Motorola Droid opening sales disappointing, say reports

There's been a lot of hype around the Android 2.0 powered Motorola Droid, with many critics pegging it as serious competition for the iPhone.

But its opening weekend sales have been quite disappointing, according to industry analysts, who are naturally pitting the touchscreen device against figures set by the iPhone and iPhone 3GS (which sold 1 million units in its first weekend).

Worldwide, the Droid pushed out around 200,000 units, with around half of those being sold in the US by Verizon. Although this sounds like a high figure - and could very reasonably be construed as encouraging for Motorola - the aggressiveness of the competition pours water on the Droid's bonfire.

To really position itself as a smartphone competitor, Motorola is required to put a million Droid handsets into use within the year, which at the moment doesn't look likely.

But with the Christmas sales push on the doorstep, and the positive critical reaction the Droid has received, it's still likely to be considered a success in the fullness of time.

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