The immediate future looks bright for Motorola’s new Droid X smartphone, which is scheduled for release this Thursday, July 15 on Verizon Wireless’ 3G network. This

big and brawny Android handset is benefitting from early reviews praising its beautiful 4.3-inch display, impressive multimedia features, and relatively long battery life versus comparable phones.
While it’s unlikely that initial Droid X sales will match the iPhone 4’s staggering success–specifically, 1.7 million units sold within three days of launch–early signs show strong consumer interest in Motorola’s new phone. Best Buy has already started and stopped two rounds of pre-orders for the Droid X, and the retailer won’t guarantee that customers who preordered will get their phone on launch day.   Verizon Wireless has said it expects inventory shortages as well.

iPhone 4 Criticism

A recent batch of news stories

critical of the iPhone 4 may boost

Droid X sales too. Verizon Wireless

recently reworked its prelaunch

marketing campaign for the new

phone, capitalizing on persistent

reports that the iPhone 4’s antenna

design leads to reception problems

if a user holds the device in a

certain way.

On June 30, Verizon ran a full-page

ad in the New York Times that pokes

fun at the iPhone 4 antenna

controversy. The ad touts the Droid

X’s “double antenna design,” adding

that the Motorola phone “allows you

to hold the phone any way you like

and use it just about anywhere to

make crystal clear calls.” (Click on

the image to see the full ad.)

Android Rising

Another development that bodes well

for the Droid X is the emergence of

Google’s Android OS as a major

player in the smartphone market.

Android’s mobile market share

mushroomed by 44 percent from

February to May 2010, according to a

report released Thursday by

marketing research firm Comscore.

Android’s share of the U.S.

smartphone pie jumped from 9 percent

in February to 13 percent in May.

Translation: There’s a lot of

consumer interest in Android, which

ships on dozens of mobile devices

across all four major wireless

carriers.

The Droid X’s big display and

Hummer-sized dimensions (well, for a

smartphone, anyway) are creating a

lot of positive buzz. Factor that in

with the iPhone 4’s woes, and

Motorola and Verizon couldn’t ask

for better prelaunch conditions.