Ok, maybe some folks are jumping the gun by predicting great things for this particular handset, based upon previews and leaked info. But, then, it is equally silly to suggest that it will fail merely because some earlier (non-Android) phones didn’t live up to their hype. Speaking of which, exactly what ‘nebulous features’ are you talking about? Droid photos, specs and videos (plus Android 2.0 teasers) have been everywhere, for a couple weeks. If that kind of pre-release info had been available for the original BB Storm, we’d have known it was a total dog.

Besides, Storm and Pre were lone, proprietary offerings from a single manufacturer and carrier. That’s not the case with Android. In the past few months, the cell industry has shown that Android support is going nowhere but up…manufacturers and service providers are piling onto the android bandwagon faster than you can say ‘reliable, customizable, and free’. For the next year (at least), new Android handsets – and OS updates – will be coming at us like city buses. Don’t like the current one? Just wait a few minutes.

Compare that with Apple’s track record on iPhone.:

– 1.5 years for SDK
– 1.5 years for AppStore
– 2+ years for ‘decent’ phone reception (I still have doubts about blaming the current mess on AT&T rather than Apple.)
– 2+ years for cut & paste
– 2+ years for MMS
– 2+ years for tethering…oops, scratch that.

…plus, of course, one new hardware upgrade, each year. And, let’s face it, nothing too exciting in either case. iPhone still looks pretty much the same and even acts pretty much the same as it did at WWDC, in 2007. I hope everyone really enjoys seeing all those little square icons on every screen.

With Android, in just its first year we’ve seen three major updates. T-H-R-E-E. Each one added significant functionality, while also improving overall reliability. Google even addressed customer complaints (!) about the camera function, touchscreen latency issues and system security. Meanwhile, the manufacturers brought out half a dozen handsets, each (arguably) a little better than the last…and all of them experimenting with new combinations of features. Plus, we’ve been promised perhaps another two dozen new handset models, by the end of 1Q10.

So, sure – I don’t know if Droid is the end-all, be-all of mobile phones. Maybe yes, maybe no. Or, maybe it will just sell well enough to make Verizon & Motorola execs happy. But Apple fans are kidding themselves if they think a single handset ‘beating iPhone’ is the only game in town. Its kinda like fighting the (first millenium) ancient Romans. Even if your city somehow managed to stave off the assault of a legion or two, that didn’t mean you could throw a party and rest on your laurels. There were quite a few more Romans where those first guys came from. And, even if you did survive, it was gonna cost you, big time.