Bionic Reviews, Tips, and problems

[Nyteravyn]

Out of the box, did not like:

• The fact that the charger cable is so short.
• Wired stereo head phones not provided.

+1 to blufftonitiger and the better charger with the charging doc advice but also i might suggest getting the usb 6ft cable from belkin, it is sick tight with added passive locks that really take some pulling to remove (great if your in a car and or anywhere there is going to be a lot of moving around ).
and as for the headset? there is none that have come with any device that I have felt worth the effort of unwrapping.

+1

 

[Nyteravyn]

It appears Bionic #1 was a lemon. Verizon swapped me with another and a) it's battery is doing much better, b) it doesn't get hot and c) apps installed on the SD are stable. Ahhhh...

Some believe the apps dropping off are the result of the system prep for ics later ... compatibility issues and what not, that not withstanding...
in manage apps you need to definately make sure none of the installed apps are checked and if so, move them to the phone from the media area... this will keep them from being dropped now or later... typically.. droid forums, lol
the ones that are seeming to drop off are those set up by their devs to auto set to sd card install, this moving back to the phone however , should eleviate that problem untill the forth coming update meant to address this issue along with many others
Hope this helps.

 

[Dilligaf]

Looks like this phone may not be quite ready for prime time yet.

I have a rooted OG Droid that I'm actually very happy with, except that I'm always bumping up against the low RAM (256M) issue...can't install any more big apps, and I've already removed about as many as I can.

I'm looking at this phone as an upgrade, but it's $250 even with the discount, plus it appears that I'll need the bigger battery. Does it use the same size (physically) batteries as the OG Droid? I have the 1700mAh battery for the Droid 2 in my current phone.

I run Linux on my computers, and only have one WinBlows install (and that's 7 Ultimate in a virtual machine). Can I use their streaming app in a VM, or, better yet, is there a version that'll run under Linux?

Rooted ROMs - I tend to like rooted stock ROMs - is there one available yet for the Bionic?

Thanks!

 

[jonwells]

Generally very happy with my Bionic: a dramatic improvement over the original Droid. I did go with the extended battery after a few days. Installed several apps that save battery, kill programs, etc. - but found that they always kill the data connection and it took half a minute or so to recover the Internet every time - so I removed them all.

Found one bug - the Flash ON is the same as Flash Auto. You can't force it to flash every time - only in low light. So a picture of a person against a bright background, like a window, will always be a silhouette. Tried other phones at the Verizon shop, same result. They agreed it's a bug and will report it. (They did find that turning the brightness setting all the way up will somewhat overcome that problem.)

 

[indymale26]

bionic

got my bionic today & it is a bad ass phone, with crazy 4g speeds hit 36 mbps today and 10 , soo far soo good love the zomocast app bad ass,

 

[lynn.0]

Cannot email to myself

Using the stock email app, when I try to send myself an email it will not go out, only sits in the outbox. This is from a POP account. I've tried this multiple times, various days- always the same problem. Gmail works fine.

This is not the case with the same account on another Andriod phone, also using the stock emial app. Anyone else run into this or know of a solution?

 

[pobguy]

Using the stock email app, when I try to send myself an email it will not go out, only sits in the outbox. This is from a POP account. I've tried this multiple times, various days- always the same problem. Gmail works fine.

This is not the case with the same account on another Andriod phone, also using the stock emial app. Anyone else run into this or know of a solution?

I initially had the same problem (albeit with IMAP rather than POP). My solution was setting up the account as a "Corporate Sync" rather than "Email" account. Not really sure why one works and not the other, but you might give it a try.

 

[Ajvdub]

I've had this twice. Once last week, and once today. Really not a huge deal, but if my phone shuts off without me noticing, I might miss an important call, text, or email. Plus, it happened today when I was trying to calibrate my battery. grrrr....

Anyone heard anything about fixes for this and/or losing all data (3G or 4G) signal? When that happens I have to toggle wifi off/on or do a quick reboot.

Other than these two things, I'm completely satisfied. My phone's rocking awesome battery life so I don't want to chance getting a dud on trade-in.

My battery is fine as I have a charger at my desk and in my car and I spend most of my time in those two places.

I have experienced the data connection loss. The reception/4G display turns white and the 4G will go away. I looked at it and realized it was off. Pulled the batterey both times it happened, restarted, worked fine but pretty lame.

Also, sometimes my Google Search Bar and Browser app shortcuts completely freeze and require me to either re-boot or go into the app list, chose browser from there, do my search, then reboot. This has happened at least 5 times.

My other gripe is the camera, it sucks!! Droid X was way better and I liked the camera button. I d/l two apps today, Pro HDR and Action Snap Pro and these are much better camera apps. The stock camera takes horible shots with the occasional "ok" shot (not even remotely close to iPhone) and can take up to 5 seconds to snap the photo after the button is pressed... fail.

I also liked the ability on the X alowing you to fire up the display with the home button, easy to do with one hand but with the Bionic, it requires either two hands or an akward holding position prone to dropping to turn on the display with the power button.

The 4G coverage in Los Angeles is more than I thought and mixed with dual core goodness, this phone has tons of potential. Cant wait for the bugs to get worked out. My brother got the iPhone 4S and I hate to say it, other than the 4g, iPhone is a better phone.

 

[gchave]

So the screen protector i got from verizon blows the big one. I know the bionic has gorilla glass so i was thinking i should just forget the screen Protector and rock it in its birthday-suit, what do you'll think? Maybe someone can suggest a good screen protector brand?

 

[Andreas601]

Droid Bionic Review

After having anticipated the arrival of the Droid Bionic on shelves for many months, I was excited to put the Bionic through a thorough review and see how it stacks up to the HTC Thunderbolt, which I had been using full time since it was released.

Unboxing/ Activation:

As is the case with most Verizon phones I have received recently, the DROID Bionic packaging strikes an appealing look and is earth-friendly by being just large enough to fit the contents of the device and included accessories.
Included in the DROID Bionic packaging was the device itself (obviously), a thin 1735 mAH Li–Ion Battery, battery cover, 16GB microSD card, charger (which can also be used as a USB cable), as well as a User Manual.
Since I switched to the Bionic from the Thunderbolt, activation was a breeze and simply involved switching my 4G LTE SIM Card out of my Thunderbolt into my new Droid Bionic. One thing I will mention at this time is that I found it challenging to remove the SIM Card out of the Bionic, but that may only become a frustration if you are a user who switches phone constantly.

Phone Setup:

After popping in my SIM Card and Battery and booting up the phone for the first time, the phone walked me through a short setup, which included linking my Google Account. Setup, as on other Android devices I have used, was quick and painless. My only frustration with the setup process is the fact that applications I have downloaded from the Market onto my Thunderbolt are not automatically downloaded to my Bionic. I was forced to log on to the Google Market on my computer and force each application to download to my Bionic.

Phone Design & Feel:

I find the design of the Bionic elegant and sharp. The phone is the perfect weight (for a 4G LTE device) and feels sturdy. I am not afraid that this phone will break the first time I accidentally drop it (well…depending on what it lands on I guess).

Battery Life:

Considering the Bionic is a 4G LTE device, the battery life has improved over the Thunderbolt (as should be expected with a battery that is slightly bigger than that on the Thunderbolt). In areas of weak LTE signal, or areas where you are at the edge of LTE, forcing the phone to 3G will result in much better battery life. When forced to 3G, I can easily get a whole days’ use out of the phone and I am very impressed by how little battery talking on the phone uses.

Call Quality/ Reception:

Smartphones today do so much more than make and receive phone calls, but I am most impressed with the voice quality of the Bionic. The sound is crisp and clear and background noise is cancelled out very well. I find reception on the Bionic to be above average, as expected from a Motorola device. The only time I have run into issues is at the edge of LTE coverage areas, where the phone may sometimes lose data service completely, unless I force it to 3G (which can easily be done in the phone’s setting menu). One issue I have experienced is that during a call, while the proximity sensor has disabled the screen, I am unable to adjust call volume and must move the phone away from my face to adjust the volume.
Although this won’t apply to most people, one issue I have faced is that while connected to a 3G Network extender, the Bionic will not show a data connection whatsoever and can just be used for calls and SMS, unless WiFi is used for data.

Processing Speed/ User Interface:

FAAAST!!! The Dual-Core processor on the Bionic allows for smooth and snappy operation, and I have most definitely been able to feel the improved processing speed coming from a single core device. There is virtually no lag in the User Interface and I have not experienced applications force closing or hanging. Overall, I have been very impressed with the interface and processing speed.

4G LTE:

While in a 4G LTE coverage area, the phone is capable of simultaneous voice and data. Coming from a Thunderbolt, I was somewhat disappointed that the Bionic does not allow for simultaneous voice and data while in a 3G-coverage area, but with the rapid expanding 4G LTE footprint, this will become less of an issue over time. 4G LTE speeds have been very impressive with download speeds generally between 15-50 Megs.

Screen:

Although I don’t find the screen on the Bionic to be as crisp as that of the Thunderbolt, I have not had issues with the Bionic screen even in direct sunlight, which can be an issue on the Thunderbolt and other devices. Overall, while the Pentile display could be better, it gets the job done.

Camera:

I have found picture quality on the Bionic to not meet my expectations. The auto focus takes some getting used to and is slow (especially in comparison to some other devices). Video quality, however, is crisp and clear.





Bluetooth:

I connected the Bionic to my in-car Bluetooth speaker system and found the Bionic to connect quickly and found no issues with my use of Bluetooth.

Messaging:

Messaging overall is smooth and the phone allows for words to easily be added to the dictionary. Auto correct works well, but one big item missing for me was a T9 keyboard, which I have become addicted to. I ended up browsing the market and downloading a T9 application and have been using this full time.

Web Browsing:

The 4.3 inch Display certainly helps make web browsing easy on the eyes. The browser was snappy and fast and I did not have any issues browsing even regular web pages with lots of content.
Navigation and GPS:

Certainly one thing Android excels at and is one of the many reasons I continue using Android. Navigation on the on the Bionic was pleasant, as it has been on other Android devices I have used. The only issue I sometimes faced has been the fact that the GPS sometimes takes a few minutes to acquire my exact location. Aside from this, navigation has been flawless.

Summary and Recommendation:

Overall, I have very much enjoyed using this phone. And while there are certain things to get used to (like the power button being on the top left side of the phone), the Bionic is a powerful and sexy Android device that I would strongly recommend to anyone looking for the latest and most powerful 4G LTE device.

As a member of the Verizon Wireless Customer Council, I have received free equipment from Verizon Wireless or its partners for the purpose of evaluation and testing. This review may be the result of that evaluation and testing.

 

[timo2824]

Have some fun and try different roms!

I've had my bionic for 2 weeks now and I'm having a great time playing with the android software! These phones are so customizable that if you are having a problem with something there is probably a fix out there for it. I've found that the Bionic hardware wise is a rock solid smartphone and issues such as camera, battery life, lost apps,.... are all taken care of with different software fixes. I've been trying different roms and the phone improves with every one so far. On the stock battery I can easily last 12 hours with Pandora playing 6ish hours, a few calls, emails, texts, multiple hours of Warcraft II and other games, and moderate internet searching on 3g and wifi! It sucks that Android phones come out so often because in Nov when the next big update for the Bionic is due to come out, everyone will be trying the "new" Droid phones, which will have their own software glitches and when the fixes for those come out there will be new Droids replacing them. But at least I know I'll be happy with my Bionic when they are all complaining about something.

 

[bluezdawg]

I've had my bionic for 2 weeks now and I'm having a great time playing with the android software! These phones are so customizable that if you are having a problem with something there is probably a fix out there for it. I've found that the Bionic hardware wise is a rock solid smartphone and issues such as camera, battery life, lost apps,.... are all taken care of with different software fixes. I've been trying different roms and the phone improves with every one so far. On the stock battery I can easily last 12 hours with Pandora playing 6ish hours, a few calls, emails, texts, multiple hours of Warcraft II and other games, and moderate internet searching on 3g and wifi! It sucks that Android phones come out so often because in Nov when the next big update for the Bionic is due to come out, everyone will be trying the "new" Droid phones, which will have their own software glitches and when the fixes for those come out there will be new Droids replacing them. But at least I know I'll be happy with my Bionic when they are all complaining about something.

Great overview Timo, I feel the same way, enjoying my Bionic, sure the next OTA will shake things out and life will be good. There will always be the "next greatest " smart phone!

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

 

[ste10mai]

when is the new software update coming out?

 

[aaf709]

when is the new software update coming out?

It looks like November, but even so it'll be RANDOM to the point that if you bought 2 Bionics the same day, one might get the update days later than the other one.

 

[Starfire1]

The stock time and date widget freezes when I plug the charger in. Anyone else have this issue or a way to fix it? I deleted and re-launched the widget and it fixed it but only until I plugged the charger in again. Help!

I'm having the same problem. The only way I can fix it is to delete and re-launch the widget also. I was hoping a fix would come out for this, but haven't seen one yet.