Droid vs. iPhone: It's Really About the Carrier

The clock is ticking to the release of the Droid, and its smaller brother the Droid Eris, this Friday from Verizon. The media is filled with rhetoric drawing comparisons between the Droid and the iPhone. Those stories miss the point that the real battle isn't between the Droid and the iPhone, but between Verizon and AT&T. AT&T has faced a fairly steady stream of complaints from customers--the majority of those complaints coming from the dedicated legions of iPhone users. There have been complaints that the battery can't be replaced, complaints that the data service is slow, complaints that 3G access is dysfunctional, complaints that the device couldn't do MMS messaging, and more. AT&T and Apple have also been the focus of controversy related to rejecting the Google Voice app, and trying to block third-party VoIP solutions. iPhone users love their iPhones, but they aren't quite as dedicated to the wireless provider the iPhone is tied to. Verizon seems to be the number one wireless carrier in the country for a reason. It has a better quality network and higher customer satisfaction, and it is capitalizing on those attributes in its marketing. In preparation for the Droid launch, Verizon has two clever campaigns. The iDon't ad campaign is aimed at spotlighting the deficiencies in the iPhone and highlighting the fact that Droid has those capabilities. The other campaign plays off of Apple's "There's an app for that" iPhone campaign to compare maps of the 3G coverage of Verizon vs. AT&T. Do you want to know why you can't find a 3G connection with AT&T? There's a map for that.