Quote:
Originally Posted by SaltyDawg
#1: Uh, yes it does. If two phones- especially smartphones that run the same OS and have similar specs, are for sale at the same time, from the same carrier, and made by different manufacturers, then they absolutely ARE competing against each other. The average person is not going to buy both of them. You think HTC and/or Motorola is only making phones just so they can say they did? Heck no, they are trying to sell them. This might be the biggest fundemantal flaw in your argument. The Droid and Droid Eris absolutely ARE competing against each other for sales, and I don't see how anyone can even deny that.
#2: A keyboard is not ALL a phone needs to have sales- please show me where I ever implied that. However, I did say that a lot of people want a keyboard. And you can bet of there was an iPhone that had a keyboard, and it sold a lot more than the regular iPhone- even though it cost a lot more, then yes, I would absolutely say the keyboard was probably the biggest factor. You seem to be missing the fact that the Droid and Droid Eris are pretty similar phones- same OS, same apps, similar specs, and even similar names. If people paid extra for the one with a keyboard- and the fact that it has a keyboard was heavily marketed, then yes, I think having a keyboard was absolutely one of the reasons why it sold a lot more.
#3: What was your point from the beginning? That Verizon liked the Droid better and that's why they marketed it more? You're not making sense here. Verizon specifically mentions the keyboard in several Droid commercials, so clearly that is one of the reasons they liked it better.
#4: The robot uses the on screen keyboard and the real keyboard. They are showing the device does both. You act like they only use the on screen keyboard or something. Here is one example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc57FHMAuus
I see the robot typing on a keyboard in that commercial, and several others, all the time.
#5: And why was the marketing campaig smaller? If marketing is ALL there is to sales, then why was the marketing campaign smaller? You think HTC just decided to not sell as many devices? More like Verizon chose which one they thought would sell the best, and then they marketed it as their flagship device. So why did Verizon like the Droid better? Here is the first Droid commercial to hit the market, notice the very first line in the commercial is dissing the iPhone for not having a keyboard, and praising that the Droid does:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnaAQwGcBks
#6: The Eris was released in the 4th quarter of 2009. At the time of its release, they announced that there would be an OS upgrade in Q1 2010. So the fact that the Droid had a newer OS wasn't even a consideration for most people.
#7: I know it is common around here to say the Eris is just a "re-badged hero" or whatever, and it is true for the most part. But it is a different device with slightly different specs. See here:
http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=pdacomp...=2080&id2=1966
Also, I don't think Motorola was in as much trouble as you say. Maybe in the smartphone arena, but their dumbphones were selling like crazy before the Droid. The RAZR is like the standard for all dumbphones. It doesn't matter though, because if what you say is true, and Motorola really was swinging for the fences, then the fact that they put a keyboard on their device and actually hit the home run with it should make HTC take notice.
#8: Voice commands are great when you are doing something like driving. But it is not at all practical for use in a business environment. Can you imagine a classroom or an an office meeting where everyone is multitasking on their phone and it only works with voice commands? LOL, Android will never only be a touchless OS. It may very well have an option to use voice commands that a lot of people like in certain instances, but it will always have an option to use it quietly as well. |
While you prefer a keyboard, the droid doesn't deliver when it comes to ease of use on the keyboard. My cousin hates it, John from DroidDog stopped using it, and these folks:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/18158..._droid_ii.html
And a humorous analogy of what it's like to use the Droid's keyboard:
http://www.rinish.com/component/opti...emid,78/p,165/
Also, HTCs decision to remove the keyboards from their phones are two fold: One, copy a design that works (millions of iPhone users can't be wrong, right
) Plus, talk to people who use software keyboards. The hero has fantastic spelling correction. Sometimes, too good. I type as fast, or faster on my hero, than I ever did on my mogul or treo.
Two, warranty issues. I used a mogul for about 4 months. I went through 3 of them. The keyboard would either not work, or 3 or 4 of the same characters would shoot out, meaning I'd have to backspace like a mo-fo. Also, I saw numerous reports on this board of touch pro keyboards going out on a regular basis. A company will spend less money on repairs for a keyboard-less phone. That is why RIM went to a optical-type trackball design, and you are seeing the legend and the incredible with optical trackballs.
Like I said from the beginning; if the Eris had more marketing/advertising dollars spent on what the device could do,by both Verizon and/or HTC, not some vanilla Verizon BOGO commercial, about how it would fit into someone's life, it would sell better. It's the fault of HTC and Verizon together. Verizon and Motorola worked together on the droid ads, so why couldn't HTC do something as well?
I like how you still make it sound like android 1.5 and 2.X are the same. People want new now. Not wait. If you could choose to have the newest thing now, vs waiting 3-6 months, what would you do?
Taken from wikipedia:
Motorola's handset division recorded a loss of $1.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007, while the company as a whole earned $100 million during that quarter.[11] It lost several key executives to rivals[12] and the web site TrustedReviews has called the company's products repetitive and uninnovative.[13] Motorola laid off 3,500 workers in January 2008[14], followed by a further 4,000 job cuts in June[15] and another 20% cut of its research division a few days later.[16] In July 2008, a large number of executives left Motorola to work on Apple Inc.'s iPhone.[17] The company's handset division was also put on offer for sale.[18] In July 2008, analyst Mark McKechnie from American Technology Research said that Motorola "would be lucky to fetch $500 million" for selling its handset business and analyst Richard Windsor said that Motorola might have to pay someone to take the division off the company and that the company may even exit the handset market altogether.[19] Its global market share has been on the decline; from 18.4% of the market in 2007, it had a share of just 6.0% by Q1 2009 but at last Motorola scored a profit of $26 million in Q2 and showed increase of 12% in stocks first time after lose in many quarters.
Motorola was not in the best shape (their phone division) prior to the release of the Droid, losing 66% of their market share.
Unless I'm missing something, I don't see any differences in the Hero vs the Eris in your link, other than the SAR value (head and body). How are they slightly different? And they are 15 grams apart in weight, which is half an ounce, or not noticable.