivator and comes equipped with restraining bolts.”

*applause“

maybe someone doesn't need a zillion apps.

Nobody needs a zillion apps. Having options allows, well, options, as well as increases competition between apps. Additionally, because there is such a large base of applications, people with new/good ideas are more likely to add to that platform (the iPhone's platform). Obviously, the iPhone is not perfect or some sort of idol, but it is headed in a great direction for now.

1 of the lamest ads I've watched in my entire 27 years...

Hate to say it, but it's very effective that along with the "there's a map for that" ad. Poor AT&T which I personally have NOT had problems with.

May not dent the iPhone market, but will create interest in the Droid phone which is a Google phone and not the Pre it seems. Unless Verizon is renaming the Pre.

Is not only misleading, it is blatently lying, they are comparing Verizon's Voice coverage with AT&T 3G coverage, I'd like to see the world Map as well, Verizon is useless outside of the US.

News for you, my Verizon Storm switches to GSM outside the US and works fine in some pretty obscure places.(Tunisia, Ghana, Nigeria, Germany, France, Spain, Amsterdam....)find a new argument.

Goodness, you use a Verizon Storm? I'm so sorry to hear that.

No, check your facts. The map in the Verizon commercial is AT&T's 3G map. I can attest to the pathetic AT&T coverage in New Mexico (part of Albuquerque at best). Also, AT&T lies about their voice coverage up in Northern New Mexico (stops just north of Santa Fe) and it is all roaming beyond that. I know it is a small market but we have had full Verizon 3G up here for years :D.

Sega does what Nintendon't

All those things "iDoesn't" are exactly why I bought an iPhone in the first place other than the 5MP camera, which would be nice.

I don't want a physical keyboard. I don't want to run apps simultaneously because it kills battery and, with iPhone, it's so efficient to switch that I don't see the benefit. It DOES customize. Are they on crack? How do you customize a phone? By the apps you install I suppose nowadays. And the plethora of external cases and skins. I don't feel the need to customize more than that. I don't need a wallpaper because I'd never see it. Either my phone is in my pocket or I'm using an app. What else is there to customize?

iPhone DOES have widgets. In fact, Dashboard widgets use essentially the same development environment for simple widgets. Open development? Absolutely iPhone does. You can even open your own App store as PremierApps has done. Perfectly legal and entirely supported.

There are 2 things Droid has going for it, the camera and the network. That's it.

Doesn't take pictures in the dark? Is that a real complaint? Not for me anyway. Interchangeable batteries? Don't need it. I never once carried one with any Blackberry or Windows phone I had and I don't now. Nor do I want the bulk. But I guess with background apps you'll be draining battery quickly.

I'm fine with comparative ads, but this one is kind of puzzling. A lot of the points here - the battery, the widgets, even the keyboard - are things that either matter to very few people or don't really explain themselves. (And I kind of think that a lot of people will say "Widgets? Are they like apps?") There's a certain extent to which a customer could end up thinking that if this is all Verizon's got, they'll go ahead and buy the iPhone.

Those who say that this means the iPhone isn't coming to Verizon might consider that this might be part of the negotiation - Verizon is saying to Apple that it doesn't really need Apple, so it's not going to give Apple what Apple wants. Of course, it certainly also could be a sign that the negotiation is over.

The camera takes pictures in the dark. Great. Every creepy voyeur on the planet will want one, lurking around at night.

They found their niche!

Remember with Verizon's network you cannot simultaneously surf the internet while making a phone call.

who cares...I would rather someone listen to what i am saying instead of focusing on replies on twitter and facebook.