Verizon Sold 100,000 Motorola Droids on Launch Weekend

The Motorola Droid debuted last Friday, and one market analysts estimates that around 100,000 units of this Android-based smartphone were sold in the first few days it was available.

This figure, while respectable, falls short of the sales Apple's iPhone typically sees on launch weekends. For example, over 1 million iPhone 3GS units were sold the weekend this model debuted.

Employees in Verizon stores report brisk demand for Motorola's new model, but there weren't long lines of people waiting to buy one on opening day.

Mark McKechnie at Broadpoint AmTech Inc. predicts that Motorola will sell 1 million Android-based smartphones by the end of this year and 10 million next year. These predictions include more than just the Droid, as this company also makes the Cliq for T-Mobile USA, and the Milestone, which is being released in Europe.

A Quick Overview of the Motorola Droid
The Motorola Droid is the new flagship Android OS device, running the latest version of Google's mobile operating system.

This smartphone is a slider, with a landscape-oriented QWERTY keyboard and large, high-resolution capacitive touchscreen with haptic feedback.

The Droid has a suite of applications that can wirelessly synchronize with Google's services, including Gmail, Calendar, Contacts, and Maps, as well as Microsoft Exchange.

It comes with a 16 GB memory card, GPS receiver, and a 5 MPx camera.

Verizon Wireless is the exclusive U.S. provider of the Motorola Droid

Source: Bloomberg