ie8 fix
madison

The Mobile Gadgeteer

Matthew Miller & Joel Evans
Home / News & Blogs / The Mobile Gadgeteer

What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?

By | July 21, 2010, 2:48pm PDT

Summary: Is it a parts shortage, manufacturing defect, or just high demand that’s responsible for all of the hot phones to be out of stock?

Some users of the Droid X have been complaining about flickering displays and now it seems that Verizon and Motorola are admitting to a defect.

According to Engadget, Motorola has resolved the issue and is continuing to ship phones. The company is also encouraging affected users to contact Motorola support or Verizon Wireless.

As my colleague, Rachel, points out, admitting to the issue is a lot easier than throwing a press conference to discuss the issue.

In all seriousness, what’s going on with all of these issues with phones? First we have a stock shortage on the HTC EVO, HTC Incredible, and iPhone 4, and now we have defects on the Droid X, and debatably, on the iPhone 4? Are we dealing with parts shortages, or are companies just having a hard time keeping up with demand? And if so, are companies now rushing product out the door, and as a result, shipping with defects?

It used to be that people would stay away from the first generation of new tech to avoid dealing with defects. Early adopters, on the other hand, were always aware of the risk. With new tech popping out so quick, though, I think that more people are willing to be the early adopter. However, it seems like those same people aren’t used to dealing with the defects that come along with adopting the first run.

The latest check of Verizon Wireless’ website shows the Droid X shipping by August 3rd. That means that the hottest phones are now all out of stock. Perhaps Verizon and Motorola are purposely holding back stock to fix the Droid X issue?

It will be interesting to see which phone becomes the hottest next, with all of the hot phones being out of stock now.

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

More from “The Mobile Gadgeteer”

Topics

Phone, Stock, Defect, Motorola Inc., Investment, Telecom & Utilities, Finance, Joel Evans

With more than a decade of mobile, Internet and wireless experience, Joel specializes in taking existing brands and technologies into the mobile and wireless space.

Disclosure

Joel Evans

Joel is a serial entrepreneur with his most recent business, CronkSoftware (cronksoftware.com), focusing on consulting and building games and applications for mobile devices. Joel has consulted for Microsoft’s Windows Mobile division and advises other companies on how to incorporate mobile into their existing brands and products. Joel purchases many of his devices and others are sent for review on a 30-day loaner basis and then returned to the supplier. If any devices are provided as “keeper” Joel will clearly disclose this in his reviews.

Biography

Joel Evans

With more than a decade of mobile, Internet and wireless experience, Joel specializes in taking existing brands, technologies and services into the mobile and wireless space. Joel is currently serving as the Managing Director of Cronk Software, Inc., a company he founded to offer full-service, end-to-end mobile strategy, design and development services.

Joel is the former founder and "Chief Geek" of Geek.com, a website praised by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and others as one of world's best sources of information for technology professionals and enthusiasts.

Joel also serves as a technology expert for a number of well-known publications and regularly advises corporations, analysts, journalists and bloggers on what the future of technology will bring. He brings decades of relationships with leading game publishers, online communities and publishers, along with both hardware and software product management and delivery expertise. Joel can be found online as "JoelGeek" and you can follow him on Twitter @JoelGeek.

25
Comments
Add Your Opinion

Join the conversation!

Just In

RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
TryTheFish 3rd Aug 2010
@honkj - You do realize that Apple depends on generating hype, so they must release the numbers, right? Verizon sells DOZENS of phones, and several Android phones. You'll get their numbers end of quarter.

It's a serious shame you love Apple so much that you don't even grasp simple business. VERIZON does not equal APPLE in this equation. HTC and MOTOROLA equal APPLE.

What a simpleton.
View in thread
0 Votes
+ -
Droid X
Peter Perry 21st Jul 2010
What was the flaw with the Droid X? I know a friend bought one and held it next to my Droid... We were both surprised by the fact that my reception was showing 3G and his was only showing 1x signal strength.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
DannyO_0x98 21st Jul 2010
@Peter Perry
Screen flickering for some, probably on the order of a few, I believe.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
atari_z 21st Jul 2010
If it were an Apple phone, I bet that the world would be on the verge of collapsing now.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
atari_z 21st Jul 2010
Because basically Verizon says that it it almost a non existent problem. And maybe it's true, but for them everybody here is prepared to trust them without investigating at all.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
DannyO_0x98 21st Jul 2010
@atari_z
For the record: I don't care. Maybe I would if I was thinking about buying the phone, but my loyalties are elsewhere. The Droid X sounds like a good phone, but I can't buy every new-shiny that comes by.

So, no need to investigate on my account: I hope the people who had the problem are few in number and complete in remedy.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
sok70 22nd Jul 2010
@DannyO_0x98Well this post is not for you. Only for people that are in the market for a new phone. So why waste your time in commenting.
0 Votes
+ -
Could it be the HIGH % of defective phones
wackoae 21st Jul 2010
Funny that ZDNet has said barely nothing about all the problems people are having with the latest droid phone. I guess since it is not an iPhone, nobody cares.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
harrybarracuda 22nd Jul 2010
@wackoae

I suspect it's because Motorola put their hands up and said "we have a small problem, so we'll replace your defective phone with a working one".

As opposed to denying it for weeks, then saying "Everyone has this problem but have a free bumper".

Duh!
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
TryTheFish 3rd Aug 2010
@wackoae - Noooo. Because its not an iPhone, you don't care. Big Difference. Please get in your Prius, with your iPhone and your Abercrombie shirt and shut up. Adults are talking.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
tbln930 22nd Jul 2010
According to my two local Radio Shacks the EVO's demand is the highest they hve ever seen for a cell phone. One has a backorder of over 200 and the other 300 phones. They h=both claim they have had virtually no returns unless your talking iPhone 4s.
0 Votes
+ -
you'll notice a very important fact...
honkj 22nd Jul 2010
Apple Announced how many phones sold (1.7 million) when they went out of stock,

Verizon on the other hand did not, which can only mean one thing... they are embarrassed by the sales number, choosing to spin it as "out of stock" which is also not true, you can order it "in stock" from various outlets...
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
sok70 22nd Jul 2010
@honkj
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
sok70 22nd Jul 2010
@honkj Yeah, 1.7 Million World Wide. As oppose to Only selling in US only.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
Pete "athynz" Athens 22nd Jul 2010
@sok70 Actually it was 3 million sold worldwide. Just an FYI.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
tbln930 Updated - 22nd Jul 2010
@honkj No the 1.7 sold worlwide initially was correct but whats embarassing is that 80% of the sales upgraders rather than new sales. The same is now true of the 3 million now worldwide. EVO sales were 65% new buyers which is amazing givent the same standard. Apple is competing with all Android phones and HTC alone sells 4.5 million phones per month (and most are Android) to get the fan-boys back in check. HTC revenues were up 68% while Apples were only up 61% because of Macs and iPads. Also Apples iPhone 4 sales estimate is being lowered for the rest of the year because of Android competition and Apples fiasco with the iPhone 4. No Apple spin allowed. CNET did a nice Prize Fight of the EVO vs the iPhone 4 and EVO handily won. The era has ended.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
honkj Updated - 23rd Jul 2010
------------
No the 1.7 sold worlwide initially was correct but whats embarassing is that 80% of the sales upgraders rather than new sales
-----------------

you have several errors there, the iPhone 4 was not available world wide, and ATT release sales figures showing 1.6 million NEW subscribers.. to Verizon who only gained 1.4 million for the same quarter.... this is a vast change from previous years before the iPhone was introduced... more importantly, again, Apple released the 80% number, Verizon released NO numbers, which means they are also embarrased by that number wich showed in there 1.4 million for the same quarter NEW subscribers... they are basically losing out to ATT because they were stupid enough to turn Apple down, and they have just now admitted it in their quarter statements...

HTC also does not sell "4.5" million phones a month, pulling made up numbers out of your a** does not put any one "back in check" seriously what were you thinking with a statement like that, are you just smart challenged?


the fact remains, Money Talks and BS walks, and Verizon has so far only provided BS about "sold out" with no "money talk" like sales figures.

well we do have some figures, HTC Evo sprint said they sold 300,000 before they ran short..., to iPhones 1.7 million, oh but latter they were caught lying and revised it down to the standard 150,000, that is to iPhones 1.7 million..... HELLO...

now do you wonder why Verizon is selling less new subs than ATT now???...

again, money talks...
0 Votes
+ -
Yeah money does talk and VZW is doing just fine
otaddy 24th Jul 2010
@honkj

You should read the news more often. This past quarter, VZW added MORE subs than ATT.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/verizons-results-show-it-doesnt-need-the-iphone/

As for Droid X sales numbers, perhaps they are exaggerating, but the fact is, Android is very popular.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
TryTheFish Updated - 3rd Aug 2010
@honkj - You are simply a moron. Give my regards to Jobs, if you can keep a signal long enough.

And you just blatantly lied to try and make a point - Please send me the links to places with the Droid X "in stock." Mine is on back order with the rest of America.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
TryTheFish 3rd Aug 2010
@honkj - You do realize that Apple depends on generating hype, so they must release the numbers, right? Verizon sells DOZENS of phones, and several Android phones. You'll get their numbers end of quarter.

It's a serious shame you love Apple so much that you don't even grasp simple business. VERIZON does not equal APPLE in this equation. HTC and MOTOROLA equal APPLE.

What a simpleton.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
charbax@... 22nd Jul 2010
iPhone 4 has a serious issue, it has the industry's worst signal reception when held normally with the left hand, and that is a hardware problem that should trigger a global recall as all iPhone 4 are affected.

The reported Droid X problem is only affecting 0.1% of consumers, it's only based on them not having enough time to do thorough enough quality testing on arrival from the factory to remove the bad yield before shipping. There are always a few % of devices that come out of factories that may have problems. Warranty instantly replaces defective units.

Apple is not planning to replace your defective iPhone 4. Maybe a global class action lawsuit will force Apple to replace the iPhone 4 with a future model that doesn't have the antenna problem.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
Pete "athynz" Athens 22nd Jul 2010
@charbax@... iPhone 4 has a serious issue, it has the industry's worst signal reception when held normally with the left hand, and that is a hardware problem that should trigger a global recall as all iPhone 4 are affected.

Inaccurate. Not all iPhone 4s are affected... and given the return rate of 1.7% I'd venture to say that the issue was more in the nature of a manufacturing defect on a relatively few number of units, a defect that was - as par for the course - overblown by the blogosphere and the Apple Haters. And the iPhones affected were either replaced or the payment refunded to the customer depending on what the customer requested.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
honkj 23rd Jul 2010
----------
iPhone 4 has a serious issue, it has the industry's worst signal reception
--------------

really? so we should see vast returns of the iPhone 4 then... correct? again, Money talks, your BS dribbles out your mouth.... Apple can not make the iPhone 4 fast enough to satisfy demand AS WE SPEAK... that my friend is money talking....
0 Votes
+ -
How Funny, Steve Jobs is right
rhon@... 22nd Jul 2010
Another reception issue. And another Antenna Issue. Less interesting for the press to jump on in these news free times though.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
NathanStark 22nd Jul 2010
I have an iPhone 4, and several of my folks do as well. We have seen no issues. When I am asked about it I simply respond with ~are you dumb enough to pay that much for a phone and NOT put a protective case on it?
0 Votes
+ -
RE: What's causing the Droid X and HTC EVO to be out of stock?
blee0309 22nd Jul 2010
The article title does not match with article content; the content says nothing about the reason for out of stock situation. If you are reading this comment you'd have discovered it yourself already.

Join the conversation!

Formatting +
BB Codes - Note: HTML is not supported in forums
  • [b] Bold [/b]
  • [i] Italic [/i]
  • [u] Underline [/u]
  • [s] Strikethrough [/s]
  • [q] "Quote" [/q]
  • [ol][*] 1. Ordered List [/ol]
  • [ul][*] · Unordered List [/ul]
  • [pre] Preformat [/pre]
  • [quote] "Blockquote" [/quote]
ie8 fix
ie8 fix

The best of ZDNet, delivered

ZDNet Newsletters

Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox

Facebook Activity

Blog Roll

Blog Archive

White Papers, Webcasts, & Resources
ie8 fix
ie8 fix