Motorola Bionic for Verizon is now available

[XDCX]

For as much as I once wanted this phone, I figured I couldn't let the launch of the Motorola Bionic go unnoticed. :)

The Motorola Bionic was first announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January and I knew I wanted one as my first smartphone. Motorola indicated the Bionic would be released in the second quarter and the waiting game started.

Long story short, Motorola ran into problems with the Bionic and scrapped the platform before it was launched. The successor phone was re-branded as the Bionic and it launched today.

So, why don't I want a Bionic any longer? Mostly because I bought a used Droid X off of Ebay to lock in Unlimited Data with Verizon and I'm mostly happy with the phone. The other reason is there are so many AWESOME phones on the horizon it doesn't make sense to spend $300 on a phone that will be old news by Thanksgiving.

For those who may be curious, here's an objective review of the Bionic I found at Engadget - click here (http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/08/droid-bionic-review)

[XDCX]

At the risk of sounding like a phone-geek I've really enjoyed reading the comments of people who bought the new Motorola Bionic.

On day one almost 100% of the threads at AndroidCentral were filled with joy and excitement as people opened the box and played with their new toy. Now, less than a week later there are numerous threads complaining about screen pixilation, battery life, a buzzing noise from the head phones, etc.

In fairness to Motorola, I guess this is a pretty common scenario for any phone that's been hyped for eight months - it's almost impossible for the phone to live-up to everyone's expectations.

On a side note, there's no reason to settle for an average phone anymore since there are so many great phones on the horizon:

Samsung's Galaxy S2
Apple's i-Phone 5
Google's Nexus Prime
HTC Vigor (Possible named Thunderbolt 2)
Motorola Droid HD
All of the above phones are targeted to be released within the next three months. :)

[SHACOS]

Just stick with Apple. You can't go wrong. :)

[XDCX]

Just stick with Apple. You can't go wrong. :)

You make a good point. Even though I've never owned an Apple product I have a great deal of respect for the brilliance Steve Jobs brought to the company.

CNET just had a review of the Top 5 products that will mark the Jobs era and I was amazed at how much of Apple's revenue comes from the iPhone and the iPad. Jobs basically reinvented the company in just the past five years.

It will be interesting to see what features the iPhone 5 has when it's released later this year.

[XDCX]

I've been reading the user reviews for the Motorola Bionic and while it seems to be an adequate phone people resent having to pay $299 for it when there are so many great phones on the horizon.

My prediction: The Motorola Bionic will sell for less than $100 between now and Black Friday. (Black Friday = the day after Thanksgiving, one of the best days for shopping discounts.)

It's not that the Bionic's a bad phone, it just isn't worth $299 and my bet is Motorola will lower the price in an effort to recover some of the market share they lost in 2011.

[jdemonto]

So have you updated the OS to Gingerbread?

Jason

[XDCX]

So have you updated the OS to Gingerbread?

Jason

If you're referring to my Droid X, I've been avoiding Gingerbread based on all the reports I've read on the Internet about the problems it causes. I'm still rocking Froyo and I'm happy with the phone. :)

I know Motorola issued a new version of Gingerbread for the Droid X that was supposed to fix the bugs but I'm still reading there are lot of people who are having problems. I'll keep Froyo as my OS until I hear that Gingerbread's been fixed. (Or wait for ICS - it's possible the Droid X may get that OS before the phone is sent out to pasture....)

[chryslersrt8]

Just stick with Apple. You can't go wrong. :)

I agree. I love my iPhone except for the inability to read adobe acrobat files.

[SHACOS]

Rob - Since the upgrade to iOS 4, I've been able to view Acrobat. It seems to be linked to the iBooks app. Have you upgraded?

[XDCX]

The Bionic isn't even 60 days old and Motorola just screwed over all of the "early adopters" by announcing the new Motorola Razr today.

Here's a link to a quick review of the Razr by AndroidCentral - click here (http://www.androidcentral.com/motorola-droid-razr-hands-video)

The Razr is a huge improvement over the Bionic - especially in the area where the Bionic was most criticized - screen quality.

I know that technology moves quickly but I also think it's unprecedented that an OEM replaces their "flagship" phone within 60 days of its launch.

On a side note, as good as the new Razr looks Google and Samsung will be releasing their new Nexus Prime later tonight. The Prime will have a larger screen, Near Field Communication and it will be the first phone with Android's new operating system - Ice Cream Sandwich.

[57years]

The last thing I am is an"electronic" buff, but, I wonder why there is not a "simple" download for these types of gadgets, that "updates" the software to the "now current" gadgetry. I would think the "guts" of these phones is identical, and the storage is so huge, that giving up a little bit of it for programing is irrelevant. (All this is said from a guy who would still be using a analog brick cell phone, if he could!)

[XDCX]

The last thing I am is an"electronic" buff, but, I wonder why there is not a "simple" download for these types of gadgets, that "updates" the software to the "now current" gadgetry. I would think the "guts" of these phones is identical, and the storage is so huge, that giving up a little bit of it for programing is irrelevant. (All this is said from a guy who would still be using a analog brick cell phone, if he could!)

I think your theory holds true for most desktop computers these days - the hardware is so good there's really not much incentive to upgrade as long as you have the latest LCD screen. Most innovations are software based.

With smartphones, however, the hardware is still at the point where the OEMs are making huge advances. The new phones are faster, lighter, offer 4G speeds and have much better screens.

Concerning the Bionic, Motorola was promoting the phone as the "controller of all machines" and Verizon highlighted it as one of their flagship phones with a selling price of $299. Six weeks later and it's yesterday's news..... :mad:

On a different note, Google and Samsung released their Galaxy Nexus last night and the phone looks awesome. Here's a link to their site - click here (http://www.google.com/nexus/)