Bionic vs RAZR vs Nexus

[amageus]

Everything regarding the RAZR and Nexus is based off speculation. Take this with a grain of salt. I'm just going to compare what each phone has that "I" believe may be a con or pro. This is my opinion so don't go flaming me especially since there is no hands on on a RAZR or Nexus.

CPU:
The Bionic is slower than both the RAZR and Nexus. Both the RAZR and Nexus use the same CPU. However both are made by different companies and how they are utilized with the built in hardware will determine their real world speed. One may be faster than the other despite having the same processor. Unless you're running multiple apps you're not really going to see a difference. A dual core processor doesn't give you twice the speed. It just allows you to split the processes between 2 cores which reduces the load. A program that doesn't utilize the 2 cores isn't going to be faster vs a single core of the same speed. ICS is suppose to utilize that. Let's see what happens.

Display:
The Bionic is using a Pentile screen vs the Super AMOLED screens of the RAZR and Nexus. However it is comfirmed that the Nexus is using Pentile. Some people are already complaining about the screen yet they really don't have a hands on. While the Bionic does show pixelation and discoloration on some websites it's not something I am going to fret about. It does what it does and I am happy with it. I don't really notice it unless I am staring at it. But who stares at their phones while doing nothing? I sure don't. RAZR and Nexus has us beat for sure. Pentile has it's pluses so incorporating that with the Super AMOLED is a bonus. I doubt anyone will notice as the high res may offset the Pentile display.

Battery:
The Bionic and Nexus allow interchangebility. The RAZR doesn't. What's that mean for us? Battery pulls for those of us who tend to tweak our phones a lot or have issues. It also means that if we have a faulty battery we can easily get it replaced. For RAZR users who have battery issues will either have to deal with it outside of their warranty or exchange their phone. Motorola isn't like Apple when it comes to battery quality. I know every battery has it's defective batches but I think Motorola has a higher rate than Apple. I've already seen some post where bad battery is the culprit. Not being able to swap is going to be an issue with RAZR users.

Build Quality:
My Bionic is great. No flaw that I can see. Nothing like the iPhone but mine came with no flaws. The RAZR looks like it will be the top winner of build quality as it'll come with a Kevlar backing and Aluminum housing unlike the Nexus. However it may be more of a bling. Until we get our hands and get real world uses out of it we won't know how well it'll hold. My concern is the fact that it's thin and even having the above mentioned items may not protect it from certain users. We will find once its released.

SDCard:
The Bionic and RAZR will have external SDCard slots while the Nexus won't. This I don't see too much as a selling point for any of the phones. It's just an added bonus. For us who have the Bionic having the Internal SDCard and External SDCard is a pain for some programs. Why did they go with that naming scheme I dunno. Shoulda kept the External SDCard as SDCard instead of SDCard. Naming the Internal Memory as SDCard doesn't fit right cause your internal memory is not an SDCard in a sense. Like I said this doesn't seem like a selling point.

HDMI:
Bionic and RAZR will have HDMI out while the Nexus won't. The Bionic has webtop capabilites and I believe RAZR will too since it'll be able to work on the new Lapdock in works. This is a plus for me as I'll be able to display movies/pictures on a bigger screen. Gaming I dunno. I have used it briefly and it's great. Webtop isn't a plus for me yet as I have not used it. This may not be something everyone uses so it may be an added bonus.

Software:
Bionic and RAZR both will come with Gingerbread 2.3 while the Nexus will have Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0. No phone is out with 4.0 yet unless rooted and even then it's probably not full featured. Bionic and RAZR will see an update to 4.0 but who knows for sure when. Nexus will be the first to have it and I'm gonna be excited for it. Bionic and RAZR will mostly likely get a Blur'd version of it and I don't care for Blur. Not sure what Samsung uses. As long as I will see ICS I will be happy.

Not sure what else to go over. However I will point out that the Bionic will have everything I need while the other 2 will be missing some items. Every phone will have it's crowd but I'm a Bionic user and will remain one til my new upgrade. I am happy with my phone despite what some may consider lower features. Now let's see those ICS roms come flying in please!

 

[JRJ]

Good post, because every single "Android Addict" on here is doing the same comparison mentally, whether they will admit it or not. To me that is part of what makes Android great, there is always continuous improvment to both the software and the hardware that runs it. Personally I am with you I am sticking with my Bionic it has been great phone and while the Razr is tempting because of its form factor (internal frame, kevlar) I don't feel any sudden need to change.

 

[trophynuts]

imo the Bionic is a class below the RAZR and the Nexus

 

[across81]

Truthfully the only thing I wish that my Bionic has that the RAZR has is the processor. The screen does not bother me at all and I like being able to swap out my battery if I have too. The difference between the 4430 and 4460 is the only thing that gets to me.

 

[amageus]

It might be a class below the RAZR and Nexus but it's good enough to have what I want and need that I dont need to upgrade anytime soon. There really isn't anything that stands out that will cause me to upgrade/change. Some people who are moving on from the Bionic may have different views but to me there's no point. By the time i'm ready for an upgrade Quad Cores will become common in phones? I dunno. If they do I'd be happy to jump on those but again there will be no gain if the software don't utilize the extra cores. And I'm sure we'll be in the 1.5ghz speeds with better and vivid screens that will utilize the pentile's ability to be read outside and still maintain colors. Which I think the nexus' screen might be the next stepping stone. Until I get some real world hands own experiences from the users I won't know. I'm satisfied and that's all I need. Some others may not be but we don't all share the same views.

 

[doogald]

Not sure what else to go over.

The Bionic is really big. The Razr is even bigger (slightly), though also slightly thinner. The Nexus is more than slightly bigger and probably a little thinner (we don't actually know how much thinner yet.)

 

[BlueIce5249]

The Bionic is really big. The Razr is even bigger (slightly), though also slightly thinner. The Nexus is more than slightly bigger and probably a little thinner (we don't actually know how much thinner yet.)

Honestly, I wouldn't buy a phone that's any bigger than the Bionic. Even if it's thinner and lighter. The only "improvements" on the RAZR and Nexus are very miniscule at best.

 

[amageus]

I was gonna go over the size. The Bionic is just great. Not too big and not too small like my OG Droid. I don't think I can hold something like say the Samsung Galaxy Note with the 5" screen. Big screen but it might not fit my small asian hands lol.

 

[moondrius]

The Razr uses the 4430 while the Nexus has the 4460. Both are running at 1.2 but they are not the same processor.

Also all 3 of these phones have pentile displays, its just that the Bionics is horrible and the other 2 are not as bad. The Nexus will have the best display out of the 3 but the Razr will have a nice screen too.

The Nexus also has hdmi out through the usb port. Samsung and possibly a few other companys have moved to mhl which charges and outputs hdmi through the usb port. It may not be as convenient for people that already have micro hdmi cables but most manufactures are will probably move into the mhl direction.

 

[amageus]

I was under the impression that the razr was using the same proc as the nexus. So the razr is using the same one as the bionic? it that is true and we have a way to overclock we know for sure we'll be able to clock to 1.2ghz.

as far as mhl this is the first time i heard of it. what this means to me is that its something new to play with and we'll hear experiences from nexus users.

 

[BucYouUp68]

The Original RAZR had Great Battery Life.....NOT. Probably the worst phone i ever owned.

 

[DanDroide]

So the razr is using the same one as the bionic? it that is true and we have a way to overclock we know for sure we'll be able to clock to 1.2ghz.

as far as mhl this is the first time i heard of it. what this means to me is that its something new to play with and we'll hear experiences from nexus users.

Nice thread!

First, I would like to know the answer to your OVERCLOCKING question. Good one! And, would you have to be Rooted to do it?

And, if you have MHL, you have to buy "another adapter" and from what I've heard, you can't get them at Best Buy. I heard you had to get them from Samsung but maybe you can buy them elsewhere that I don't know. I think the adapters were expensive. I prefer the separate ports (HDMI & USB) myself.

 

[moondrius]

The move to mhl is so you can charge and use hdmi with just 1 cable.

As for overclocking do not expect to see anything until the bootloader is unlocked and I would not expect to see that any time soon if at all.

 

[Somniferum]

Truthfully the only thing I wish that my Bionic has that the RAZR has is the processor. The screen does not bother me at all and I like being able to swap out my battery if I have too. The difference between the 4430 and 4460 is the only thing that gets to me.

The only difference between the 4430 and the 4460 is that the GPU is clocked a bit higher. Can't remember the exact speeds off the top of my head but if you're interested I'll track the source down. Architecturally the CPUs are identical, so I doubt there will be much (if any) real-world performance difference between the two.

 

[doogald]

Also all 3 of these phones have pentile displays, its just that the Bionics is horrible and the other 2 are not as bad. The Nexus will have the best display out of the 3 but the Razr will have a nice screen too.

Nobody has really seen the Nexus display as it will come from Verizon, and not that many have seen the Razr, either. It may be better to hold off on calling those displays better until we know for sure.

They probably are, but you never know.

And, I don't think that the Bionic display is horrible. It's far, far better than my old Eris's display, that's for sure.

 

[Somniferum]

The move to mhl is so you can charge and use hdmi with just 1 cable.

As I understand it, an MHL compliant device is required for simultaneous charging to work, and those devices are only just starting to come on the market. So if you want to watch HDMI on your TV while charging at the same time, you'll have to buy an MHL compliant TV or monitor to replace your current one. To me that's a pretty big drawback, especially since the battery tends to drain quickly when streaming video.

 

[Somniferum]

The only difference between the 4430 and the 4460 is that the GPU is clocked a bit higher. Can't remember the exact speeds off the top of my head but if you're interested I'll track the source down. Architecturally the CPUs are identical, so I doubt there will be much (if any) real-world performance difference between the two.

For those interested, compare the two CPUs here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Instruments_OMAP#OMAP_4

The 4430 runs the SGX540 @ 304 MHz, while the 4460 runs the exact same GPU @ 384 MHz. No other differences that I can see.

The 4470 on the other hand, runs the newer SGX544 GPU + dedicated 2D graphics core. To my knowledge no phones have been announced yet with the 4470, and none are expected until Q2 2012.

 

[fatpomp]

The move to mhl is so you can charge and use hdmi with just 1 cable.

As for overclocking do not expect to see anything until the bootloader is unlocked and I would not expect to see that any time soon if at all.

The bootloader doesn't need to be unlocked to overclock.

 

[moondrius]

The bootloader doesn't need to be unlocked to overclock.

I know its possible but its a lot more work.

 

[damewolf13]

imo the Bionic is a class below the RAZR and the Nexus

It is interesting the specific things that are important to different people, because reading the comparisons, and just on the actual facts that we do really know, I feel that the Bionic is the better phone for my needs.
I wouldn't buy either of the other two, even if I didn't have a Bionic.
Two of the features that I would not want to live without, are the external SD card, and the removable battery. Those are deal breakers for me.

 

[xmr405o]

Like what other people have said, the Razr and Bionic have the same Processors but the Razr is clocked higher.

The Razr,to me, is an upgrade in looks. The Nexus is more of an upgrade but I still wouldn't suggest to Bionic owners with no issues to sell their Bionic to try to get the Nexus especially if they have to pay full retail price for the Nexus or use another upgrade.

I've seen some post in a lot of forums where people are willing to go that route just to get the Razr or Nexus. To me, the Bionic can take any person to their next upgrade.

imo the Bionic is a class below the RAZR and the Nexus

IMO, the Bionic and Razr are in the same class. Both are Motorola's top phones with a slight edge to the Razr. Nexus is probably a class higher just because of ICS and the slightly better processor.

 

[JRJ]

It is interesting the specific things that are important to different people, because reading the comparisons, and just on the actual facts that we do really know, I feel that the Bionic is the better phone for my needs.
I wouldn't buy either of the other two, even if I didn't have a Bionic.
Two of the features that I would not want to live without, are the external SD card, and the removable battery. Those are deal breakers for me.

I agree it is really interesting to see what different people value in their phone. For instance I would rather have a larger internal storage and no sd card since I have not removed an sd card from one of my androids in the past 2 years that I can remember. But the internal frame, kevlar body and water repellant coating sound great to me. As someone that enjoys camping and has kids my phones sometimes get harsh treatment.

 

[amageus]

Yes everyone has different values they choose in their phones. This is the type of thread/post I like to see where everyone is intelligent in their posts and not blowing off steam and putting negativity down in the Bionic. There are some things I have read so far that's given me a little more insight on the other phones. I want to see how each one fares against each other once the other 2 are released.

 

[LemurKing]

Many of us have heard about the Droid Razr and the Droid Nexus that Motorola announced recently. I have heard a lot of people wanting to return their Bionics because they want to upgrade to the Nexus or Razr instead. As a Bionic owner, I find myself experiencing buyers remorse. These new phones, one being the Bionic with some new awesome upgrades, are coming out only about a month and a half after the Bionic launched. The Bionic has been discontinued from Verizon stores after only a short time. It seems like Motorola just wanted to be done with the whole Bionic project so they could announce their already better phones that they had been working on all along. On another note, Motorola did a good job of creating hype for the Bionic. Even though it was months late, a lot of people still bought one and they made a profit. That's all that matter in the end for them. Then they release the Razr and Nexus 2 months later and make millions more. Sneaky bastards...

Comments?

 

[Lee Majors]

The Bionic has been discontinued from Verizon stores after only a short time.

Are you sure about that?