Analysts: Either 100,000 or 400,000 Droids sold

November 10, 2009 | Paul Boutin | Comments | |

droidzHow many Droid phones has Verizon sold? It depends which respected industry analyst you ask.

Telecom analyst Mark McKechnie from research firm Broadpoint AmTech told Bloomberg reporters that Verizon began sales with 200,000 units in stock last weekend, and that most stores had sold roughly half their stock. That multiplies to 100,000 units sold. (Mark is not pictured at right. These guys just had the best Droid team spirit in a Google image search.)

The number is impressive, but the sales it doesn’t touch Apple’s million-unit first weekend for the most recent model iPhone — and remember, the Droid phone, which is the first device using Google’s Android 2.0 operating system, had literally been advertised as the anti-iPhone.

Consultant Michael Cote, whose Cote Collaborative works on market strategies with handset makers and wireless carriers, says McKechnie, with all due respect, “is off by a factor of four.” 400,000 units puts the Droid to within striking distance of the iPhone for the next round of updates for both phones. That would be cool, because admit it, watching the iPhone beat up all other phones on the planet combined was getting pretty dull.

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About the Author, Paul Boutin

Paul (paul@venturebeat.com) covers Apple & the iPhone, social networks & social media, digital music & video, and any crazy Internet story. Paul wrote and edited for Valleywag from 2006-2008, after several years with Wired magazine and Slate. He writes regularly for The New York Times' technology section and sometimes for Wired and The Wall Street Journal. He studied computer science at MIT in the early 1980s, and worked as a software developer and network administrator for 15 years before becoming a professional writer. Follow him on Twitter at @paulboutin, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

  • Obiwan
    To be fair, the "1 million iphones sold" you're referring to are worldwide sales across 21 countries and multiple networks. The Droid figures are for 1 country and 1 network. Regardless of whether it's 100k or 400k, that's still impressive.

    I think that there are plenty of people that are still on the fence whether Droid is the next best thing, and were waiting to see what other people had to say about it. I have a bunch of co-workers that wanted to see my Droid first before deciding what to do...and a good number of those are unhappy iPhone owners.
  • Justa Notherguy
    @obiwan
    > Droid figures are for 1 country and 1 network.

    ...for a phone designed by a moribund hardware company, sold by
    the USA's most notoriously ham-fisted, money-grubbing provider,
    which - moreover - stubbornly clings to the world's least-common
    channel-access methodology _and_ the highest rates.

    > Regardless of whether it's 100k or 400k, that's still impressive.

    ...for a phone which saw only ~30 days of advertising (vs 6 months
    or more, for a typical iPhone intro), after the carrier dropped their
    long-time ad agency, ~60 days before launch.

    > I think that there are plenty of people that are still on the fence
    > [...] and were waiting to see what other people had to say about it.

    ...oh, and did I mention that Droid - unlike the iPhone - stands as a
    brand new and wholly independent product, rather than as targeted
    adjunct/extension of an existing line of top-selling retail products (iPod)?

    If Droid's opening weekend hit 100K, that's great. If it hit 400K, that's
    absolutely staggering.
  • Sansibar
    "If Droid's opening weekend hit 100K, that's great. If it hit 400K, that's
    absolutely staggering."

    Very good point, Justa, and I think it is great that you volunteer to support the Droid spirit on every available web site and forum, well done you.

    However, I think those estimates, even the most optimistic ones, don't really show that Android is gathering the momentum it needs to muscle in on the iPhone platform.

    Consider that even while the Droid entered the market place 30,000 iPhones were sold as Orange introduced themselves as the second carrier in the UK, which is a tiny market compared to the US.

    As Apple opens up the platform to multiple carriers around the world they are again one step ahead by simply holding on to the advantage in installed base.

    Then it is also highly likely that the Droid is cannibalising the overall Android market, amongst the consumers buying the Droid many would have considered HTC or Samsung phones, many will have been waiting desperately to dump their G1's. Others will probably have jumped from WinMo or Symbian.

    So the actual damage to the iPhone platform (never forget that the iPod Touch also drives the AppStore) will have been minimal no matter whether it was 100K or 400K of Droids.
  • midas360
    Let's be honest folks... Apple set the new standard for excellence when inventing the iPhone. Now everyone is playing catch up. You hear people getting so excited about the Android as if they invented something new. The fact is, Google and Motorola had a blueprint to copy from. I know people are getting sick and tired of Apple getting credit for everything. Blah Blah Blah. Truth hurts and yes it's getting old.

    I am glad the Apple haters finally get an Apple like device they can call their own. :)
  • Obiwan
    The truth is that I believe there's room in the market for more than one leading smartphone. Google doesn't need to "copy" Apple, because if they did, I wouldn't have bought the Droid since the iPhone doesn't suit my needs.