Motorola Droid Met With Sleepy Reception

The dim dawn of the Droid in New York would be consistent with the reception of other Android devices recently in Europe, says MKM Partners analyst Tero Kuittinen. "It's hard out there for a new operating system, even if it's good," Kuittinen says."The consumers don't seem as enthusiastic as tech bloggers."

The sleepy Manhattan reception Friday morning may be due to a special midnight Droid sale at Verizon's Herald Square store where 500 phones were available for two hours.

Early reviews of the Driod phone have been largely favorable. The design seems to be pleasing to men more than women, and its Web browser and free navigation application are a big plus.

Other aspects of the phone, however, have to be counted as demerits. See the blurry photo taken with Droid's disappointing 5-megapixel camera outside the Verizon store at the intersection of Water and Wall Street in Manhattan.

And while Gmail works seamlessly, not one but two Droid phones failed to work with TheStreet's Microsoft Exchange email system -- even with the help of a Motorola product manager.

The phone packs a lot of speed and processing power, but average users will likely find all the not-so-intuitive menus a little complicated to use.

It is still early, but it is looking like the Droid may suffer the same fate Research In Motion's (RIMM) BlackBerry Storm encountered a year ago. The touchscreen Storm was praised in early reviews, but users found it buggy and difficult to use.

The Storm2 coming to Verizon this month, is expected to have improved on the original's shortcomings.

Motorola can't afford to wait a year for a new improved Droid.

-- Written by Scott Moritz in New York.

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