Arik Hesseldahl recently published an article at BusinessWeek’s Apple blog, Byte of the Apple, featuring the recent TV spot for the forthcoming Motorola Droid smart phone. The Droid runs Google’s ‘Android’ operating system and is an obvious competitor of the iPhone, especially given that it is coming soon to Verizon. The ad begins with drawing attention to the features that the iPhone doesn’t have – and questions the usefulness of the wildly popular device.

Hasseldahl cites Craig Moffett of Sanford Bernstein, in purporting this ad is most likely a sign that discussions broke down between Apple and Verizon over a CDMA version of the iPhone. Moffett also speculates that this may be Verizon’s way of turning up the pressure on Apple; or, maybe that Verizon has already turned its back on the iPhone entirely. The latter would of course be welcomed news to AT&T who is rumored to be coming to the end of its exclusive agreement for the iPhone in the U.S. In any event, it will be interesting to see this story play out as we near the release of the much-anticipated smart phone.