14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that Motorola DROID, the second Android-based mobile phone the handset vendor delivered to the US market, has had a good first week of sales. A recent report from Flurry shows that the device was sold in around 250,000 units, which can be considered a great result both for Motorola and for Verizon.
The Motorola DROID came to the market as a powerful iPhone competitor, and it seems that the device might just prove that it is capable of enjoying a good performance. Compared to the number of iPhone 3GS units moved during the first week of availability, DROID's sale might look much reduced, yet Flurry notes that the Apple device was launched in eight countries around the world at the same time, while DROID only in one.
Verizon has reportedly invested a lot of money in the advertising campaign for the DROID, around $100 million, according to Rita Chang of Ad Age, which shows that the importance of the device is huge. Added to the $750 million investment Google is set to make in the purchase of AdMob, it also shows that Android needs more advertising.
In addition, Flurry mentiones that the performance of DROID during its first weeks of sales places it on the first position on the top selling Android handsets on the market. myTouch 3G on T-Mobile has sales four times weaker, but this is also influenced by the fact that Verizon has almost 90 million subscribers, while T-Mobile only 34 million.
Motorola already announced plans to sell around 1 million DROID units before the end of the year, which is said to be translated in a “cost per acquisition of $100 per handset sold,” when the $100 million campaign is taken into consideration. The aggressive marketing from Verizon and the advantage of its 3G network in certain regions are also expected to influence the sales of the handset.
“The launch of Droid signals the beginning of a viable platform alternative to the iPhone as Android builds critical mass. As major companies continue to vie for a piece of the exploding Smartphone market, the consumer has never had more choice and innovation in the mobile industry. With Droid, Motorola has raised the bar for Android handsets, contributing to an ever-growing base of Android handsets upon which applications developers can build a business,” Flurry notes.
