Pulse2 Technology and Social Media News » Verizon Droid

V CAST Launches An App Store: V CAST Apps

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 17:38:36 +0000

V CAST has launched their own branded mobile application store. Many people using Android phones on Verizon may have already noticed the V CAST Apps tabs under the Android Market. V CAST Apps will supposedly be their own app store and may even compete directly with the Android Market.

On September 1st, Verizon opened up submissions for Android applications for the V CAST App Store. Each application will go through a review process. Currently the V CAST App STore will be only available to devices that are running on Android 2.2. These devices include the Droid 1, Droid 2, Droid X, and the Incredible.

The V CAST App Store has 14 day approval, carrier billing, 70/30 revenue sharing, content programming and store across multiple platforms (BlackBerry and Android), and subscription billing coming soon.

[Android and Me]

Two New Droid Commercials Air That Highlight Runstar and Layar Apps

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:19:58 +0000

The other day I was thinking about how Droid should promote apps on commercials that are available for download on the Android Market. That idea worked very well for Apple. It turns out that the Droid marketing team was thinking what I was thinking. Below are a couple of commercials that feature apps created for the Droid. The two apps being talked about here are Runstar and Layar. Runstar is a fitness routine application and Layar is an augmented reality application.

[Mashable]

Google Nexus One Not Coming To Verizon Due To Droid Incredible

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:34:16 +0000

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) decided not to release the Nexus One mobile phone on Verizon Wireless because they plan to launch a device on the network called the Droid Incredible. The Droid Incredible reflects an amazing innovation in the Android platform according to Google in a statement. The Droid Incredible will cost $200 with a contract.

Motorola Milestone Commercial Airs, Less Intimidating Than The Droid [VIDEO]

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:52:18 +0000

Motorola decided to take a more sophisticated approach for the Milestone mobile phone. The Milestone is the European version of the Droid. I think they even mentioned something about “Intelligence and versatility converge.” Did you miss out on the commercials of the American version of the phone? Check em’ out in the link below. Then come back to this page and compare it to the below video of the Milestone:

- Its not a princess, its a robot [link]
- Stealth commercial [link]
- Teaser before phone was released [link]

“Its Not A Princess, Its A Robot,” Quipped The New Droid Commercial [Video]

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:49:26 +0000

Verizon and Motorola’s $100 million marketing campaign is hitting Apple in another place where it hurts, the actual design of the phone. In the commercial below, Verizon and Motorola compare the iPhone to a pretentious beauty queen and a princess. “Its not a princess, its a robot” states the commercial when describing the Droid. This ad almost made me feel slightly embarrassed about my iPhone for a minute there when they compared it to a tiara-wearing, digitally clueless beauty pageant queen. But then I remembered how I make money from the App Store and then I felt better for owning an iPhone again.

Mobile Analytics Company Flurry Estimates 250,000 Droids Sold In First Week

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:31:08 +0000

In the opening weekend an analyst at Broadpoint AmTech Inc. estimated that about 100,000 Verizon Droid mobile phones were sold. This is an impressive number considering that there was not much time between the announcement and the launch date.

Now that a week of data has been collected, a mobile analytics firm called Flurry estimates that about 250,000 Droid mobile phones have been sold in the last week.

Flurry has access to every 2 out of 3 iPhone and Android handsets for collecting data. Based on the 250,000 unit sales estimation, the Droid can now be called “the fastest-selling Android phone to date.”

The iPhone 3G S sold about 1.6 million copies across 8 countries in the opening week. The Verizon Droid launched in one country.

Broadpoint AmTech Inc. Analyst Mark McKechnie Suspects 100,000 Droids Sold On Opening Weekend

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:17:11 +0000

Broadpoint AmTech Inc. analyst Mark McKechnie estimated that 100,000 Verizon Droid mobile phones were sold over the weekend. In terms of specifications the Verizon Droid was intended to challenge the iPhone. The iPhone remains as king when it comes to selling the most number of units on an opening weekend, but clearly the Droid has made an impact on mobile phone competition. At least more so than the Palm Pre when comparing opening weekend unit sales.

When the original iPhone first launched, it sold about 270,000 units on the opening weekend. However the original iPhone had a much higher cost. And then iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S had about 1 million units sold on their respective opening weekends, thus creating the benchmark that many other mobile companies are striving for. The Palm Pre sold about 50,000 units on their opening weekend which was a record sales day for Sprint. If the Verizon Droid did end up selling 100,000 units in the opening weekend, then that means that about 50% of the company’s inventory has been bought.

What does this mean for the telecommunications market in general? What this means is that the iPhone has a small rival which may just help Verizon retain some of their customers from switching to AT&T. The Android Market will see an increase in sales too. It will be a fraction of the sales that Apple makes on the iTunes App Store, but we will definitely start hearing some developer success stories about how much they made from the Android Market in the near future.

New Verizon Droid Commercial Is Intense

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:23:32 +0000

Google and Verizon has made a new commercial for the upcoming Verizon Droid mobile phone. The new commercial features a stealth bomber dropping what looks like a bomb in different areas of the world. The commercial looks like it could be a science fiction movie. The last Verizon Droid commercial made fun of the iPhone by saying “iDon’t” followed by a feature that the Apple iPhone does not have which the Droid does have. AT&T is suing Verizon for the “there’s a map for that” theme ads.

Best Buy Pre-Selling the DROID Today

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:59:43 +0000

Best Buy Mobile announced that they are pre-selling the Verizon DROID today. The phone will be available on November 6. The DROID is the first phone on Verizon to run on the Google Android operating system. By ordering the phone through Best Buy, customers are able to avoid mail-in rebates and instant savings. Best Buy is selling the phone for $199.99 with 2 year activation.

“We’re excited to feature this new device for our consumers, as it represents the latest and greatest in mobile technology,” stated Best Buy Mobile President Shawn Score in a press release. “Bringing the DROID to Best Buy Mobile expands our already unmatched assortment of smartphones allowing customers to compare high-end devices like the iPhone 3GS, HTC Hero and DROID all under one roof. The fact that customers can purchase the phone first at Best Buy through the pre-sell is an added bonus.”

The DROID has a 3.7″ screen, 5 MP camera with autofocus and image stabilization. The camera also has dual-LED flash and DVD-quality video. The DROID is the first phone to have Google Maps Navigation.

Motorola Droid Gets A Hands-On Treatment

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:00:14 +0000

Boy Genius Report gave the hands-on treatment on the Motorola Droid. Based on the screenshots I’ve seen, it looks very similar to an iPhone and the sliding QWERTY keyboard reminds me of a Sidekick. Below are some of the specs:
- Android 2.0 operating system (as predicted)
- Almost as thin as an iPhone 3G S and very thin QWERTY sliding keyboard
- Capacitive display
- The phone is made out of metal and rubber. The keyboard has a soft-touch rubberized finish.
- Each phone will have a desktop charger that comes with it. The charger turns the phone into a Multimedia Station by displaying the local weather and time.