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I visited a Verizon store tonight to check out the new Droid. I’ve heard tons of great things about it in the tech press. The most accurate sounding review that I have heard is “If the iPhone didn’t exist, the Droid would be the must have smart phone.”

I’m not so impressed however.

Now you might think I am simply an iPhone snob. That no matter what magic they deliver in Android I won’t be convinced it’s a better platform. The truth is, I have no inner prejudice against Android. I’ll admit that since the platform requires Java for development, it’s not my first choice, but despite that, we do receive requests from customers to port our apps to Android, and I hope eventually to support the platform, if nothing else, just to expand our userbase.

No, my opinion of Droid has absolutely nothing to do with the technical viability of the device. Nothing to do with it, at all.

When I visited the Verizon store tonight, it was empty. I was the only customer there. (I’d just come from the Apple store two doors down, which was packed with people.) I yelled to the salesman at the desk at the back of the room “Do you have the new Droid phone?”

He said “Yep! Got it right here!” and he reached behind himself and put a box on the counter.

I walked, then, to the back of the store, past the rows upon rows of other phones… to the counter, and picked up the phone he had laid out for me. I started playing with it. It felt nice enough in my hands.. the UI was responsive. I fumbled, trying to slide out the physical keyboard.

Not being able to get it to come out, I said finally, “How do you get the keyboard to slide out?”

“Oh, that one doesn’t have the physical keyboard,” he said.

“Then it’s not the Droid.” I responded.

He insisted: “Sure it is. The HTC Android phone.”

“No, the Droid… y’know, the new one.” I said.

At this point, he brought out the phone I actually wanted to see. The Droid.

As he handed it to me, he said “Look, you really don’t want that phone. It’s a piece of junk. The HTC is the best Android phone out there.”

The Droid’s battery wasn’t charged. It wouldn’t turn on. I asked him “Do you have one that’s charged?”

“No,” he said. “And anyway, even if it was charged, it won’t connect to the network anyway.”

I stood there a few more minutes… the full impact of this horribly negative shopping experience settling on my brow. He continued to explain how Motorola makes crappy phones, and I really didn’t want the Droid because it’s destined to suck.

It occurred to me then, why the Droid can’t possibly beat the iPhone. Here I was, someone asking to see a specific phone. I walked into the store. I demonstrated my interest, and basically I’m being told that the device I am interested in sucks. I’m having this salesman’s prejudices stuffed down my throat. I already know the other Android phones are not as good as the iPhone, and I’m not interested in them. But here this guy is telling me this one sucks too.

Think about that for a minute. This salesman is effectively badmouthing his own company’s product. Even though it’s a Verizon store and a Motorola phone, the point is that if you’re going to sell a product in your store, you had damn well better believe in it. You had better believe in all the products in your store. I am putting my trust in you that everything you sell is great. If you’re telling me that your store sells a crappy product, then how am I to know that all your products don’t suck?

Contrast this with the shopping experience in the Apple store. You go in, and they are always helpful and positive in everything they say. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen an Apple employee badmouth other technology – let alone their own products! I’m never confused by a salesman pushing his own agenda on me.

So, in short, this rant isn’t about Droid technology because I can’t really say I have seen Droid technology. No, in fact, from my experience in the Verizon store, the message I got from the salesman was:

• Droid UI sucks.. it was nothing but a black screen (not charged, dur).
• Droid has no apps – couldn’t see any, couldn’t try any.
• Droid cell coverage sucks. IF I could turn it on, salesman says it won’t connect.
• Verizon sells sucky products.
• Motorola sells sucky products.

What an amazingly negative experience! Wow! Is it any wonder Apple is the only company making money right now?

The point here is that if Droid succeeds, it will be in spite of it’s sales channel. I can’t imagine any average user wanting to buy a phone in that kind of environment.