Motorola's Droid smartphones may have been dropping out of the sky like meteors in Verizon Wireless commercials, but they weren't selling with as much force on the first day of launch.
Verizon stores throughout the nation made the Droid available Friday after heavily marketing the Android 2.0-based device during the World Series. Motorola and Verizon are hoping the Droid will have as much success as the Motorola Razr during in its four-year run, when it sold 110 million units.
Anxious consumers lined up at midnight to have first dibs at purchasing the Droid, and some shorter lines formed Friday morning when Verizon stores opened. But the excitement fizzled by the end of the day despite Verizon's efforts.
Tethering Not Available
Some purchasers praised Motorola for the Droid's features, saying it is equipped with everything they need. The features also have some observers predicting the Droid will hurt Apple's iPhone sales.
The device is equipped with a 3.7-inch-high and 854-pixel-wide screen, features voice-activated search, the ability to toggle between applications, a thin QWERTY  keyboard, a five-megapixel camera, a 16GB memory card, and turn-by-turn directions with the Google Maps Navigation beta.
Preloaded apps include YouTube, Verizon Wireless Visual VoiceMail, Facebook, Google Talk, and Gmail. It also comes with a $299 price. If purchased with a two-year contract, the price is $199 with a $100 mail-in rebate.
"We have plenty of inventory, so customers are walking out with the Android phone of their choice, either the Droid by Motorola or the Droid Eris by HTC," said Brenday Raney, a Verizon spokesperson.
Verizon requires a nationwide voice plan starting at $40 a month and an Internet data plan for an additional $30 a month. It also offers a modem plan called Mobile Broadband Connect for $30 more a month that does not yet include tethering so other wireless devices can connect to the Droid.
"Tethering is not currently available on the Droid by Motorola phone," Raney said. "It is scheduled to be implemented next year. I don't have a specific time frame or date that we are sharing at this time."
Steady Stream
Fans are not likely to avoid buying the Droid because of the missing tethering feature. Apple's iPhone also does not have tethering.
Despite its heavy marketing of Motorola's Droid, Verizon stores experienced a not-so-crazy launch in comparison with its launch of the BlackBerry Storm and AT&T's launch of the iPhone, which both brought droves of customers. But Verizon said it is still happy with the turnout.
"We are very pleased with the first day's sales," Raney said. "All of our stores are reporting a steady stream of customers."
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