Will People Stick with Verizon's Droid?

The iPhone is the king of smartphones. It's appeal lies in its reliable operating system based on Mac OS X and its aesthetics, which Apple continues to win awards for. Undoubtedly, many other phone makers such as Samsung, LG, Blackberry, and now Motorola have begun to produce top quality phones. The iPhone's ability to navigate the internet in a fashion reminiscent to that of a computer web browser is not only one of its strongest assets, but also opens the door for mobile distribution of media content.

According to this article from Macworld.com, Verizon's Droid smart phone has been deemed a potential "iPhone killer" because of find craftsmanship by Motorola and a solid operating system coded by Google. With that, pre-orders of the phone have surged and internet buzz for the phone has been built on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Yet Verizon's pricing scheme may come to a surprise to many who thought they'd have the freedom to use their phone similar to iPhone users.

Verizon is charging for tethering, the ability to give internet access to devices without access, through your mobile phone. iPhone users are exempt from this cost because AT&T has chosen not to implement it at this time. The article explains that Verizon will be charging an additional $30 a month for a separate unlimited data plan to cover tethering- that's already on top of the contract monthly fee and the original $30 per month unlimited date plan for SMS/MMS, web browsing, etc.

It begs the question, what does Verizon believe it will gain from the multiple costs associated with Droid and will it ease some of the costs long after the phone's launch? Apple has since lowered the cost of its phones and altered its phone plans with AT&T since the phone's launch in 2007.

For more on Verizon's plans for the Droid, read the article from Macworld.com:
"Verizon Droid tethering will cost you"