<annoyed>
It has first match because of massive in-linking and parent domain trust.
Search Engine Optmization is closer to standards compliance than it is to snake oil. Most developers are just too lazy to do it. Or they grant it the same amount of thought that was spent on the comment above. As an SEO Account Manager most of my job is cleaning up these messes and client education so they don't get ripped off by SEO shysters or lazy developers.
As for the craptastic Droid Flash site, it doesn't validate and is a nightmare in terms of usability and accessibility. As stated in the article, it won't even work on a Droid phone. It still ranks because just like anything else, you can concentrate resources in certain areas and make up for shortcomings in others. AT&T has abysmal customer service, but they spend enough money in other places, like iPhone exclusivity deals and FCC lobbying, that it doesn't matter. You're seeing something similar, here.
Verizon can give the big finger to standards compliant, accessible web design because they've spent enough money on a traditional marketing and PR campaign that the URL has hundreds of thousands of incoming links with the keyword "droid" in anchor text. That page could be blank and it would still rank for on a "droid" SERP, that doesn't mean there's no such thing as SEO or that it's a "good" website.
Maybe for some SEOs that's what it means. I've seen too many where it's all about astroturfing links for pagerank and inserting junk into pages to fool web spiders.
I get that, but that's still not what it means. I can say that A means B all day and it doesn't change reality. Google, Yahoo and MSoft have defined SEO and support that definition.
If someone tells you that keyword stuffing is SEO, they're wrong. I could tell you that stuffing chickens in a bag is plumbing, that doesn't make plumbing snake oil.
Search Engine Optmization is closer to standards compliance than it is to snake oil. Most developers are just too lazy to do it. Or they grant it the same amount of thought that was spent on the comment above. As an SEO Account Manager most of my job is cleaning up these messes and client education so they don't get ripped off by SEO shysters or lazy developers.
As for the craptastic Droid Flash site, it doesn't validate and is a nightmare in terms of usability and accessibility. As stated in the article, it won't even work on a Droid phone. It still ranks because just like anything else, you can concentrate resources in certain areas and make up for shortcomings in others. AT&T has abysmal customer service, but they spend enough money in other places, like iPhone exclusivity deals and FCC lobbying, that it doesn't matter. You're seeing something similar, here.
Verizon can give the big finger to standards compliant, accessible web design because they've spent enough money on a traditional marketing and PR campaign that the URL has hundreds of thousands of incoming links with the keyword "droid" in anchor text. That page could be blank and it would still rank for on a "droid" SERP, that doesn't mean there's no such thing as SEO or that it's a "good" website.