Handsets

Droid X Ad Tears Into iPhone 4’s ‘Grip of Death’ Signal Issues

59

verizon-droid-x-side (1)

Verizon is holding no punches with their Droid X campaign, which again has taken to attacking the phone’s main competitor and the company’s biggest rival in much the same way the original Motorola Droid directly challenged AT&T and the iPhone’s “There’s an app for that” slogan with “Droid Does.” The latest print ad for the X showed up as a full page in today’s New York Times, going straight for the juggular and attacking perhaps the only weakness the mainstream media has been willing to admit with the iPhone 4 since the device’s launch: the grim-sounding Grip of Death.

For anyone unfamiliar, no, holding your iPhone 4 the wrong way won’t kill you, but it will kill your signal. Seems like a pretty big oversight on Apple’s part, but I won’t throw stones. Verizon is already taking care of that. The ad — which you can view below — included this friendly little jab tacked on to the closing print:

And most importantly, it comes with a double antenna design. The kind that allows you to hold the phone any way you like and use it just about anywhere to make crystal clear calls.

I guess the truth hurts sometimes, but it’s all part of “friendly” competition. Then again, it would seem that those wanting the iPhone really just don’t care about how features stack up anyway.

[via MobileCrunch]

Kevin Krause
Pretty soon you'll know a lot about Kevin because his biography will actually be filled in!

They May Have Missed Q2, but Motorola Has Updated Their Android 2.1 Timeline: Cliq and Cliq XT “testing in process”

Previous article

Qualcomm to Release Augmented Reality SDK

Next article

You may also like

59 Comments

  1. Verizon strikes again.

  2. Android kicking ass again, you have got to love it or if your an iphoney lover you can always cover your ears and eyes and continuously chant ” I dont care,the iphone has the wi-fis

  3. so…why would verizon get an iphone 4 this january?
    im just curious…

  4. Poor Motorola. They’re trying so hard lol. They basically replicated the HTC Incredible, but made it bigger so it wasn’t seen as a copy.

    HTC FTW!!!

  5. Only one j in jugular.

  6. Any news about this thing hitting UK market at all?

  7. @ Aleis, Verizon’s just trying to help AT&T “share its burden” , you know that kind of network overload “burden”

  8. Verizon has kinda turned into a marketing machine. Things like this are just brilliant. Hit them hard and hit them with the same message. Like the whole 3G thing, AT&T kept doing ads against Verizon, but kept changing the message, vs Verizon said the same thing over and over. Hammer it hard and people will get it in their heads. Way to go big red!

  9. @aleis – they aren’t getting the iPhone in January. Those are rumors that have been floating around for quite a while and several different providers. So far none have come true.

  10. Now if Verizon would change away from CDMA to GSM I would become their customer.

  11. Yes… Verizon will get the iPhone in January. On another note I will be marrying Milla Jovovich and going to Mars for my honeymoon. We both decided on Mars because the Mile High Club is just so yesterday.

  12. hey i am getting a new phone and i need help deciding. ii am deciding on HTC droid incredible or Motorola droid x? can you guys help me i really like both of them it is so hard to choose

  13. Cannot wait to sell my original droid and get this badboy!

  14. @jake..Poor Motorola? The Moto Droid is the phone that brought Android to the masses, show some respect kid… I wont even start about testing quadrant and linpack scores between a droid OC’d to 1.0ghz and an Incredible with their 1.0ghz snapdragon, because it isn’t even funny how badly the Inc gets stomped… I dont know why there is such hatred between moto droid owners and htc Inc ownwers…I mean I talk up all other android phones regardless of the brand (sans backflip.)

  15. This kicks them in the balls, again.

  16. @oliver,
    get the droid x, so many more features and your paying the same. bigger screen, better GPU. but it depends on you, you should check them both out. then decide

  17. Oliver, it all down to screen preference. Both phones are pretty similar. Screen sizes and LCD vs AMOLED.

    I really like the looks (shape) of Droid X, but I feel that 4.3 is too large for me. Besides, I’m not willing to give up AMOLED for LCD.

    That’s why I’m with Incredible.

  18. Hahaha! I gotta say at first Verizon poking fun at the iPhone just seemed like jealousy and childish “uh uh, my phone is better than your phone” comebacks. But now they are really hitting the soft spots in Apple’s defenses. Not that this isn’t still childish but more funny, and painfully true.

  19. I want the one with the more GeeBees and the whyfies.

  20. Yeah i could definitely use some help. I ordered the incredible which is on back order and can switch to the Droid X if I want to. Any thoughts? Has anyone seen any comparing reviews yet???

  21. Are these dual antennas designed to be inside the Droid X handsets?

    Or did they also make the same mistake iPhone 4 was designed by using metal edges of the phone as part of the antenna and exposing it to conductive sweaty palms and metal keys, coins, and other objects?

    So far, iPhone 4 has shown to have the worst reception quality at 19.8 decibels while holding normally with your hand…the same test should be done for the Droid X.

  22. To Oliver,
    The Droid X has a bigger display, better camera (even though the megapixels are the same), and better battery life. The Droid Incredible, has a slightly smaller display (some feel the X’s display makes it too big for a phone), and more sophisticated and user-friendly HTC software. So… you might end up wanting to visit the Verizon store to see just how well each fits in your hand. In either case, you’ll do better than an iPhone.

  23. should’ve said “It comes with the antennas on the inside of the phone, Where they BELONG” and “No CASE required to make calls”

  24. @ Chew

    Really? 4.3″ is too big for you? That’s NOT what she said! lol, i couldn’t help it. It had to be done

  25. @jake: The OMAP processor blows away the Snapdragon. This processor is comparable to the Hummingbird. And I own a Snapdragon phone.

  26. @steve_jobs_has_hemdroids
    the reason some people talk about motorola is because htc has a better track record when it comes to “real phones” htc only makes smart phones, and it seems like motorola tried once with the 960??? then almost a decade later they tried again and made a hit. i guess people just expect motorola to fuck up and go back to making nextel phones only again lol, but they are good now

  27. this is the main reason why android is better than the iphone4, damn near infinite selection, the iphone4 might be better than the android phones out now (not to me but those companies apple has paid off) by Christmas time there are gonna be phones out way better in every way than the iphone4, and apples biggest weakness is that there is only one iphone every year to appeal to there whole fan base so if they want to keep up with all the different androids their phones have got to include all the new things that google implements into the phones as well as the modders since it seems google gets alot of their ides from them too

  28. you won’t even realize that it is going after iphone’s weaknesses unless you’ve been following the news lately.

  29. Yeah um…I doubt 1.7 million ppl are gonna buy droidx when it’s released. I mean I like the droidx but it’s not going to sell like iPhone4 no matter how much shit they talk. This ad screams of desperation :)

    PS I hope Steve never lets iPhone on verizon. Tmobile will do just fine :)

  30. @elijahblake, chew was indicating it was too large for his own hand ;) TMI, dude. lol
    Seriously, if Sprint would learn something from VZW about marketing, we wouldn’t even be talking about AT&T and there would be an iphone with CDMA/EVDO/Wimax radios already on the market.

  31. Whats the point of these benchmarks people throw out because they read it somewhere. In the real world they dont mean jack. Seriously, its nice that people can quote them, but I doubt half the people who quote them know what they mean and know what exactly they are testing.

    IMO you should be choosing your phone based on carrier first, whoever provides the best coverage in your area. And then after that if you want to go on plan pricing thats cool. The rest is personal preference. When you line these phones up next to each other, there is very little difference, especially the milliseconds that is different in opening browsers, apps, and flipping screens on the homepage. Basically all the lastest phones can do the same things, and unless the phone is missing a feature they are all similar, definately not some HUGE gap as some would make it seem. *SMH*

  32. Epic. Why do people still drool over the iPhone? The only thing it has over any android device is a ffc. They are just now catching up with everything else. If anything iPhone users should be thanking Android for pushing Apple into listening to their customers, and giving them things they wanted in a phone, like multitasking. Apple felt some pressure so they had to listen to what people want in order to keep their business.

  33. coryc10, Android did the ffc 1st than the iPhone. believe it. HTC EVO4G. Now samsung Epic.

  34. @ swazedahustla – I agree

    And to the poster who said the X has a better camera, I’m not too sure about that. I had an INC for 10 days and the worst pic I took is better than any I’ve seen so far from the X.

    I’m buying the X, but not for it’s camera though…

  35. Moto has made smartphone in the past, good ones too, but nobody wanted to buy smartphones at the time so they were few and far between (expect in Asia where they did sell). Then Apple came along, and love them or hate them, they did a great job of conning, er, convincing the masses that the iPhone was the cutting edge, and people drank the Kool-aid. But that opened the door for everyone else. Now you have Android, a lot of different phone models by a bunch of manufacturers who know a thing or two about phones. It took a while to ramp up, but now…watch out.

  36. I had a front facing camera on my phone long before the iPhone 4G or Android did.
    Windows Mobile says hello from the HTC Kaiser.
    Nokia had it before them aswell.

  37. Next Verizon ad:

    “Its not made out of effing GLASS”

  38. To bad verizon cell service around my parts suck ass

  39. Wow you noobs still don’t understand that FIRST means NOTHING! ooo woww so wat if phones had features before the droid x or iphone that doesnt mean shit. You’re arguement is ignorant and pathetic….also http://www.macrumors.com/2010/06/25/iphone-4s-camera-capabilities-evaluated/

    iPhone 4 beats it in screen resolution and camera quality….and before all you pussy iPhone haters start saying that the droid has a superior camera ONLY because it has 8MP camerayou are lying to yourself o and wowwww a big screen nobody cares….thats like saying OMG i have a 70 inch rear projection TV which is therefore superior to the 40 inch LED IPS TV according to your logic. Better luck next time Droid! noobs…

    http://www.macrumors.com/2010/06/25/iphone-4s-camera-capabilities-evaluated/

  40. Also you people say that android is gaining ground huh? WOW i hope you guys feel safe in your box of lies!!! explain to me why the iphone 4 sold about 2 million units its first THREE DAYS!!! guaranteed this phone and ALL other COMPETING phones first week sales figures PUT TOGETHER won’t even conjure up half that number…..HTC…Motorola….Samsung…there basically the ZUNE of the phone market….it tries to compete yet will ALWAYS lurk in the shadow of the iPhone. And then they will eventually die because nobody honestly cares.

  41. @jake

    You think MOTO is chasing HTC? No, they are chasing a bigger competitor (iPhone 4)

    STUPID!!!!!

  42. Simply amazing. You know I think that Apple is facing all of these issues because they rushed to make the iPhone 4. Android more than likely caused this. However, Steve needs to give an official statement and soon. Until then we can only speculate.

    Any how theres this article at http://getyourgadgetsgoing.com/ called “iPhone 4 Is In But The Problems Are Out: Complete Overview”

    Check it out for the complete listing of iPhone 4 issues and one that you may yet have heard of but still might be experiencing.

  43. everybody , its better to buy a droid x instead of HTC INCREDIBLE because it has some pre installed apps, bigger gorgeous screen and much more.

  44. @AppleOwnz
    You sound and act like Hitler must have when he was trapped in his bunker with his armies defeated and the superior forces surrounding him, and still denying the truth.
    The iphone is no longer THE phone with cutting edge technology, Its the phone for soccer mums and grandparents who want a smartphone but dont know why they want it and dont know how to use it.

  45. @AppleOwnz

    Someone hurt your feelings? That’s so sad…

  46. @AppleOwnz – I hope this post still exists in 10 years so you can look back at how sad, pathetic & dumb you sound getting aggressive and insulting people you don’t know over a TELEPHONE

  47. AppleOwnz wrote on June 30, 2010
    ——————————
    “noobs”? “pussy”?

    Dude, you sound like an emotionally retarded person.

    FYI – Your phone is petite, made of glass, and loses reception by..touching it. Me-thinks you are really talking to yourself in this post.

    FYI – HTC. vs. Motorola

    I can officially speak on this: Had an HTC Imagio. Sucked…light bled in through the bottom of the keys, but the camera rocked.

    Had a MotoDroid…solid build quality, everything on it was better than the HTC Incredible except for the camera.

    LED notifications? They suck on the DINC. The LED is way too small, and set too far down into the phone, and the colors are not adjustable. You get one color for ALL notifications. Fail.

    The charging port? Piece of plastic is already cracked around it on my DINC. The camera rocks, but I’m noticing my phone slowing down in ways I never saw the Droid…

    I’m just not convinced by HTC; the phones all have the same sort of shape and seem to be made of cheap plastic.

    The EVO rules though…I *would have* bought that if I were on Sprint.

    Otherwise: back to MOTO baby!

  48. @ AppleOwnz

    You are retarded. A re tarrd….(as pronounced in The Hangover). I think the iPhone is the government…everyone who buys one is controlled by the government! HAHA. That makes as much sense as what you said.

  49. This is amusing. All these bashing comments towards my FACTS are OPINIONS. I guess thats how it goes when the FACTS are in favor of the superior phone, that of which is the iPhone 4. Also the EVO are you truely trying to bring that fat hunk of shit into this? Superior build quality you say? Riddle me this then? http://nexus404.com/Blog/2010/06/14/htc-evo-4gs-falling-apart-for-some-some-evo-4g-screens-falling-out-according-to-reports-htc-is-silent/

    OWNED!

    All of you are just mad because i state the facts. Fact is yes the iphone external antenna is a problem with an EASY solution. Fact is this happens with all phones

    Example: HTC Nexus One hold it the same way the reception signal is weakened by 50% (unlike the iphones 75%) although the iPhone has external antennae, Nexus One doesnt.

    Back to the drawing boards you iPhone haters.

  50. All you HTC owners must feel good talking shit knowing that your phone does the EXACT same thing. http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=HTC+poor+reception&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

  51. @Appleownz…boy we seem to be getting more and more of you oh so proud iPhone owners commenting on here…being this is a Android site seems kinda weird how you guys have to come on here with all your apple points…..sheesh

  52. I have to laugh at all the sorry people and APPLE fanboys that bought their Iphone 4 with their problems on their iPhone 4. I’m with AT&T even though I hate to admit cause I HATE THEIR DAMN PHONE SELECTIONS. I’m stuck with a MOTO ROKR u9. Just glad and thank goodness i didn’t get the Iphone at first launch or last launch.

  53. AppleOwnz is just trying to get us all pissed off…ignore the bastard.

  54. Thanks AppleOwnz for showing us how retarded the typical Apple fanboys are.

    I am so tired of fanboys in my life telling me that Apple invented touchscreen, its not surprising to see other idiots like them on the web..

  55. @Appleownz
    At this point, most people I see using iphones are people who don’t even care. At this point, it’s just another phone. It seems big because of apple’s marketing department, and since apple only makes 1 (2 if you count the 3gs currently) smartphone, it gets hype. Put it this way, who really gives a crap if my phone is made of glass? No one, except people who are stuck up apple fanboys and that waste away waiting in line for the newest gadget. Android rocks!

  56. @Iguy29….I found this video of Appleownz on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL7yD-0pqZg

  57. @Appleownz
    I’m an Applecare support representative. I troubleshoot those pieces of junk for a living. That’s what won me over to Android. Enjoy your glass phone with a shitty antenna. And don’t come whining to me when you lose all your contacts because the latest software update put your phone in recovery mode.

  58. thanks! my sister just got the droid incredible and i tryed it it was pretty good but not the phone for me so i am definetly going with the droid x becuse its the newer phone and i like how the x has a bigger screen. also, what really got hooked onto the droid x was how it has adobe flash player and many other cool and useful features. so thanks to everyone who gave me there opions it really helped

  59. I had AT&T for over 12 years and dropped them a year ago because of multiple daily dropped calls. I took my business to Verizon and have never looked back. In the last 1.5 years I can count the number of dropped calls on two hands and many of those occurred while talking to someone on AT&T’s network.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in Handsets