Whether you’re someone who is currently on Verizon’s network, or you just watch the phone industry as a whole, then you know that the Big Red carrier is starting to get out of hand with their phone releases. That would seem like a strange thing to say, especially considering Verizon makes their money in part by releasing new phones, but if you’ve been watching, then you know what I’m talking about. Specifically, there’s no way anyone can argue that Motorola and Verizon don’t need to slow down. But, while that’s perfectly true, why isn’t Verizon asking themselves why anyone would still care about the DROID brand name?
It wasn’t all that long ago that I asked all of you if you thought the DROID brand was worth the extra money Verizon was asking you to throw down. I will admit that I was kind of shocked that many of you actually said yes, that it is worth it, and that you’d gladly pay it. But, while I may have asked that question not too long ago, there have been quite a few more additions to the party. We’ve seen the Motorola DROID Bionic launch, which was quickly followed by the DROID RAZR. Right before the launch of the Bionic we saw the launch of the DROID 3, and then before that we’ve got the DROID X2. But, we’ve already been over that.
I was really hoping that Motorola and Verizon would learn from their previous launch windows, but that’s definitely not the case. Sure, they aren’t the only manufacturer out there to launch a phone, and then launch the same phone later with a different color scheme, but it’s still a strange business practice. I’m referring to the white version of the DROID RAZR, of course. So, that means we get one more RAZR in December, okay, fine. But! Let’s not forget the launch of the DROID RAZRMAX (which is still rumored, of course, and probably won’t launch in December). Oh, and then there’s that DROID 4, which is rumored to launch in December.
Are you kidding me? Why would anyone care about the DROID name anymore? Why would anyone be excited about it? How can Verizon employees be excited about it? “Oh, yeah, the DROID 4 is the greatest DROID yet. But, we’ve got the DROID RAZRMAX coming soon, too, and you know what? That’ll be the greatest DROID yet, too.” It’s getting tiresome to keep seeing these DROID phones, especially when Motorola is literally eating up the ranks as quickly as they can. Do they think this is some kind of race? Motorola, if this is a race, and you’re competing with Samsung and HTC, let me be frank: you’ve won. Considering the higher-end HTC Rezound didn’t clinch a DROID title, I think that’s pretty obvious.
Verizon has completely washed the DROID name away. It isn’t important anymore. Not even a little bit. This is a brand name that, for all intents and purposes, changed the way people talked about Android. Seriously! You see and hear people reference Android by DROID all the time! Even if they’ve got an Android phone from Sprint, AT&T or T-Mobile (or any other carrier besides Verizon), you’ll hear folks call it a DROID. I know people don’t pay attention (or care?) all that much to branding, but that’s a big win for Verizon. People are using a brand name that you are using from Lucas Films to name every Android phone out there. And what do you do with it? Wash it away, and make it mean absolutely nothing.
The DROID name should have been Verizon’s ace-in-the-pocket. It should have been their card they pulled out when they needed another high-end, memorable phone. People remember (and still use!) the original Motorola DROID (the OG DROID). People still talk about the original Motorola DROID X. But ever since then, it’s just been a torrential downpour of new DROID devices, none of which are all that memorable, based on the competition that’s already launched, or will launch. The DROID RAZR was close, but now that the RAZRMAX is set to hit the scene with a true 720p HD display and a bigger battery, the only people who are going to care about the RAZR are the angry people who bought it.
Does Verizon even care? I’m seriously starting to wonder, ladies and gentlemen. I feel like they are seriously trying to scorn their customers, just to see how far they can take it. Poking the bear, if you will. But, will anything change? Who knows? Probably not. Verizon and Motorola seem pretty content in their ways. I guess we’ll just have to try and survive the deluge.
