Prime-time TV spots critique the shortcomings of Apple’s iPhone in an attempt to position Android-powered mobiles as the better choice.
US carrier Verizon has launched a cheeky but aggressive anti-iPhone advertisement in the lead-up to its introduction of its Android mobile phones, beginning with the Motorola ‘Droid’.
Using the simplistic design, typeface and bouncy up-beat music similar to that of an Apple advertisement, the “iDon’t” spot calls up a laundry list of the iPhone’s alleged weaknesses: such as “iDon’t have a real keyboard”, “iDon’t take 5.0 megapixel pictures” and “iDon’t allow open development”.
The advert closes (in a rather jarring and unfriendly fashion) with the promise that “everything iDon’t, Droid does”.
You can watch the advertisement here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPYM-XTqcecDroid is Verizon’s first Android mobile, due for launch next Friday and is said to be a rebadged version of Motorola’s Tao, previously code-named Sholes.
This up-market handset sports a 3.7 inch (480 x 854 pixel) screen plus a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Even with the keyboard the Droid is said to be only slightly thicker than the iPhone.
The beefy 600MHz processor contains separate engines for video and image processing, and the Droid will come with a desktop cradle which recharges the battery and also turns the Droid into a “multimedia station” while docked.
As the adverts hint, Droid also packs a 5.0 megapixel videocamera along with the obligatory 3G HSDPA, GSP and Wi-Fi.
HTC’s Hero is tipped to follow the Droid next month, although this may also carry some form of Droid badging if Verizon intends to promote that brand across its family of Android phones.
Verizon has also said that its will permit Google Voice to run on its Android phones, unlike the Apple/AT&T alliance which has several times refused to list Google Voice on the App Store.