Do Dramatic Verizon Droid Ads Mean No Deal For Verizon iPhone?

It's undoubtedly a big smartphone push for all three parties -- Verizon, Motorola and Google -- but given the directness of the ads, there's a bigger question: Should we stop holding our breath for a Verizon iPhone?

The answer appears to be yes.

The pointed commercials, which aired on prime time television over the weekend, end with an ominously scrambled background that flashes the words "Everything iDon't ... Droid Does" on the screen and don't leave much room for interpretation.

Instead, Verizon's challenge to Apple is anything but subtle, from the twee, almost cutesy indie rock music to the play on Apple's iconic "i" prefix in phrases like "iDon't have a real keyboard" and "iDon't take night shots" that lead up to that final screen. Verizon has all but issued a statement to Apple, in effect saying, "Hey, iPhone. It's on."

The Droid has been a buzzed-about new addition to Motorola's smartphone lineup ever since pictures and specifications were leaked over the summer under a previous name, the Motorola Sholes.

If Droid's specs haven't been altered from what was previously disclosed about Sholes, the phone will come with a 3.7-inch display (854 x 480 pixels), a 5-megapixel camera with flash, autofocus and video capture, GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and other features, and be launched in November.

All three of the big names involved -- Verizon, Google and Motorola -- seem to have momentum and are well-poised to bring to market if not an iPhone killer, then at least a major contender. Verizon remains the country's No. 1 wireless carrier by subscriber volume, Motorola is pushing its smartphone agenda behind the Droid, Motorola Cliq and other new phones, and Android is according to some reports expected to claim a 14.5 percent market share in mobile OSes within three years.

The move by Verizon might finally put to rest the dubious speculation that consumers would see a Verizon-carried iPhone in 2010. Whether those long rumored "talks" are off the table or simply on the back burner now that Verizon seems to love Google Android so much, well, the fall smartphone season just got that much more exciting.

For more on the fall smartphone season, check out ChannelWeb's roundup of new smartphones and other handhelds crowding the marketplace this fall and winter.