Why the Motorola Droid Bionic Is Still Worth Waiting For
There has been a lot of negativity regarding the Motorola Droid Bionic and its delayed launch. We had originally thought it would launch in August and then Motorola dropped a bomb on us. It wasn’t arriving until September.
Many of you started to question whether or not you would buy the Droid Bionic when it would come out. Others jumped off the bandwagon and hopped on board the train conducted by the Samsung Galaxy S II.
Then, yesterday, we unveiled some exclusive photos of the Droid Bionic that were quickly met with all sorts of groans about the thickness of the phone. I think I even saw someone call it a Zach Morris phone.
So, in light of all these new developments and criticisms, I thought it right to address them in an updated take on why the Motorola Droid Bionic is a phone worth considering.
Motorola Design and Quality
Motorola makes phones that last. Every time I go out in San Francisco, I see people using the original Droid or the original Droid X. I have issues with their vision, but I love their hardware and quite frankly, the Droid Bionic seems like the best of these Droid phones mixed with 4G LTE.
“Look at how thick the design is,” they cry.
Well, that’s probably because it’s holding a massive battery and you know what? I would gladly buy a phone with the Droid Bionic’s “thick design” (it doesn’t even look that much thicker than the other Droid phones) if the battery life holds up.
I love thin phones and I enjoy sleek designs as much as the next person, but I also love a phone that can withstand the rigors of daily use. That has been a problem with 4G LTE phones. The HTC ThunderBolt couldn’t do it and the Droid Charge can only manage slightly better. I know our own Kevin Purcell loves his extended battery for the ThunderBolt, but I don’t want to have to buy an extended battery just to make it through an average day.
Obviously, Motorola learned that lesson and scraped the old design in favor of a familiar form factor with a huge battery that supposedly gets 15 hours on moderate usage. That is what the Droid Bionic is. A Droid with a huge battery, 4G LTE, and a dual-core processor. Oh, and it also has a qHD display which unfortunately is probably going to be PenTile in nature, but that will save precious battery life.
Everyone wants to have their cake and eat it but when it comes to the current state of 4G LTE right now, it’s not possible. The technology is too new. Wondering why I think Apple won’t release a 4G LTE smartphone in September? There’s your answer. A thin 4G LTE smartphone with great battery life is far-fetched at this point. And I doubt that Apple wanted to bulk up.
Beyond that though, there hasn’t been a single Motorola Droid phone from the past two years that has let me down whether it’s the Droid X, Droid X2 or the Droid 3. Every single one has been solid. And that track record speaks volumes to what the Droid Bionic can and will be: A phone with hardware that can last for two years with a growing, next-generation network behind it.
That’s called a trump card, ladies and gents.
Focused Beats Scattered
Again, speaking of track records, Samsung has a terrible one. Think about it. It took forever for Sammy and the carriers to get their act together with Froyo, an update that all four devices on the major U.S. carriers needed. Motorola’s devices were some of the first to get it. Am I really supposed to believe that things are going to be different with the Galaxy S II?
I am willing to be it’ll be business as usual.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the carrier options but in my opinion, software-wise, that hurts the Galaxy S II. With the Droid Bionic, it’s only Verizon and Motorola collaborating. With Samsung, its politics with four major carriers at the very least, maybe even more. Why set yourself up for disappointment?
Need I Say More?
Those are the main two reasons, here are a few more just for the heck of it:
- Verizon’s 4G LTE Network Is Expanding Fast
- Verizon’s 4G LTE Network Is Improving All The Time
- MotoBlur On The Motorola Droid 3 Is Enjoyable, It Likely Will Be On The Droid Bionic As Well
Need more?
- Motorola Droid Owners Coming Off Contract Can Keep Unlimited Data And Use It With The Droid Bionic
- Samsung Hasn’t Proven It Will Release A 4G LTE Device This Year
- The HTC Vigor Will Likely Have A Large Battery
- I Doubt The Nexus 3 Launches In October
- Quad-Core Phones Aren’t Coming Until Next Year
No phone is perfect. Until batteries and 4G technology improves drastically, you won’t see a 4G “Jesus” phone. And even with all the perceived flaws, I still believe that the Droid Bionic is a phone worth considering.
Let me be clear. I am not saying that you’re absolutely, positively going to want to buy the Droid Bionic. I am just saying that you shouldn’t give up on it just yet. September release and all.
(Note: Before you start saying that Motorola is in my pocket, read this.)
When will Verizon release an official date for the Bionic? Is it usually 1-2 week prior to being able to purchase it. I have been waiting for quite awhile for it and am very eager to use my upgrade.
Battery battery battery.
My experience with all the 4G phones is that 4G completely wastes the battery. So you have the hassle of having to switch 4G on and off to conserve battery. Not good. I really don’t want a 4G phone if that’s the way it’s going to behave.
Also, anytime I use my Droid X heavily, like for an hour or two, the battery will die even on wifi or 3G. I will need to charge by early evening.
The batteries they are putting in phones are quite simply not big enough for the way we’re using the phones. They really ought to be able to last a day of fairly heavy use and 2-3 days of minimal use. I would seriously consider a phone with a big old hefty battery over one with a marginal one, all else being equal, and gladly give up a mm or two of increased thickness.
Who is the chick on the phone?
Who is the chick on the phone?
I’ve also been waiting for this phone as my upgrade date was in July. I’ve got an original Droid phone. It has been rooted and overclocked for over a year. It has been dropped and landed on concrete or asphalt no less than three times. Two of those times it landed hard enough that the battery cover came off and the battery fell out. Each time I put the battery in, cover back on powered it up, and it was just fine. Based on the durability of the original Droid, I will probably end up with the Bionic. I was planning to compare it to the Galaxy S2 but have read that Verizon won’t be getting the GS2. That will make the decision pretty easy, provided that the initial reviewers of the phone don’t disclose some obvious flaw.
I wonder if it will have a foul language filter in it.