How Traders Spent Their Weekend

Judging by the performance of Motorola (MOT) Monday, it appears that a lot of traders were watching sports this weekend.

Throughout the weekend, broadcasts of the MLB baseball playoffs and the NFL were peppered with ads for a cell phone that mocked many of the features not available with the Apple (AAPL) iPhone. The commercials begin with a series of "iDon't..." phrases flashed across the screen. Examples included, "iDon't have a real keyboard," "iDon't have interchangeable batteries," "iDon't run simultaneous apps," etc. Then the screen turns dark, and a somewhat hard to read "droiddoes" flashes across the screen.

While no specific company was mentioned, the web-page shown in the ad (www.droiddoes.com) takes you to a Verizon (VZ) Wireless website advertising an upcoming Google (GOOG) Android powered phone from Verizon called DROID. The phone is being produced by Motorola, and was jointly produced with Google and Verizon.

While the phone isn't out yet, the initial buzz on it has been extremely positive. According to an article on TechCrunch, the Droid poses "a significant challenge to the iPhone more than any other phone to date. The Palm Pre could have been that challenger, but it lacked the Verizon network, and users were unimpressed with the hardware. According to people who have handled the device, the Droid is the most sophisticated mobile device to hit the market to date from a hardware standpoint. When you combine that with the Verizon network, you’ve got something that is most definitely a challenger to the Jesus phone."

Given that Motorola has been reeling in recent years due to its failure to put out a popular handset since the Razr in 2004, the prospect of a new hit in the smart-phone sector has investors excited. As shown below, the stock is up nearly 8% Monday on no other news. The experience of the Razr also underscores the rapid nature of innovation in the cell phone industry, and how today's hot item can quickly become tomorrow's has-been. At its height, the Razr was nearly just as popular as the iPhone is today. Now you wouldn't even know where to buy one.