746 replies to this topic

[Foulkey Reese]

4G, nice big screen, dual core, ect.

Anybody planning on getting this?

My only concern is that battery life being awful like the Thunderbolt. This story gives me some hope.

Quote

The leaker (Yoda) has also mentioned that he is seeing 15 hours of battery life with moderate usage, something that no other LTE device can really say at this time. We had been hearing from our sources that Moto reps couldn’t stop raving about the massive battery and how long it lasts, so to get confirmation from a tester is a nice add-on.

http://www.droid-lif...-to-be-stellar/

Edited by Foulkey Reese, 14 December 2011 - 05:54 PM.

[Zomp]

When does it come out?

[Foulkey Reese]

Sept 8th is the word right now. Who knows how solid that is though.

[ean611]

I'm NOT getting this for one reason and one reason alone: I want Google's next "Ice Cream Sandwich" phone.

Rumors are the Nexus Prime will be out in October. Rumor there will be a 4.6 and a 5.2 inch version. We know there will be a 1280x720 screen on it. Droid Bionic has 960x540 screen.

As a Droid X owner, I can live with my current phone until the Nexus Prime comes out. That being said, the Bionic is a killer phone with all the right check marks in horsepower and battery life. If the screen was 1280x720 rather than 960x540, I'd probably have pre-ordered it. Motorola makes excellent hardware.

It's no surprise that Motorola's phone should have excellent battery life, as the Motorola Droids have always had excellent power efficiency. HTC (who makes the Thunderbolt) has a reputation for less than stellar battery life. Their current crop of phones have been a little sub par in that respect. The Sprint phones similar to the Thunderbolt have been known for poor battery life.

[bsj]

Am I seeing that a high end Verizon phone is finally ditching the retro hard buttons? Nice.

[PortlandSoxFan]

I'm getting this. My (last) NE2 came up in July, and we have an additional line eligible for upgrade should I feel the need to snatch up something newer down the road.

The only thing that would prevent me from getting this is if the rumored Galaxy II looks better...looks like they both may come out on the same day.

Probably stick with Moto, though. Was happy with Droid 1, am happy with X.

[Foulkey Reese]

PortlandSoxFan, on 13 August 2011 - 07:41 AM, said:

Probably stick with Moto, though. Was happy with Droid 1, am happy with X.

Yea I'm in the same boat. The D1 and DX have been rock solid for me so far so I might just stick with what's working. I dread the amount of bloatware that's going to on this thing though.

[jercra]

Foulkey Reese, on 13 August 2011 - 10:57 AM, said:

Yea I'm in the same boat. The D1 and DX have been rock solid for me so far so I might just stick with what's working. I dread the amount of bloatware that's going to on this thing though.

Now that Moto is shipping all unlocked bootloaders the bloatware issue is a thing of the past. It will probably take you 10 minutes of research to figure out how to root the phone or even ROM it if you're unhappy with Blur. Either way, removing the bloatware should be pretty easy.

[Foulkey Reese]

jercra, on 13 August 2011 - 11:29 AM, said:

Now that Moto is shipping all unlocked bootloaders the bloatware issue is a thing of the past. It will probably take you 10 minutes of research to figure out how to root the phone or even ROM it if you're unhappy with Blur. Either way, removing the bloatware should be pretty easy.

I thought I had read that the Bionic was going to have a locked bootloader. Is that wrong?

[jercra]

Foulkey Reese, on 13 August 2011 - 02:19 PM, said:

I thought I had read that the Bionic was going to have a locked bootloader. Is that wrong?

It appears, after a quick google search, that it may not ship with an unlocked bootloader but Moto did say they would have unlocked bootloaders on all of their phones. My Atrix shipped with a locked bootloader that was unlocked in July. The Bionic will get unlocked, even if it's locked on ship day. The bootloader only matters if you want to ROM it though. You can still root a phone with a locked bootloader. I had my Atrix rooted within an hour of opening the box and then again after the gingerbread update. Once rooted you can uninstall all of the bloat, you just can't install stock Android until the bootloader is unlocked.

[NortheasternPJ]

ean611, on 13 August 2011 - 05:57 AM, said:

I'm NOT getting this for one reason and one reason alone: I want Google's next "Ice Cream Sandwich" phone.

Rumors are the Nexus Prime will be out in October. Rumor there will be a 4.6 and a 5.2 inch version. We know there will be a 1280x720 screen on it. Droid Bionic has 960x540 screen.

As a Droid X owner, I can live with my current phone until the Nexus Prime comes out. That being said, the Bionic is a killer phone with all the right check marks in horsepower and battery life. If the screen was 1280x720 rather than 960x540, I'd probably have pre-ordered it. Motorola makes excellent hardware.

It's no surprise that Motorola's phone should have excellent battery life, as the Motorola Droids have always had excellent power efficiency. HTC (who makes the Thunderbolt) has a reputation for less than stellar battery life. Their current crop of phones have been a little sub par in that respect. The Sprint phones similar to the Thunderbolt have been known for poor battery life.

Will the 5.2 inch be a tablet phone hybrid like the Dell streak? 5.2 seems too big for a phone.

The battery life for the bionic is great news for all phones. Hopefully it's attributed to more efficient LTE chips.

[weeba]

Some news for the beyond part of this thread:

Google to buy Motorola

http://googleblog.bl...to-acquire.html

[NortheasternPJ]

Iwas just coming here to post that. That is huge news. Moto is such a mess. I wonder how this is going to work out.

[behindthepen]

Foulkey Reese, on 12 August 2011 - 09:41 PM, said:

4G, nice big screen, dual core, ect.

Anybody planning on getting this?

My only concern is that battery life being awful like the Thunderbolt. This story gives me some hope.

http://www.droid-lif...-to-be-stellar/

That's funny. I had a meeting with a senior Moto guy a month ago and he was saying they were hoping they could get more than 10 hours of battery life. I didn't even bother posting it because it was an off-hand comment and frankly, unbelievable. I met with him again this week and he said the battery life would be "moderately better", so way toned down, but maybe so close to launch he didn't want to leak how good it was going to be.

He did say there is going to be an update to the networks in early 2012 that will make it easier for the LTE modem to turn off and on, and that will help everyone's LTE battery life.

[PortlandSoxFan]

Moto also ended up making their own LTE chip for the Bionic, which may explain the delays.

[Foulkey Reese]

Could this be the end of Moto-Blur?

Kind of makes me want to wait and see what Google controlled Motorolla comes up with next.

[PortlandSoxFan]

I don't have a huge problem with MotoBlur. In fact, the Moto dialer, car dock, and camera app are far superior to what I have now on my Cynogen 7 X.

[Seven Costanza]

behindthepen, on 15 August 2011 - 01:47 PM, said:

That's funny. I had a meeting with a senior Moto guy a month ago and he was saying they were hoping they could get more than 10 hours of battery life. I didn't even bother posting it because it was an off-hand comment and frankly, unbelievable. I met with him again this week and he said the battery life would be "moderately better", so way toned down, but maybe so close to launch he didn't want to leak how good it was going to be.

He did say there is going to be an update to the networks in early 2012 that will make it easier for the LTE modem to turn off and on, and that will help everyone's LTE battery life.

FWIW, in the last update for my Thunderbolt, a very easy LTE on/ off switch was added. When I first got the phone during launch week, there was no such option and in order to switch between LTE/CDMA and CDMA only you had to download an app.

Now, it couldn't be easier. Just flip a switch in the wireless settings, and I go from LTE to CDMA in like 10 seconds (and vice versa). Staying in 3G really helps the battery life, and if I want to stream netflix or download an app or whatever, I can switch almost instantaneously to 4G.

[ean611]

Droid HD link

I want the Droid HD. main difference? 1280*720 screen.

[Foulkey Reese]

PortlandSoxFan, on 17 August 2011 - 10:35 AM, said:

I don't have a huge problem with MotoBlur. In fact, the Moto dialer, car dock, and camera app are far superior to what I have now on my Cynogen 7 X.

Have you tried Gingerbread on your X? How is Cyanogen?

[PortlandSoxFan]

I had Gingerbread on my X for the past several months. It was fine; never had any issues. Didn't have the stock one; had a version I put on and I never upgraded until the other day. I like Cyanogen a lot.

On an unrelated note (don't feel like searching for the other thread), I just put Honeycomb on my Viewsonic gTablet and HOLY SHIT. It is SO MUCH BETTER. I can see why people like the Xooms so much.

[Gambler7]

So I spoke with Verizon today because of an issue with my Original Droid and was told instead of sending a replacement I am eligible for an upgrade...should I wait for the Bionic? I was going to go with the Droid 3 or CHARGE.

Edited by Gambler7, 24 August 2011 - 12:12 PM.

[Dernells Casket n Flagon]

Unless you want a physical keyboard absolutely wait for the Bionic.

[ean611]

Gambler7, on 24 August 2011 - 12:11 PM, said:

So I spoke with Verizon today because of an issue with my Original Droid and was told instead of sending a replacement I am eligible for an upgrade...should I wait for the Bionic? I was going to go with the Droid 3 or CHARGE.

Yes. Current Droids (from Motorola) do not have LTE. Droid Bionic does.

Also, Nexus Prime should hit in October. 1280*720 screen, 4.5 inches, 1.5GHz dual core, LTE, generic android. It's strongly rumored to be coming to Verizon.

[Marbleheader]

HTC's Thunderbolt replacement, the HTC Vigor, looks to be coming out early October to challenge the Bionic.

1.5 Ghz dual-core CPU
Verizon 4G LTE
4.3″ 720p HD display
2 megapixel front-facing camera
8 megapixel back-facing camera
HTC Sense 3.5 running on top of Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread


I have a Droid Incredible and love it. Between all the delays with the Bionic and the unimpressive Thunderbolt, I may just wait and see which to upgrade to this fall.

[Caspir]

Marbleheader, on 27 August 2011 - 08:43 AM, said:

HTC's Thunderbolt replacement, the HTC Vigor, looks to be coming out early October to challenge the Bionic.

1.5 Ghz dual-core CPU
Verizon 4G LTE
4.3″ 720p HD display
2 megapixel front-facing camera
8 megapixel back-facing camera
HTC Sense 3.5 running on top of Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread


I have a Droid Incredible and love it. Between all the delays with the Bionic and the unimpressive Thunderbolt, I may just wait and see which to upgrade to this fall.

I'm in the same boat. I love my Inredible, and nothing had really popped out at me that would cause me to upgrade. I did play around with the Motorola Photon at Sprint the other day, and it's a solidly built phone, but I'm a Sense guy, and I want to stick with HTC. This could be a phone that makes me upgrade.

[Fratboy]

Finally, Verizon will have some sweet, sweet Nexus goodness, and it will be an exclusive. Nexus DROID Prime, bitches.

(Yeah, I know this is up in the iPhone vs. Android thread, but this needs some serious love. I'm trading in my Droid X for this puppy when it comes out.

[PortlandSoxFan]

Fratboy, on 30 August 2011 - 09:03 AM, said:

Finally, Verizon will have some sweet, sweet Nexus goodness, and it will be an exclusive. Nexus DROID Prime, bitches.

(Yeah, I know this is up in the iPhone vs. Android thread, but this needs some serious love. I'm trading in my Droid X for this puppy when it comes out.

I have 2 available upgrades on my account. One will be used on the Bionic, and then one on the Nexus and I'll give my wife the Bionic (although she loves her Incredible)

[Corsi]

How soon does Verizon usually let one upgrade? My 24-months is up sometime in December, but don't they usually allow one to upgrade after 20 months? Or am I making that up?

[Caspir]

You can upgrade after 20 months with no problem. I got them to upgrade me after a little under 18 months, so as long as you're willing to re-up with them, they'll figure it out.

[Foulkey Reese]

Fratboy, on 30 August 2011 - 09:03 AM, said:

Finally, Verizon will have some sweet, sweet Nexus goodness, and it will be an exclusive. Nexus DROID Prime, bitches.

(Yeah, I know this is up in the iPhone vs. Android thread, but this needs some serious love. I'm trading in my Droid X for this puppy when it comes out.

Yep.

I'm going to pass on the Bionic and wait for this bad boy as well. Looks like an amazing phone.

[jayhoz]

Hold the phone (ha!) people. If your not rockin' a 5.75" x 3.37" inch phone you're a loser.



Maybe this will bring back cargo pants?

Edited by jayhoz, 01 September 2011 - 03:54 PM.

[NortheasternPJ]

jayhoz, on 01 September 2011 - 03:53 PM, said:

Hold the phone (ha!) people. If your not rockin' a 5.75" x 3.37" inch phone you're a loser.



Maybe this will bring back cargo pants?

Its funny to look back now and people mocking the iPhone for being way too big.

[PortlandSoxFan]

well, I have the Bionic in hand. Haven't played with it much; nice so far.

[Foulkey Reese]

PortlandSoxFan, on 08 September 2011 - 09:43 AM, said:

well, I have the Bionic in hand. Haven't played with it much; nice so far.

I'm sitting here with my finger on the trigger deciding whether or not to order the Bionic or wait for something else.

How's the screen?

That's what the bloggers seem to be complaining about.

[PortlandSoxFan]

Foulkey Reese, on 08 September 2011 - 10:02 AM, said:

I'm sitting here with my finger on the trigger deciding whether or not to order the Bionic or wait for something else.

How's the screen?

That's what the bloggers seem to be complaining about.

Bloggers are morons. Screen is fine. Much nicer than DX.

[Dernells Casket n Flagon]

Engadget's review claims that there is a GSM radio in it, any way you can confirm with the device in hand?

"Naturally this is an LTE device, so you have both that and CDMA on tap. Globe trotters will find dual-band GSM (900 and 1,800MHz) along with 2,100MHz UMTS support, and all that is augmented by Bluetooth 2.1 and 802.11b/g/n WiFi. "

[PortlandSoxFan]

Dernells Casket n Flagon, on 08 September 2011 - 10:40 AM, said:

Engadget's review claims that there is a GSM radio in it, any way you can confirm with the device in hand?

"Naturally this is an LTE device, so you have both that and CDMA on tap. Globe trotters will find dual-band GSM (900 and 1,800MHz) along with 2,100MHz UMTS support, and all that is augmented by Bluetooth 2.1 and 802.11b/g/n WiFi. "

I don't know how to tell.

[PortlandSoxFan]

by the way; already rooted. The Droid 3 process works on the Bionic!

[Dernells Casket n Flagon]

PortlandSoxFan, on 08 September 2011 - 11:06 AM, said:

I don't know how to tell.

Maybe you could take a quick trip over to the UK and try posting in here with Wifi turned off.

[PortlandSoxFan]

I think Engadget is mistaken; the VZW spec page says dual band CDMA and LTE.

[Dernells Casket n Flagon]

PortlandSoxFan, on 08 September 2011 - 02:35 PM, said:

I think Engadget is mistaken; the VZW spec page says dual band CDMA and LTE.

Yeah. There hadn't been any previous reports that this would have a GSM radio, and no one has been talking about it until the LTE radio becomes part of the board, so it's very doubtful that this was true.

[Three10toLeft]

I just went back with Android last week and got a Thunderbolt. I was somewhat itching to return it after I saw that this launched today, but seeing as though this has a Pentile display, I will happily pass.

[PortlandSoxFan]

that's just dumb. nothing wrong with the display.

On an unrelated note, my Bionic lasted less than 12 hours. With a friend last night, we stopped for coffee. I put the phone on the center armrest. Came out from the gas station/dunks 10 minutes later (service was horrendous), and we can't find my phone.

Until I look in the open large iced coffee cup that is nearly half full of dip spit. Bionic dove in head first.

I never, ever get the insurance on the phones. Thankfully, they let you add it within 14 days, which I did as soon as we reached our destination. Then late last night I filed a claim, but the phone is so new it isn't in their system yet.

[Three10toLeft]

PortlandSoxFan, on 09 September 2011 - 05:40 AM, said:

that's just dumb. nothing wrong with the display.

I guess to each is own, but I'm not the only one who see's the pentile display as major con then a plus. The greens look off and highly pixelated, along with oranges/browns.

[PortlandSoxFan]

Three10toLeft, on 09 September 2011 - 08:20 PM, said:

I guess to each is own, but I'm not the only one who see's the pentile display as major con then a plus. The greens look off and highly pixelated, along with oranges/browns.

I don't see the Bionic in that lineup. You used one yet? And have you personally seen this problem with these displays, or are you going on interweb pictures.

I just think people are nitpicky about stupid shit. Screen looks fine.

Couldn't file an insurance claim on my Bionic, so I had to order another one, which will be here Monday. However, some dumbass bought my liquid ruined Bionic for $175. I described exactly what happened to it, and he bought it. I'll be surprised if he gets it running (I actually took it apart and tried to clean off all the corrosion on the board), but bless him for trying.

[Three10toLeft]

PortlandSoxFan, on 10 September 2011 - 09:12 PM, said:

I don't see the Bionic in that lineup. You used one yet? And have you personally seen this problem with these displays, or are you going on internet pictures.

I just think people are nitpicky about stupid shit. Screen looks fine.

Couldn't file an insurance claim on my Bionic, so I had to order another one, which will be here Monday. However, some dumbass bought my liquid ruined Bionic for $175. I described exactly what happened to it, and he bought it. I'll be surprised if he gets it running (I actually took it apart and tried to clean off all the corrosion on the board), but bless him for trying.

I've played with the Bionic in Verizon, it has the same display as the Droid X2. I'm not trying to piss in your cheerios, if you like the Bionic, that's great for you. I just think the pentile display is rather lackluster and would be more interested in seeing what the Nexus Prime looks like.

How's the motoblur skin on the Bionic? I didn't play with the phone that much but read that Motorola did a much better job optimizing MB this time around.

[Three10toLeft]

double post

Edited by Three10toLeft, 11 September 2011 - 10:03 AM.

[PortlandSoxFan]

On a slightly related note, some dummy bought my destroyed Bionic (I was very open and honest regarding what happened to it) on eBay for $175.

Blur seemed fine; it never annoys me that much because I don't use too many of the features of it.

[PortlandSoxFan]

So I got the SECOND Bionic...no issues thus far and I'm keeping it away from open containers. Very snappy phone; I honestly don't see a problem with the screen, but I suppose I'm not sure what to look for. Haven't really put it through the paces yet, and haven't used 4g much at all. Can't say how good/bad the battery is yet...but I did get the extended battery which makes this thing THICK (2760 mAh).

It is rooted; but the only rooted apps I'm using are Adfree and Titanium Backup.