Droid vs. iPhone: Predictions, Weigh-ins, Pre-Bout Chatter

30.10.2009
A major contender to the iPhone, Google's Droid smartphone, took center stage this week. With Verizon in its corner, Droid matches up well against reigning champ iPhone. Analysts were quick to size up Droid's advantages, assess its chances, and even start to track its presales.

Check out the stories that cover what's shaping up to be smartphone's main event:

"The more platforms, the merrier," says Gartner analyst. "Competition is a good thing."

Well, gang, it's official: Verizon's Motorola Droid smartphone is on its way into the world. The Droid, unveiled Wednesday, will hit store shelves on November 6 with a $199.99 price tag, after a $100 mail-in rebate and with a new two-year contract.

Today's formal unveiling of the Motorola Droid smartphone on Verizon's network was an anticlimax, given most of the details had been leaked days earlier. Nevertheless, it's the boldest, most open iPhone challenge yet.

It will need to rob the iPhone of its customers, and it won't come even close.

Too much, as least so early, is being made of the Motorola Droid's supposedly magical powers. Can a single handset "save" Motorola, launch a new operating system, and smite the evil Steve Jobs?

You may not be able to get your hands on Verizon's Motorola Droid for another week, but you can get your name on one starting today. Best Buy opened the doors to the first Droid presale on Thursday -- and it's offering an instant rebate if you sign up, too.

Tom Kaneshige is a senior writer for CIO.com. Send him an email at . Or follow him on Twitter . Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter .