Will Droid X Pre-Order Backlog Slow Motorola Momentum?
Motorola Droid X phones are sold out at Verizon retail outlets coast-to-coast, and according to Verizon, home delivery dates for phones won't be until Aug. 5 at the earliest as the companies work to clear out pre-order backlog. But that may be a good problem for both Motorola and Verizon, whose Droid X is not only among the year's hottest smartphones but is already a compelling rival for Apple's mighty iPhone brand.
Verizon first acknowledged shortages on July 16, mere days after it promised there would be enough Droid X phones to go around during launch. Earlier this week, several reports suggested that the Droid X cupboards at Verizon retail outlets are definitely bare.
In a Monday research note, Gleacher & Co. analyst Mark McKechnie wrote to clients that as of late last week there was "no supply available at retail as all production is still going to fill pre-order backlog."
Droid X certainly isn't the only hot summer smartphone in short supply. Apple pushed back ship dates on iPhone 4 several times, and the HTC EVO 4G -- a Sprint phone claiming the crown as the country's first 4G-ready smartphone -- has also seen a number of delays since its June launch.
With its 4.3-inch display, HDMI output, 1 Ghz processor, 8 GB of memory and other features, Droid X has staked a claim as the must-have phone of the summer. In addition to those features, it also sports 3G mobile hotspot capability, Swype touch-screen software, an 8-megapixel camera, and version 2.1 of Google's Android mobile OS, with an upgrade to version 2.2 expected in August.
Verizon and Motorola's Droid X launch hasn't been without its headaches. Last week, some early buyers reported flickering and the appearance of vertical bands on their Droid X displays. Motorola and Verizon addressed the issue, saying that customers experiencing those problems should contact one of the two companies immediately, and indicated it affected a "very small number" of the phones.
Motorola is set to report quarterly earnings on Thursday. An average of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expects Motorola to report earnings of 8 cents per share on sales of $5.2 billion, compared to a 1 cent-per-share loss on $5.5 billion in the same quarter a year ago.
In his research note, McKechnie said Motorola will likely increase its Android phone sales targets for 2010 by as much as 14 million units thanks to the momentum of Droid X and its other Android-based units.