14 DAY TRIAL // Motorola DROID is the second mobile phone released on the market by handset maker Motorola with Google's Android operating system on board, and also the only device currently available with the Eclair (aka Android 2.0) flavor of the platform. The handset has been launched on November 6 on the airwaves of Verizon Wireless, and now the reports on it show that more than 700,000 units have been sold already.
Earlier reports on the sales figures for Motorola DROID showed that a number of around 250,000 units have been moved during the first week of availability alone, and it seems that the momentum is growing, enabling the company to reach the targeted 1 million sold units mark for the fourth quarter of the ongoing year.
Mark Sue, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets in New York, reportedly stated on Sunday that Motorola had already managed to sell a number of about 700,000 to 800,000 DROID units, which should make it easy for the company to reach the said 1 million mark in Q4 2009. In a more conservative estimation, Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron says that Motorola will only be able to deliver a number of around 750,000 DROIDs in the time frame.
One thing that is certain here is that the handset has seen a great marketing campaign from Verizon. The carrier has been already reported to have invested around $100 million in DROID's campaign, which suggests that the device has great potential, and that its performance on the market during the holiday season might be a great one after all.
On the other hand, Motorola CLIQ, the first Android phone from the handset vendor, currently available for purchase via T-Mobile in the US, doesn't show a similar performance as its brother. Not only does the CLIQ sport an older Android flavor and seems a little less appealing than DROID, but it has been also struck by some issues with the battery life, which are said to be affecting its sales. Overall, DROID's performance compensates for CLIQ's issues, it seems, and the sales of Motorola's Android phones are seen as 'good,' though not 'great.'