There won't be any other smartphone manufacturers making Droid phones. Verizon has locked Motorola in an exclusive relationship. July 23, 2013 10:18 AM PDT Two Droid Ultra phones. (Credit: Brian Bennett/CNET) Verizon Wireless and Motorola are getting exclusive with their relationship. Starting with the Droid Ultra lineup, Motorola will be the only smartphone manufacturer to build Droid smartphones, Verizon marketing executive Jeff Dietel told CNET on Tuesday. Related stories Google's Motorola burden gets bigger: Loss widens to $342M Verizon teases event for July 23; new Droids to be unveiled? Motorola's Moto X outed -- by Eric Schmidt, no less Fresh leak outs Motorola Droid Ultra for August 8 Motorola's Moto X, Droid line pop up in leaked pictures Verizon and Motorola unveiled the Droid Ultra family of products, including the Droid Ultra itself, the Droid Ultra Maxx, and the Droid Ultra Mini. The partnership locks up a prime flagship slot for Motorola, which is badly in need of hit smartphones to turn itself around. While many vendors are opting to release their phones on multiple carriers, exclusives are seen as valuable because they guarantee a certain amount of marketing heft by the carrier. "There are millions of users that are happy with it and loyal to the Droid brand," said Rick Osterloh, head of product management for Motorola. "Droid is a formula that works very well." Dietel said the Droid Ultra lineup would remain Verizon's flagship smartphone for a while, and promised a longer shelf life for the products than past "hero" products. "They need to stand for something to customers," Dietel said. The rise of Verizon's new Droids (pictures) 1-2 of 22 Scroll Left Scroll Right Verizon has long had a cozy relationship with Motorola, with two teaming up to sell the original Droid smartphone, a blockbuster hit that helped push Android into the mainstream. But other vendors have employed the Droid name as well. Last year, following the debut of the Droid Razr family of phones, HTC released the Droid DNA, Verizon's holiday flagship phones. The three different devices, which come out simultaneously on Aug. 20, gives Verizon a lot to talk about, Dietel said. He added he recognized the pace of device launches and worked closely with Motorola to ensure the longevity of the device.
There won't be any other smartphone manufacturers making Droid phones. Verizon has locked Motorola in an exclusive relationship.
Two Droid Ultra phones.
(Credit: Brian Bennett/CNET)
Verizon Wireless and Motorola are getting exclusive with their relationship.
Starting with the Droid Ultra lineup, Motorola will be the only smartphone manufacturer to build Droid smartphones, Verizon marketing executive Jeff Dietel told CNET on Tuesday.
Related stories
- Google's Motorola burden gets bigger: Loss widens to $342M
- Verizon teases event for July 23; new Droids to be unveiled?
- Motorola's Moto X outed -- by Eric Schmidt, no less
- Fresh leak outs Motorola Droid Ultra for August 8
- Motorola's Moto X, Droid line pop up in leaked pictures
Verizon and Motorola unveiled the Droid Ultra family of products, including the Droid Ultra itself, the Droid Ultra Maxx, and the Droid Ultra Mini.
The partnership locks up a prime flagship slot for Motorola, which is badly in need of hit smartphones to turn itself around. While many vendors are opting to release their phones on multiple carriers, exclusives are seen as valuable because they guarantee a certain amount of marketing heft by the carrier.
"There are millions of users that are happy with it and loyal to the Droid brand," said Rick Osterloh, head of product management for Motorola. "Droid is a formula that works very well."
Dietel said the Droid Ultra lineup would remain Verizon's flagship smartphone for a while, and promised a longer shelf life for the products than past "hero" products.
"They need to stand for something to customers," Dietel said.
Verizon has long had a cozy relationship with Motorola, with two teaming up to sell the original Droid smartphone, a blockbuster hit that helped push Android into the mainstream.
But other vendors have employed the Droid name as well. Last year, following the debut of the Droid Razr family of phones, HTC released the Droid DNA, Verizon's holiday flagship phones.
The three different devices, which come out simultaneously on Aug. 20, gives Verizon a lot to talk about, Dietel said. He added he recognized the pace of device launches and worked closely with Motorola to ensure the longevity of the device.
