Why There Are No Droid Bionic Lines

Posted by | 09/09/2011 | 44 Comments

The Motorola Droid Bionic launched yesterday after months and months of delays.

While we have seen an incredible amount of interest in the Droid Bionic from readers and Android fans, we didn’t see lines reaching around the block like we expect to see for the iPhone 5 launch.

While you can take this as the ultimate indicator in interest for the device, there are actually a few reasons that we didn’t have Droid Bionic lines, or for that matter, Android smartphone lines.

This comes from someone who has stood in too many lines for gadgets, including the original Motorola Droid.

Check out our Droid Bionic review to find out why you’ll want one even if you don’t want to stand in line.

Droid Bionic line

The Lack of a Droid Bionic Line Isn't a Surprise.

Competition

One fo the biggest reasons that Android fans are avoiding lines right now is that there are way too many incredible phones on the horizon.

Even though we are enamored with the Droid Bionic, there are plenty of reasons why you may want to wait for October to buy the Droid Bionic. In just another month, you can compare the Droid Bionic to the iPhone 5, and likely a collection of devices like the Droid Prime and Nexus Prime.

By comparison, when the iPhone 5 launches, users can expect to wait at least another year for a new version to hit the market. By controlling the release cycle in a way Google can’t, Apple is able to create a frenzied atmosphere that results in lines and big first day sales.

Price

How much is the Motorola Droid Bionic? Well, if you bought it first thing in the morning on release day, it was $299 at Verizon, but then we also started to see discounts of $100 or more on the Droid Bionic. These deals got even better as Amazon lowered the price of the Bionic later in the day.

There’s no guarantee that if you buy the Bionic right now, you’ll pay less than the person who buys it this afternoon, or tomorrow. While we all accept that prices will drop, the unpredictable nature of Android phone pricing, especially on Verizon hurts the chances for a huge day one line and sales.

It didn’t help that Costco is going to offer a huge Droid Bionic bundle on September 13th.

iPhone 5 buyers, on the other hand, can purchase on day 1 knowing that the iPhone 5 will be $199 for quite some time, and in the off chance that Apple creates a major price drop on the hardware, the company will make things right with the customers.

Marketing

unlike Apple, which takes a simple, here’s our new phone and here’s what you can do with it approach to advertising, Verizon is bent on making Droid commercials inaccessible to the general public.

The latest Droid Bionic commercial has a lady ripping apart robots to create the Bionic. What you don’t get from the commercial is,

  • Why you need 4G
  • What the Bionic can do
  • What the Bionic looks like (seriously, no real images at all)
  • Why you should buy the Bionic

The commercial is so cookie cutter that you could put any phone in there and hope for success. Verizon needs to stop banking on these odd commercials and show up with an ad that my friends don’t describe as “creepy.”

If you want to help make that a possibility, Motorola is hosting a contest to create a better Droid Bionic commercial and is giving away a free Bionic and $25,000 in cash. I’m guessing you’ll have fewer special effects, but better selling points.If you can’t shoot a commercial, you can storyboard for a chance at prizes too.

 

There’s no shortage of Android users or Android fanboys and fangirls, but there’s just too much going on to get the users who would wait in line to their local stores for the Bionic.

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Category: Mobile

About the Author (Author Profile)

Josh is technology enthusiast who enjoys pushing new gadgets to their limits and helping the average user make informed choices about technology. Josh has had technology articles appear on WalletPop and MSNBC as well as coverage from CNN.Josh also teaches business technology courses and is the Editor at Notebooks.com. He uses a Galaxy Nexus and a iPhone 4S and his Tablet is an iPad 2.Follow Josh on Twitter @Josh_Smith or email him josh@notebooks.com. You can findJosh Smith on Google+
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  • AaronT

    i live in northeast ohio, and here is what i think:

    there is only 1 apple store in cleveland / akron area.
    there are probably over 60 stores / kiosks that sell Android phones.
    if all android phones were sold at a google store, there would be a line for a few blocks long EVERY DAY.

    there are many very good android phones
    there is only one iShit phone.

    i can go on and on and on.

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  • Crvols

    I went to Costco yesterday and they had a line at the door and sold their six phones out in a few minutes.  They were “bombed” with calls all day.  I called at 11:30 today to see if they had any more and she said they were expecting six in 1/2 hour and there was only one person waiting for a phone.  I drove to the store (20 minutes) and was second in line.  While I was there no one asked or called about the Bionic.  It seems like a great phone but I think they blew the launch!

  • Anonymous

    I have it in my hands right now and I couldn’t be happier, yeah the price was high but it was well worth it. For years I have waiting for a device like this. The weptop app feature and device alone makes this phone incredibly fun. The bionic is so fast I could never go back to 3G. This phone is the right phone for me.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000114671057 Thomas Harrison

    I am in the market fr a new phone, but am in a state of confusion as to what to get.  I currently have a droid X and am not happy with it at all.  Battery life is horrible and worst of all transferring music from Itunes is a royal pain in the rump.  So at this time I am looking at the Bionic but have the battery life and no Itunes issues.  I am waiting for the Iphone to come out to take a look at it, but worry I am interested only because everyone else has one.  Finally there is the Droid Prime, which is rumored to be better than the Bionic.  So what is a guy to do?  If Bionic had a music App as easy as ITunes I would buy it immediately.

    • Tony Perez

      Try DoubleTwist: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.doubleTwist.androidPlayer&feature=search_result

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  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Shane-Hazlewood/620831099 Shane Hazlewood

    Just went to Verizon this morning to check out the Bionic that I have been pining over for 9 months.  So at first I was very impressed with the speed and even the custom UI was decent.  It wasn’t until I compared the Bionic screen to my Droid X screen that I discovered something that ruined the whole experience.  The Droid Bionic screen is total shit!!!  For a comparison I set up both phones to play the same video through youtube and immediately saw the pixel difference.  It looks like on the Bionic you are looking through a chain link fence and the X is perfectly clear.  I would have bought the Bionic in a heartbeat if it had the same screen as the X, but the Bionic screen is unacceptable.  No way will I drop 3 bills on this thing.  Epic Fail for you Motorola!!! 

    • cpug5150

      From everything I’ve read about the device, the Bionic is said to have the same screen as that on the X. Two posibilities here: 1) The reference was compared to the Droid X2 and not the Droid X 2) You may have just been looking at a defective screen as every electronic device that comes out has units that are defective. I haven’t had much time to spend with the device yet, but the screen on the unit I was looking at in the store had a drop dead gorgeous screen and I’m extremely anal about perfection. Even most reviews describe the screen as aalthough it may not have the detail as displays such as the Super AMOLED from Samsung (which I have yet to find one that doesn’t have an aweful blue tint to it), the display is bright and beautiful with gorgeous color. Read cnet’s review.

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  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_HYHRTTG4FUCP6CS342MRHA3JZQ RodThaBod

    I ordered mine over the net , got it for 299 and I had a 50 dollar credit off since I was close to my 2 year agreement. That knocked it down to 249. I will get an email in 5 days so I can send back my HTC Imagio and get a 100 bucks in a gift card. I can use that to pay my bill. That knocks it down to 149. So why would I stand in line when I can do this in the comfort of my own home.

    • Flcma99

      Isn’t the Imagio a smartphone?  If I read the fine print on the $100 trade in promotion, you have to upgrade a basic phone.

      • cpug5150

        That is exactly what I was told too. The $100 GC is only for those upgrading to a smartphone from a dumbphone.

  • http://profiles.google.com/chrisphickie Christopher Hickie

    Got a Droid 3 at Costco last month for a very good price when everyone else was sold out. I would have waited for the Bionic but it will be another 2 years before there is 4G where I live and work. I think the Droid 3 is a very nice phone and love the full keyboard, and hoping there will be a Droid 4(G)

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