Motorola pins hopes on Droid mobile

Reuters

The Motorola Droid mobile, based on Google's Android software.

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Motorola's new Droid phone will be the first to use navigation software from Google, in a direct challenge to GPS device makers.

The Droid will go on sale on November 6 at Verizon Wireless, the largest US mobile service provider, which said it will promote the phone with its biggest marketing campaign ever. It will cost US$199(NZ$270) for customers who commit to a two-year service contract, Verizon Wireless said.

The Droid, which includes a computer-like keyboard and a new version of Google's software, Android 2.0, will also compete against Apple's iPhone,

Verizon Wireless Chief Marketing Officer John Stratton said he believed the Droid would hold its own against the iPhone, even as he conceded that Apple had revolutionized the smartphone industry.

"We have to demystify the notion that (iPhone's) untouchable," Stratton told reporters at the launch event in New York. "This product can stand up and compete."

Google said Android 2.0 would include a Google Maps Navigation product with real-time, turn-by-turn walking or driving directions. It will also respond to voice commands and offers a visual display that incorporates Google's online archive of street photographs.

Motorola said Droid was the world's thinnest phone to feature a slide-out QWERTY keypad. It also sports a five-megapixel camera and a day's worth of battery life.

"It's a pretty dramatic evolution of what Android was," Motorola Chief Executive Sanjay Jha told reporters.

Droid represents a massive bet for Motorola, which after losing ground to rivals for more than two years has reorganised its entire mobile business around the development of phones based on Android.

Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc, will look to the device to help it stem market-share losses to rival US telcoAT&T.

Verizon recently started showing Droid video ads highlighting its advantages over iPhone, without actually describing the device itself. Stratton did not say how much the marketing campaign would cost.

"As long as it's not buggy, it will do quite well," Current Analysis analyst Avi Greengart said. "I don't think this will single-handedly save Motorola but it's a crucial step."

Greengart said that Android was "closing the gap" with rivals.

- Reuters