Forget the Mac-PC ad war – Verizon Wireless has launched three new Christmas-themed ads mocking AT&T’s 3G network and the “naughty” iPhone that runs on it. This Holiday season we are watching the unforgiving fight between the red hot challenger Verizon in one corner and the powerful marketing machine Apple and its long-time companion AT&T sweating in the other.

After the nation’s #1 wireless company taunted the 3G coverage of the #2 wireless operator, derided the iPhone’s weak spots, and aired a high-tech DROID by Motorola advertising campaign, Verizon Wireless is again taking aim at Apple and AT&T with three new Christmas-themed ads all targeting the AT&T’s supposedly poor 3G coverage. Verizon Wireless ads combine computer animation, catchy holiday tunes, and entertaining ideas, creating moments that certainly stick in mind in the run-up to Christmas.

The first ad depicts the iPhone among Misfit Toys on the North Pole (Misfit Toys). The poor iPhone shrugs helplessly as the AT&T 3G coverage map appears above it. The second ad, dubbed “Elves,” shows a factory where elves are packing Christmas presents moving along on a conveyor belt (VZW Elves). When Steve’s name is announced for the next present, the power shuts down and the lights go out. Another worker has to turn the power switch back on. The worker filling the box announces “Naughty!” as the AT&T 3G map appears. The female supervisor mutters “Good luck browsing the web with THAT one!”

The third ad explores the classic Christmas theme – Dad trying to connect to his family. It’s snowing, he’s frustrated and (again) the AT&T’s 3G coverage map hovers above him. (VZW Blue Christmas). When he arrives home, we see his son running joyfully to hug him. Glancing at the table, Dad notices a small red-wrapped present labeled with “Dad.” Verizon’s 3G coverage map pops up, with the following voice-over: “Want 3G web browsing in more places? There’s a map for that!” The Verizon Wireless network has saved Christmas and brought the family together.

Interestingly, we’ll watch to see how AT&T responds and if the conversation shifts from the network to iPhone vs Android. For a comparison of how the iPhone stacks up to some of the most popular Android phones, check out our comparison page.

By Ari Driessen

If you haven’t logged onto the internet, turned on the TV, or flipped on the radio in the last week or so, there’s at least still a chance that you’ve managed to somehow shield yourself from the barrage of hype and fanfare surrounding the Motorola Droid. Slated to touch down in Wirefly’s virtual store November 6, the Droid is already being billed by some as a wireless world messiah – the one that will finally unseat Apple’s iPhone and become the must-have gadget that the masses lust after.

Does the Droid truly have what it takes to succeed where other iPhone -killer-hopefuls have failed? Well, just as Verizon Wireless’ iPhone attack ad (at right) shouts loudly from the roof tops, there are certainly a number of things that the Droid does that the iPhone doesn’t. But are they enough to take on Apple’s iPhone?

iDon’t have a real keyboard

If you had considered the iPhone, but then decided that you couldn’t live with a virtual keyboard, you’re not alone. Although most would agree that the iPhone’s on-screen keyboard does its job, and in most cases does it well, there will always still be those who will never be satisfied without a full physical keyboard. The Droid’s ‘real’ keyboard will undoubtedly appeal to this demographic, and stands to sway a potential iPhone buyer to go the way of the Droid.

iDon’t run simultaneous apps

The most resounding complaint about the iPhone is its inability to multitask. Sure, the case can be made that Apple’s fairly recent addition of push notifications (pop-up windows from select applications) provides multitasking abilities. But, when push comes to shove, iPhone users are likely to be green with envy after seeing the superior multitasking capabilities of Android devices and of phones previously lauded as potential iPhone killers, most notably the Palm Pre.

With few exceptions like the music player, the iPhone can only have one application open at a given time. If you’re having an instant messaging conversation but want to check the weather, for example, you must close the instant messaging application in order to access a weather app. The Droid will allow you to continue the same instant messaging conversation while you do anything from check the weather to send an email.

iDon’t take 5-megapixel pictures

When it comes down to simple megapixel math, the Droid Does win. The iPhone 3GS’s camera is a respectable 3-megapixels, while the Droid sports a 5-megapixel camera. As a general rule of thumb but not a certainty, the more megapixels the better the photo quality. As the reviews hit the web (including Wirefly’s very own, of course), it will be interesting to see how the Droid’s camera stacks up against the competition — both in photo and video quality.

iDon’t customize

As an engineer close to the early development of Android succinctly put it, a phone running Android gives you “the ability to have your cell phone do whatever the heck you want it to do.” While you can add whatever apps you want to the iPhone (as long as they are available in the App Store, of course) and arrange their icons in whatever order you please, the iPhone’s customization options stop there.

With Droid and every other Android-powered phone, the customization options are virtually limitless. If you don’t like the way your Android phone handles text messages or voicemail, you can download a different interface. Android also allows for the addition of folders, widgets, and shortcuts to settings and applications.

iDon’t run widgets

The concept of widgets — small applications that automatically display updated information on-screen — is nothing new. In fact, Apple was one of the early widget pioneers, offering support for widgets built into its desktop operating system. Yet, the iPhone doesn’t support widgets, while there are Android widgets that display anything from the weather in the phone’s current GPS location to Twitter updates.

iDon’t allow open development

While Apple arguably aims to provide the best user experience by unequivocally restricting the iPhone’s hardware and software, Android looks to accomplish the same ends very differently – by inviting innovation from anyone with a contribution to make. While developers must go through a rigorous approval process to make their wares available to iPhone users, anyone can offer applications and widgets for Android, including applications that effectively change the phone’s core-interface.

iDon’t take pictures in the dark

The Droid is armed with a dual-LED flash. The Apple iPhone is flash-less. Sure, if you rely on your cell phone to capture frequent shots in darkly lit rooms, a flash may indeed be on your list of required features. Either way, the Droid joins a veritable army of flash-toting cell phones. Yawn.

iDon’t have interchangeable batteries

Road warriors live and breathe by their cell phones, and chances are that when their battery dies, they have a second one at the ready to pop right in. While seemingly every other smartphone on the planet allows for interchangeable batteries, Apple decided to go against the grain. Despite the downsides of not being able to easily insert a new battery, there are mobile battery packs and chargers available for the iPhone that will effectively get the job done if you’re in a crunch.

What Verizon Wireless forgot to mention iDon’t do

While there are third-party applications that provide the iPhone with turn-by-turn GPS directions, they come with a somewhat hefty price tag (e.g. TomTom’s GPS app will run you $99). The Droid will be the first phone to feature Google’s new turn-by-turn GPS application, complete with voice guidance and voice commands.

For the vast majority of people, the iPhone 3GS’s 16GB-32GB of internal memory (depending on the model) should be plenty of space. But in the case that it’s not, the iPhone does not have a removable memory port. The Droid comes with a 16GB microSD card, and the port can accept up to a 32GB card.

Devouring the iPhone, the Droid boasts a 3.7-inch, 854×480 pixel touchscreen, compared to the iPhone’s 3.5-inch, 480×320 touch display. The added screen real estate promises to mean less scrolling when web browsing and checking email. And with anticipated DVD-quality video, the iPhone simply can’t match the Droid’s entertainment experience.

But is it enough to topple iPhone?

In more ways than not, the Droid’s specs best those of the iPhone. The Droid offers capabilities that iPhone users can only long for, and running the latest version of Android, the Droid won’t be subject to many of the usability gripes leveled at early Android phones.

The iPhone, however, has virtually always had a lackluster spec sheet. After all, the iPhone just got the likes of basic MMS messaging. Yet, the iPhone has managed to develop a passionate and loyal following that appreciates its intuitive interface and finger-friendly gestures.

The Apple ‘ecosystem,’ closely integrating iPhone, iTunes, and the App Store is also a powerful draw that can’t be overlooked. Combined with the relative ubiquity and familiarity of iTunes, users love the ability to synch their phones with the popular music application. They also love the ability to browse and download applications through iTunes without having to turn to their phones.

There is undoubtedly an ever-evolving Google ecosystem made up of Google search, Gmail, Maps, Docs, Voice and a slew more. If Google brings the Android Market and a competitive media synching solution to the desktop, the search engine giant’s bid to forever change the face of the wireless industry may not be too far off.

In fairly little time at all, Android has managed to amass more than 10,000 applications in the Android Market. Though undoubtedly impressive, it’s still a far cry from Apple’s nearly 100,000 apps. Most every iPhone user has one or two apps that they feel they couldn’t live without, and until the catalog of available applications more closely mirrors that of the iPhone, those used to the conveniences offered by their favorite iPhone applications won’t find the Droid a viable candidate for their next upgrade.

Without a doubt, the Motorola Droid will prove a formidable iPhone competitor, and may even lure some iPhone users away from AT&T. The true measure of success, though, will not be how many loyal iPhone owners the Droid can convert or how many handsets are sold as compared to the iPhone. Instead, success can be defined by how much traction the Droid can win the Android platform and by how many Verizon Wireless subscribers forget that they ever wished that the iPhone would make the leap to Verizon’s network.

As part of its covert plans for attempted wireless world domination, T-Mobile’s new rate plans went into effect this past Sunday, October 25th. As seemingly one of the most critical components of T-Mobile’s mysterious ‘Project Dark’ initiative, the new rate plans bring unlimited voice, text, and data use choices to the nation’s fourth-largest wireless network.

T-Mobile is offering two plan types — Even More and Even More Plus. The Even More Plus plans let consumers break free of annual contracts, but phone buyers will be required to pay full retail price for new equipment. Even More Plus subscribers can choose from three unlimited plans, including unlimited talk ($49.99), talk + text ($59.99), and talk + text + web ($79.99).

Even More plans require a 2-year contract, but offer Wirefly’s rock-bottom discounts on T-Mobile’s extensive phone lineup.

What’s new with Even More?

• All plans now include unlimited T-Mobile-to-T-Mobile minutes and unlimited night and weekend minutes.
• myFaves plans have been discontinued, but the myFaves interface is still available on all T-Mobile phones for no additional fee.
• Individual plans cost $39.99, $49.99 and $59.99 per month for 500, 1000 and unlimited minutes, respectively.
• Family plans cost $79.99 and $99.99 per month for 1500 and unlimited minutes, respectively.
• Unlimited text messaging can be added to any phone for $10 per month. Family plan customers can elect to subscribe to a $20 per month text messaging plan that covers all phones on the account.
• Unlimited text messaging can be added to any phone for $10 per month. Family plan customers can elect to subscribe to a $20 per month text messaging plan that covers all phones on the account.
• Unlimited Data can be added for $10 per month to “Phone First” devices (i.e. non-smartphones) and $30 or $35 per month for smartphones (i.e. Android, Sidekick, BlackBerry & Windows Mobile devices).

To be sure, it’s a raging battle between the nation’s four largest carriers to win new subscribers and keep existing ones. T-Mobile’s ‘Project Dark’ rate plans may not win the company wireless world domination, but they will certainly appeal to a price-sensitive consumer (or two) looking for even more bang for their wireless buck.

As of today, those waiting with bated breath to learn when they can finally get their hands on the Palm Pixi have their answer.

The Palm Pixi, little brother to the Pre and Palm’s second device running webOS, will be available to Sprint customers beginning November 15th. As a less expensive version of the Palm Pre, the company’s flagship smartphone, the Pixi has a reduced feature set and is purportedly being geared toward a younger generation of consumers.

The Pixi adopts a candy bar form factor instead of the Pre’s unique curved design. The latest webOS device will lack WiFi and sport only a 2-megapixel instead of the Pre’s 3.2-megapixel camera. Despite these downgrades, the Pixi will support EVDO Rev and have 8GB of internal memory, GPS, full email support, and a 3.55mm headphone jack.

While Wirefly has yet to announce a price for the Pixi, Palm’s latest handset stands likely to be priced at only a stone’s throw away from the more premium Pre. It will be interesting to see how many consumers opt for the Pixi over its fully-loaded sibling.

This past January, Verizon Wireless became the nation’s largest wireless carrier, sealing a multi-billion dollar deal to acquire Alltel Wireless. Most Alltel markets have now been acquired by Verizon Wireless, and Alltel customers in those markets are now asking “Can you hear me now?”

As a condition of Verizon’s acquisition of Alltel, the FCC required that certain Alltel markets be divested and sold to other carriers. These remaining Alltel markets are scheduled to be sold to AT&T and Atlantic Tele-Network (ATN) in late-2009/early-2010. Customers in these markets will start receiving invoices from AT&T and ATN soon after the divestiture of these markets in completed in 2010.

As a result of these changes, Wirefly has decided to stop selling Alltel service. We continue to sell phones and service contracts for Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile across the US, and we believe one or more of these carriers will always be a viable choice for wireless customers residing in Alltel’s divested markets. To see what carrier choices you have where you live, enter your zip code on Wirefly and we will show you your best options.

The lucky confectionery connoisseurs over at the Boy Genius Report have managed to get their hands on a freshly baked copy of Android 2.0 ‘Éclair’ and have naturally exposed the updated mobile operating system’s creamy filling to the world. While the multitude of screenshots doesn’t reveal anything particularly monumental, the latest in a series of Android versions cleverly nicknamed after tasty confections might make some mouths water.

Although the build previewed is likely far from final, Android 2.0 will sport native Exchange support, a unified inbox, a fully updated maps application, an improved browser and built-in Facebook integration (including contact syncing). The unified email account will harmonize both corporate and personal email accounts, although strangely enough, Gmail will remain alone in its own application.

The maps application has been updated to include layers. The new functionality allows users to overlay information such as traffic, Google Lattitude buddies, and Wikipedia entries.

The browser boasts an updated user interface with a redone URL field that now includes favicons. Android 2.0 is still lacking multi-touch support in the browser, but double-taps will now zoom in and out on an area of the page. Reportedly, the updated browser is also impressively snappy, rivaling iPhone 3GS rendering speeds.

Screenshots alone are hard to judge from, but each subsequent Android version has seen formidable improvements over its predecessors. With the droves of Android devices poised to hit the market in the next several months – many of them armed with their own manufacturer-customized interfaces and functionality – it will be interesting to see if the prophecies look to be correct and Android appears ready to take the number 2 spot just behind Nokia’s Symbian OS.

According to a New York Times article, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam has been tooling around with the yet-to-be-released BlackBerry Storm 2 for the last couple of weeks, likely hinting that the next generation of BlackBerry’s once-embattled touchscreen phone may be storming onto Verizon’s network sooner than later.

During his travels, McAdam reportedly made a pit-stop at a Verizon Wireless store in New York’s SoHo district to show off his wares to a couple of NYU students shopping for cellphones. Initial reactions were apparently positive, buoying BlackBerry’s (and Verizon’s) hopes that the Storm 2 may be closer to what users were expecting from the original Storm that was chided by some reviewers for being buggy and hard to use.

“I let them play with the second-generation Storm device,” McAdam said. “They came back and said ‘Oh, my gosh.’ They were very excited. This is what they hoped the original Storm should be.”

Among a number of enhancements, the Storm 2 is alleged to be armed with WiFi and improvements to BlackBerry’s SurePress technology. With the recent and impending releases of a slew of Android and Windows Mobile smartphones, the Storm 2 will surely face an uphill battle as it looks to bolster its somewhat tarnished image among touchscreen device shoppers.

Confirming what has been swirling around the rumor mill for what seems like an eternity, Michael Dell said yesterday that Dell Computers will be launching an Android-powered smartphone to U.S. markets sometime next year.

While a carrier pairing has not yet been announced, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that a Dell Android device would be appearing on AT&T’s network in the new year. Earlier rumors surrounding Dell’s entrance into the smartphone market pegged a release in the early months of 2010.

Back in August, Dell’s Mini 3i Android-powered smartphone made its first appearance in China. Although specifications for Dell’s U.S. Android device aren’t likely to be officially outed anytime soon, the smartphone’s hardware will almost surely take some significant departures from its Chinese counterpart that is lacking both 3G and WiFi.

[Via TechPulse]

First announced in September, the Motorola CLIQ with MOTOBLUR will be available to existing T-Mobile customers next Monday, October 19th. Interested buyers not already among the T-Mobile faithful will have to wait patiently until November 2nd to get their hands on the CLIQ.

Motorola’s first Android-powered device will be the third Android handset available to T-Mobile subscribers. Joining the T-Mobile G1 and myTouch 3G, both made by HTC, the CLIQ will feature Motorola’s MOTOBLUR feature that aggregates email and social networking accounts.

MOTOBLUR will sync contacts, posts, messages, and photos from sources including Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Gmail, and Microsoft Exchange. “Widgets” on the device’s home screen will display the latest updates from each source, and a contact’s latest social networking status and profile picture will be displayed when making or receiving a phone call or accessing the contact list.

The CLIQ is the first Android-based device to sport a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard. It will also be equipped with a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus, a 3.1inch capacitive touch screen, 3G support, WiFi, and GPS.

The CLIQ is Motorola’s first bid to turn around its struggling handset division that has fallen on hard times as the company’s once hugely popular RAZR flip phone nears the end of its life cycle. Motorola is also slated to unveil an Android phone for Verizon’s network.