We set the Motorola Droid against almost every other smartphone we can find in a battle for mobile supremacy.

The is the hottest smartphone in America right now, but how does it measure up against the competition? We put the Droid in the ring against three levels of opponents: first, all the other Android phones available; then, the other top smartphones on Verizon, and finally, the reigning champ, the . Who'll come out on top?

Round 1: Androids Fight!

First the Droid must dispatch its siblings. The process is pretty quick.

The Droid's Cortex-A8 processor makes mincemeat of the , the , the and even the 800 Mhz . On benchmark and network tests, the Droid was able to land two punches for every other phone's one. That leaves them all dazed and staggering around the ring.

The Hero and CLIQ are the only two even vaguely able to put up a fight, thanks to HTC's Sense UI and Motorola's MOTOBLUR, both of which bring powerful software features that the Droid lacks. MOTOBLUR's ability to bring all of your Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter contacts into its cheering section keeps it especially lively. The Droid can't do that.

The Droid unleashes the power of its 854-by-480 screen, enhanced Web browser and Google Maps Navigation to deliver the final blow. Android is the Google OS, designed for the Web. The Droid does the Web better and has more Google services than any of its siblings. We don't even know when any of them will be upgradeable to the Droid's Android 2.0 OS. That makes the Droid the ultimate killer robot for now.

Winner: Motorola Droid

In this round:





$129.99

Last year, the T-Mobile G1 was a groundbreaking smartphone as the first Android phone on the market. Now, it just looks like a beta product.





$149.99

The T-Mobile MyTouch 3G looks a bit pointless considering what's come out since, except as a budget pick. It's a stock Android 1.5 phone without either the speed of the Moment and Droid, or the customization of the CLIQ and Hero.





$179.99

The HTC Hero's Sense UI helps make Android 1.5 much more people-friendly and coherent, but our model was buggy and had a poor-quality camera. It's also much slower than the Droid.





$199.99

Motorola's first Android phone is a coherent, powerful communications device that brilliantly integrates social networking systems. Oh, and the CLIQ is a great smartphone, too.





$179.99

The Samsung Moment is fast and has a bright screen, but its geek cred was just eradicated by the faster, more advanced Motorola Droid.





$199.99

Verizon's new flagship smartphone, the Motorola Droid is the first Android 2.0 phoneand it's the future of Verizon Wireless.

Round 2: Battle for Verizon

So the Droid totally wiped out the rest of the Android army. Now it faces tougher competitors: the top two smartphones on Verizon Wireless, the and the .

Before you dismiss the Storm2, remember that BlackBerrys have an awesome enterprise management system. The Storm2's touch keyboard is second to none, thanks to its localized haptic feedback. The average quality of apps in BlackBerry App World looks to be higher than the average quality of Android apps. And the Storm syncs with iTunes, which the Droid can't do.

The Droid's 10,000 apps may be of varying quality, but there are five times as many as in BlackBerry App World. The Droid's camera, and especially the video camera, crush the Storm2. But most of all, the Droid's Web browser eradicates the Storm with a single haymaker blow.

Then the Imagio steps up. The Imagio is the talented scion of a long smartphone lineage, and it pounds on the Droid with better Microsoft Exchange support, a great browser in Opera Mobile, better call quality, a better still camera, and even mobile TV. On points, you could see the Imagio winning here.

Let the fight go on long enough, though, and the Droid begins to outlast the Imagio. This isn't just about battery life. Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system is looking old and creaky, even with its new version 6.5 facelift. Android is just getting started, and Verizon has committed to this OS in a big way in the long haul. For now, it looks like Android has more potential going forward for exciting new applications.

Winner: Motorola Droid, barely.

In this round:





$199.99

The Storm2 fixes all of the problems with the original Storm, using a radical new haptic touch-screen technology that actually makes it feel like you're pressing buttons. But although this is an excellent device, the Storm's Web browsing still lags behind.





$199.99

The premiere Windows Mobile smartphone has a customized UI, mobile TV, and an excellent Web browser. It's also a very good phone.





$199.99

Verizon's new flagship smartphone, the Motorola Droid is the first Android 2.0 phoneand it's the future of Verizon Wireless.

Round 3: The Droid vs. the iPhone

And now we get to the final battle, the war for true smartphone supremacy.

In this corner: the , the 5-megapixel, multitasking champion of the Verizon Wireless network.

In this corner: the , which redefined mobile computing.

Let's play this by categories.

Phone

Sometimes it's fun to watch two bruisers flail hopelessly around the ring. Neither the Droid nor the iPhone is a particularly good voice phone. They both have pretty average reception and mediocre voice quality. But Verizon's award-winning network backs the Droid up. While the iPhone is on its knees trying to pick up dropped calls, the Droid calls in The Network to slam it into the floor. Points go to Verizon, but not necessarily to the Droid here. Still, it's a win.

Winner: Droid (because of Verizon's network)

Web

Both the iPhone and the Droid have WebKit-based Web browsers that show most of the Web. Both browsers have multiple windows. But the Droid has two tricks up its sleeve that make it superior. For one thing, it shows more of the Web at once thanks to its 854-by-480 Web browser. For another, it has Flash on the way in early 2010, which is going to fill in major gaps in the Web experience. That means more Web on the Droid than on the iPhone. That means the Droid wins.

Winner: Droid

OS/UI

Ever see two competitors battle using completely different styles of martial arts? That's the problem with comparing Android OS 2.0 to iPhone OS 3.1; they have so little in common. On the surface, the iPhone enforces conformity. You don't get home-screen widgets here, all apps have to behave in similar ways, and only Apple apps get to multi-task. But deeper down, the iPhone has a rich API which lets third-party programmers access many native features of the device.

Android looks like a much looser system on the surface. Apps and widgets scatter themselves across the home screen willy-nilly. You have to take more initiative to set up your interface the way you want, and sometimes apps misbehave. There seems to be more user freedom. But Android programs are written in Java, and all the developers I've spoken to hate Java compared to toolkits like the iPhone's. Similarly, developers seem to dislike Android Market's commerce system, whereas iTunes is a much smoother money-minting machine.

There's an order vs. chaos issue with some of the built-in apps, as well. Apple unifies all e-mail and calendars under one client. Android still can't get its mailboxes and calendars together. But Android allows third parties to integrate things like Facebook into the built-in contacts app; that's strictly verboten at Apple.

Average users who want a simple, consistent, and stable system with rich third-party apps are going to still prefer the iPhone. Power users who want more freedom to set up their own experience will want Android. The two have totally different styles of martial arts.

Winner: Tie

Media

It's like a replay of the "phone" battle, but reversed. Both the iPhone and the Droid are excellent media players. Both have standard 3.5mm headphone jacks and Bluetooth stereo support. Both have still and video camerasthe Droid's is a little bit better. Both stream and download media over the Internet.

But when the iPhone drags a PC into the ring, it's all over for the Droid. The iPhone syncs beautifully with iTunes and other apps, back and forth. It's easy to transfer your photos, music, and videos to and from the various libraries on a PC or Mac. The Droid offers absolutely nothing for media syncing. Sure, you can get some third-party solutions, but Apple's iTunes totally crushes Google's mysterious lack of attention to your main media library.

Winner: iPhone

Apps

The Droid has about 10,000 apps. That seems pretty gooduntil you see what's missing. Where are the 3D games, for instance? Way too many of the apps in the Android Market seem to be quickie jobs done by individual programmers rather than polished, professional work.

The iPhone's 100,000 apps fill all desires and demands. Whether it's fart apps, hobbyist apps, enterprise apps, or high-quality 3D games, the iPhone has it all. The Droid puts on a good showand maybe this story will be different next yearbut the iPhone's relentless pummeling brings the Droid down.

Winner: iPhone

Overall

The iPhone won two rounds. The Droid won two rounds. They tied a round. Are these two platforms truly tied? As the fighters retire to their corners, bruised by unbowed, let's remember that a title-holder should get to keep his title unless he's eliminated.

The iPhone is proven. The iPhone is experienced. The iPhone has had time to show, and solve, its bugs. We know the iPhone. The Droid is still, by and large, a mystery. Will its top half shear off in two weeks? Will it show bizarre bugs after a month? Only time will telland that means the iPhone, for now, keeps its title.

Overall winner: iPhone - but barely.

In this round:





$199.99

The iPhone 3GS was the simplest, most powerful handheld computer on the market ... until now. But its smooth performance, proven abilities, and excellent iTunes syncing still make it one of the best buys on the market.





$199.99

Verizon's new flagship smartphone, the Motorola Droid is the first Android 2.0 phoneand it's the future of Verizon Wireless.