Motorola On Track To Sell 1 Million Droids
Mark Sue, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a research paper that Motorola and Verizon have worked together to sell between 600,000 and 800,000 Droid smartphones so far during the fourth quarter, and are on the way toward a goal of selling 1 million units by year-end, the online news site GigaOM reported on Monday.
Verizon brought the Motorola Droid smartphone to market last month, temporarily squelching rumors that Verizon might sign on the rival Apple iPhone smartphone device.
GigaOM reported that Sue expects Motorola to meet its sales goal thanks to strong demand for the Droid smartphone and a combined marketing campaign budget of about $100 million.
The campaign kicked off about a month ago with an advertisement from Verizon, which can be viewed here on YouTube, which emphasized all the things the Apple iPhone cannot do.
Despite the Motorola Droid marketing blitz, Verizon has been rumored for some time to be in the running to be an alternative to AT&T as a carrier for Apple's iPhone.
GigaOM reported that Motorola has been expected to sell about 1.5 million smartphones in the fourth quarter of 2009, including such Android-based devices as the Milestone, the Cliq, and the Dext.