BB Torch and Droid 2 have muted results

Motorola and RIM faced underwhelming results today as both the Droid 2 and BlackBerry Torch reached stores with little fanfare. Checks both by CNN and Electronista have revealed that no stores have faced lineups or known sellouts. Most stores as of Thursday afternoon still had significant stock, and online availability is immediate.

Both of the companies and their carrier partners AT&T and Verizon didn't go out of their way to coordinate large-scale launches, although RIM had been confident enough to hold a special New York City press event to drum up interest for the Torch.

The low-key outcome is a stark contrast for Motorola and RIM alike to earlier launches, although with different motivations. Most of the attention of Motorola and Verizon was devoted to the Droid X, which did see lineups and has led to the Droid X facing roughly two-week shipping delays even a month later. RIM, however, can't claim the same and hasn't seen significant lines since the launch of the original Storm in November 2008.

Both nonetheless represent a relative cooling of demand, For Motorola the Droid 2 may only be a sign that its smartphones are fully mainstream, but for RIM it may be a reflection of declining market share. The Torch is supposed to be RIM's flagship but isn't attracting either the attention of the Storm or the Bold. Most of RIM's popular phones are low-end models like the Curve 8500 series.

Apple as of now has had by far the most successful launch, moving 1.7 million iPhone 4 phones in its first few days and, even with antenna concerns, is still selling out to where it has to delay new orders by three weeks.

By Electronista Staff