Anyone else considering the Droid Bionic?

[Dex]

I got my Thunderbolt on release day. I've never returned it or given up on it... but I'm almost ready to.

I got the Droid Incredible on release as well and I feel that it was a much better phone. It always felt snappier and while it's battery sucked, it didn't seem this bad. My battery door creaks, I've got some light leakage (though it doesn't really bother me, much), the battery sucks (read above). I was lucky enough to get a unit that didn't reboot constantly. I've rooted the phone and tried several different ROMs and the experience just isn't what I had hoped for, especially coming from the Incredible. This looked like an upgrade in almost every way.

The LTE is awesome, and I can't step back to a phone that isn't LTE, but I've got to get something with a little more oomph. I've been a smartphone user for a while now and I'm pretty familiar with Android and how it works. I've tried various things, all with little success. My wife and I have 3 upgrades on our account (she works at the local call center and is eligible for an upgrade every 10 months). I've really got my eye on the Bionic.

Anyone else kind of in the same boat? Up in the air on the Thunderbolt even after several months? I know I can't be the only one.

 

[scotty85]

Anyone else kind of in the same boat? Up in the air on the Thunderbolt even after several months? I know I can't be the only one.

im sure youre not the only one,but im not in that boat at all. i got my TB on release,and im in no way shape or form about to give up on it. it has been rooted since day 1,i dont know if im lucky or because ive never run stock software,but ive not experienced any of the rebooting or other issues the stock folks have been having.

i came from an incredible as well,and the only issues ive had i felt were understandable for being the first device on a brnad new network. now that 4g is here i get a strong signal,and with RIL almost perfected in AOSP roms i h get decent battery and seemless data handoffs. ive had an enjoyable experience rooting and roming this phone,i love 4g,the speed,and the bigger screen. ive never felt like it wasnt an upgrade.

after messing with a droid 2 for a friend, theres no way ill ever own another moto,even if they unlock its bootloader.i just dont like how they work. after an eris,an inc,and the TB im quite partial to HTC devices and will likely not own anything else.

i personally predict folks are going to be just as disapointed with the bionic as they have been the TB. its been every bit as long from the leaks to the release,and ill be surprised if its able to hold up to peoples built up perceptions of what it should be.

even brand loyalties aside,i think youd be ahead to wait for the release of the vigor and compare them side by side befors jumping on the bionic bandwagon. they are similar in specs,but the vigor will have a faster processor,and a lil better screen resolution.

my 2 cents

 

[KLF]

I want one, but I went ahead and got the one after the one I wanted. <rimshot>

 

[superstretch]

My TB was developing a little rust.. Any of DroidTh3ory's ROMs will shake ALL of it out, give it a new paint job, tune the engine, and slap some slicks on it. (And give you better gas mileage)

 

[thorthunderblt]

There is no way I would opt out of contract and pay full price for a phone now a days. So I am going to wait until discounts next year. Plus there are going to be newer phones next year.

 

[Thats]

It's funny how many people haven't really liked the Bolt. I really think that it is a great phone, once you have it rooted and put some work into it. As in: It's not an amazing phone out of the box, it's only great, just because of the bloatware that runs on it.

Once I had this baby rooted and started getting ASOP RIL worked out, this phone is perfect. You can't expect to get higher than 14-16 hours of battery on a phone that does 4G and has such a large screen, unless you are just unrealistic person.

 

[Turdbogls]

I am not in the same boat as you are. i have had my TB for about 3 months now. been rooted since the first week. running various ROM's, this is my 3rd bolt, i have had issues, my current one has a peeling kickstand, and a screen (the front glass) is not seated properly, but it works Great, so i am keeping it. if the bionic is anything like the D3 (same processor but more RAM) i dont think i could go with it. after having 3 motorola phones, then going to an HTC phone, i just dont think i could go back. the new blur is....Woof, IMO. it lags the phone down some, the new screens they are using in their phones suck IMO. nothing is appealing to me about the bionic. the ONLY thing i like about it is the name....sounds cool, but the phone itself is not for me.
give me the vigor or the Prime. my upgrade is march of 2012, so i can hold off for a bit. should be some insanely sweet phones out by then.

 

[WormDoes]

I wouldn't use a Bionic if you bought one for me. Moto and their locked bootloaders isn't an upgrade

 

[awdcivic]

I bought a tbolt in march and it completely died last month and i got a replacement.
The new phone had different water stickers so im guessig something changed. I have not had a single problem with this new phone and i had alot with the old phone

 

[TxGoat]

I'm considering it due to the fact that my screen goes out on rare occasions, the USB connection is starting to fail on me (guessing it's the location of the USB since I prop up the kick-stand from time to time to let the phone cool off during heavy use), and I get spotty radio reception.

The question I have is how much do the TBs go for used? I'm thinking I'll have to buy the Bionic out of pocket and I'm ready to do that if the phone's condition continues to deteriorate.

 

[matt0715]

I'm considering it due to the fact that my screen goes out on rare occasions, the USB connection is starting to fail on me (guessing it's the location of the USB since I prop up the kick-stand from time to time to let the phone cool off during heavy use), and I get spotty radio reception.

The question I have is how much do the TBs go for used? I'm thinking I'll have to buy the Bionic out of pocket and I'm ready to do that if the phone's condition continues to deteriorate.

What I'm going to do is try to get Verizon to upgrade early for free since this phone is such a pain. I feel like they really should since this phone has been a pain to many and still is.

 

[alamoe]

If moto phones weren't all butt-ugly the Bionic would be pretty good. But the design of the phone and Motorola skin are just not up to the standards of HTC or even Samsung. I would wait on the Prime. Droidth3ory and BAMF roms make the thunderbolt a much better phone than it was

 

[Puppa]

Wouldn't touch the Bionic with a 10-foot pole. May as well slap a huge "Guinea Pig" sticker across your forehead as to buy one of those at release. Think we had problems being the first LTE phone? Wait'll you see what the first dual-core phone brings. No, I'm hunkering down with my trusty T-Bolt, and going to sit back and watch the fur fly as instability problems mount up around that puppy.

 

[mdeblaz]

Wouldn't touch the Bionic with a 10-foot pole. May as well slap a huge "Guinea Pig" sticker across your forehead as to buy one of those at release. Think we had problems being the first LTE phone? Wait'll you see what the first dual-core phone brings. No, I'm hunkering down with my trusty T-Bolt, and going to sit back and watch the fur fly as instability problems mount up around that puppy.

I'm not going to buy the Bionic - I'll stick with my TB, but seriously, you have to give it a bit more credit than this. If anything, the TB is the "Guinea Pig" and Motorola delayed this phone because they knew the LTE chips at the time were crap - i.e. the Thunderbolt. The LTE on the TB still isn't fixed completely.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Bionic is far superior when it comes LTE performance - especially with connectivity and battery life.

 

[TxGoat]

I'm not going to buy the Bionic - I'll stick with my TB, but seriously, you have to give it a bit more credit than this. If anything, the TB is the "Guinea Pig" and Motorola delayed this phone because they knew the LTE chips at the time were crap - i.e. the Thunderbolt. The LTE on the TB still isn't fixed completely.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Bionic is far superior when it comes LTE performance - especially with connectivity and battery life.

It definitely shouldn't be worse on battery life. The company that I'm working for now has me set up with an iPhone and so I've been lugging around both phones at work. My TB (which is hardly used at work) can go down to 1/4th battery life throughout the day and the iPhone is still sitting at 3/4 battery life. Hell, the iPhone I've been using now is still showing near capacity for the battery, and the TB is alreaady at 56%.

 

[jcnyc]

No thanks to this phone. Not a large enoguh increment to the tbolt to make it worth my while. Though if the nexus primes releases int he next month or two and is infact a nexus and not Verizon droid, bunch of shit apps pre-loaded, I would seriously consider buying that phone off contract.

 

[Bramsy]

add me to to DONT WAN IT group. i came from a OGD1... the TBolt kicks the snot out of it! when it's time to upgrade there might be a use for duel cores other than games. yeah yeah battery life blah blah blah. i can go a day with heavy usage, some LTE some 3G and i'm fine. yeah the TBolt was delayed, but NOT as long as the Bionic, and that's it?

get my drift? i'm sure there will be some that think this is heavens phone, coming from a phone prior than the tbolt... they all kinda sucked before, now they're truly getting interesting!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rocky s.]

Yep, I think I am still in the stick-with-what-I-got camp. (That philosophy also makes my wife happy).

I did get to play with a Bionic today at my local Verizon store. I found it to be kind of plastic and boxy. Also, for whatever reason, I'm not a fan of the qhd screens whether on the Bionic or the other qhd devices I've sampled that we all know have shown up recently. Even though they presumably are an upgrade in resolution, they don't seem to "pop" as much or look as sharp as the thunderbolt's display when doing a side by side. On the plus side, the Bionic was super fast and smooth with no lags noted.

So, to each his own, but I'll hang with HTC for now even with the flawed track record of the thunderbolt (and, yes, I've had my share of replacements). Now, when it comes time for the HTC Vigor...that may call out to me a little more than Motorola!

 

[JustinHEMI]

I'm waiting on the Nexus Prime.

 

[vassago]

HTC, need I say more.

 

[SeekerOfTheWay]

The Bionic rumors are what mare me interested in Android!

It took too long though, and I liked the Thunderbolt specs and UI.

Loving the Bolt, not rooted and Ill have this for 20 months. Then I'm probably going to the BlackBerry 9930, as a free upgrade.

 

[TxGoat]

The Bionic rumors are what mare me interested in Android!

It took too long though, and I liked the Thunderbolt specs and UI.

Loving the Bolt, not rooted and Ill have this for 20 months. Then I'm probably going to the BlackBerry 9930, as a free upgrade.

Free upgrade? Is Verizon reinstating that program?

 

[SeekerOfTheWay]

Apparently, they now provide a $50 "loyalty credit" to some lines after 20 months.

As well, in a year, the prices on year old devices will be greatly reduced (or free) as well.

 

[xeno2011]

I don't want the bionic either. I'm with scotty85, I love HTC phones.

If you're curious, here's a link to some of the bugs that have started popping up on the Bionic:

http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid-bionic/410289-any-buggyness-bionic.html

 

[TxGoat]

The comparison doesn't look favorable for me considering I hate the TB's poor battery performance. Definitely makes me want to stay with the TB.