Way back, Motorola gave us mobile phones. And it changed everything. Sadly, its been pretty much downhill for Motorola ever since.

Then in November, Moto announced Droid, the first Android V2 based handset. And it seemed they were finally heading out of the wilderness. But we didn’t bank on them screwing everything up again.

Droid – Milestone as its branded in Europe was their best shot, perhaps their last shot, for a comeback. But they don’t realise that the Internet driven, mobile world has moved on. And as events are indicating, it may already be too late for them.

To beat your enemy, first know him

And in Motorola’s case, that enemy is Apple with iPhone. I doubt there’s a product manager anywhere who doesn’t wish they could come up with something as innovative and as disruptive as iPhone.

iPhone isn’t just a good phone, but like those very first brick phones, it changed how we live and somehow makes even the title “mobile phone” seem an understatement of its real purpose, which is really a lifestyle device.

So to make as big an impact as that, Motorola had to not only do something as good, but catapult the game forward, move the goalposts, even change the playing field once more. But that’s a big ask, a very big ask and perhaps, too big.

A lesson in disruption from The Beatles

A strange analogy, true. But bear with me. Think about the early Sixties. Pop music, rock and roll had been going for some time, thanks to Elvis, Buddy Holly and Gene Vincent.

And like iPhone, the Beatles didn’t invent anything. What they did was re-arrange things, disrupting so that our lives would never be the same again. It’s hard to pinpoint how, but clearly and emphatically, they did. The challenge became who could do that again?

Up to now, no one. Despite great bands like the Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, later U2, Bowie, Queen, M&M, Oasis, Muse, many have sold more records, filled bigger stadiums, but none has disrupted us like the Fab Four did. And iPhone is mobile technology’s Beatles.

Maybe we can’t force that kind of disruption. It just happens. But we can look at what else makes iPhone work. And it’s a couple of things that aren’t really that hard, when done right. It comes down to clever marketing and demand management.

Tell people about what they’re going to eat – but not too much

Most people queuing outside Apple stores through the night didn’t know much about iPhone, they just had to have one. It’s cool to be first. So Apple made sure everyone had one within 24 hours of launch. They did it with iPhone V1 and all over again with iPhone V2. In fact, iPhone 3GS sold over a million units in a weekend.

iPhone’s success came about within an overpriced, over-protected, restrictive-practices riddled, cartel-controlled mobile market monopolised by shark-like, mobile operators. Maybe you can tell I don’t like mobile operators much.

But don’t worry, their end is nigh. And we as consumers will deliver the killer blow to them. The Internet is about to speak. Very loudly and that word is free.

The next disruption has already happened

But this time, its not a device, its an operating system. Android. Android Version 1 was OK. It worked fine. It did everything that its competitors did. It was free, it was open Source. And it was from Google, so it was always going to be more, because that’s Google’s way.

So now we have Android 2. And this is very good. It does everything iPhone can, but a whole lot better. iPhone can run smart applications, sure. But it can only run one at a time. iPhone runs a lot slower then the adverts would have you believe. Android 2 multi-tasks. Android 2 runs those applications not just faster, but also runs them simultaneously.

Underpinned by Google’s money, Android is delivering applications that actually do better stuff than iPhone, too. But its not all software. Motorola’s Droid is a great phone, too.

The Droid – or Milestone here in Europe

The name fiasco was Motorola’s first cock-up. Now they have to market two devices, not one. Idiots. But let’s move on. Droid looks as good as iPhone, no doubt. the build quality is great. And it has both touch screen and a real slide out keyboard and cursor pad. that will appeal to iPhone users and Blackberry aficionados, too. Well done.

Droid is a great platform. OK. Sell it to me. Hello, is anyone there, Motorola, you’re on…

This is where Motorola is screwing up. Instead of launching it everywhere, in phone stores, computer shops, department stores, even Tesco, it chose to… well, give it to some back-street distributor, eXpansis to box shift. Ever heard of them?

No, neither had I, nor had 99.9% of buyers. But they probably took as many of their credit-squeezed, cost-constrained budget would allow. Maybe what, 5000, 10,000 units?

Crucially, selling in this way, Motorola’s denying consumers the chance to see, touch and impulse buy Droid. They have to commit in advance to buy. That’s no way to market.

Motorola boasted Droid had sold out. But iPhone sold a million in one weekend, guys! By the time Motorola realises just how much it’s screwed up, the world will have moved on. Don’t believe me?

Enter the Google Phone

Well here’s the evidence. I’ll say one word. Google. Rumours suggested Google had been working on its own phone for the last 12 months. Last week Nexus 1 broke cover and is being tried by Google staffers. The phone is from HTC, makers of the original G1 phone.

Google don’t need to make a phone to sell on someone else’s network. Google already offers converged telephony with Google Voice. The smart money’s on a Google network. Remember where you heard that first!

Droid looks overpriced. Its being offered sim-free at the same price as iPhone, about £450. That’s a lot more expensive than a Netbook which features much of the same technology. Why the high price, Motorola, when there’s no Apple license fee and a free OS?

Is it too late for Droid and goodbye to Motorola?

I had great hopes for Droid. Its a very smart phone in a world of smart phones. But as I watch Motorola’s market share slide from complete dominance to third place last year, to where it sold less than a million units across all of Europe in Q2 this year, I have to ask. Was Droid Motorola’s best chance, have they blown it and is this now bye-bye moto?