Thunderbolt vs Bionic

Dj Carpenter

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If you're not driving it, maybe. But charging it and watching a movie is still a bit opposing. Not being rude or anything;) Just saying.

Some notes:

While you can charge the TB while using the kickstand vertically, that's not very usefull. The kickstand is useful while you're not handling the phone, say watching a movie, which will be horizontal.

Simultaneous voice/data will be a function of the network, not the device, most likely. Both will be able to do it on 4G. Maybe on 3G.

DLNA not announced for Bionic, but I'd be stunned if it didn't have it. That's almost a standard now.

Processor speed - the guy in the video is smoking something. You can see it. Not sure how much faster the bionic will be, but it will be faster.

Screen quality - qHD is a reference to the resolution (quarter HD, or one quarter 1920x1080), not the screen technology. Not sure what the Bionic is using, but Moto is pretty conservative on screen techs (no Amoled, etc.), so SLCD will probably be better.

Charging the phone and watching a movie is pretty counter-productive.

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Not if you're on a train or in a car...

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@StinkyPete I do agree with you there, it will be the best phone on Verizon when it's released (Coincidentally, right after the iPhone 4, if ya know what I mean ;), but the point of this little write-up is to see if it will be the best phone on Verizon two months later, if not, I may have to re-think about picking one up next month.

@Johnly, I said the TB has more RAM, but that I heard that the Bionic's DDR2 RAM is supposed to read/write faster, giving them each an advantage here.

@guitarchris123 This is all what I've read/heard. You're probably right, but until it's released we won't know.
One thing's for sure, I'm definitely glad I still have my original Moto Droid, I couldn't of held out this long without the little guy :D.

Also @guitarchris123, again, you may be correct, but it hasn't been mentioned to be on the Bionic, and may have been overlooked with the new additions. I haven't seen it on any spec-sheets, and I'm not assuming anything when I post, so even if it was in the DX, that doesn't mean it will automatically be on the Bionic.



So, everybody, what do you plan on getting? If the Thunderbolt scores higher on Quadrant benchmark BEFORE overclocking, then it's definitely sealed for me. I've heard reports of 2150 on the TB.

Even if it doesn't, it's still pretty close and a tough decision, I think the real way to decide would be to imagine if they were both out right now, and you had the choice, which would you pick? It's difficult to answer, because until you've felt it in your own hands, you can't really decide.

The best way would be to wait till both are out, and then go test them, but some of us may be unable to wait that long.

If both came out tomorrow, I would definitely go with the Thunderbolt. I like Sense over Blur, HTC's design better, and the better rootability and developer support of HTC. The main advantage the Bionic has over the TB is the dual core processor (without having actually played with and tested both), but that won't be good for much until the software can handle it (both on the phone and on Android), which will take a while to iron out all the kinks since its such new technology and untested yet. Android is not optimized for dual core yet, and will not be until Honeycomb is released for phones, which won't be for a while yet since Gingerbread isn't even going to be on the new phones when released in the next couple of months (probably upgradeable fairly shortly after release though). It will have the most effect on gaming, and I'm not a hardcore mobile gamer by any means, so the single core of the Thunderbolt will be plenty fast for me for a long time.
 

Forgetful

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So, everybody, what do you plan on getting? If the Thunderbolt scores higher on Quadrant benchmark BEFORE overclocking, then it's definitely sealed for me. I've heard reports of 2150 on the TB.
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I believe that the single processor of the Bolt was faster than one of the the Bionic's cores. But since the Bionic has the dual core it had a higher Quadrant score (19XX vs 22XX).
 
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Johnly

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I am confused? You say TB has better RAM, then SAY it doesn't? The Droid X has a FM radio why wouldn't the Bionic? DLNA in the X, why not the Bionic? 8Gigs of ROM in the X plus a 16gig card? I would think the Bionic would get something? I think the Bionic has a good vga FFC, should be no prob?

I will stop there, as I like the bionic, AND the TB. Tough choice for sure.

If the Droid X has both an FM radio and DLNA, then I expect the Bionic will have them as well, although I haven't actually seen a spec sheet that has those features listed (but maybe that's because they are just becoming standard specs on new Moto phones). Again, if the X came with a 16gig microSD card, then the Bionic probably will too (but the TB will still have 8gig more total "out of the box" than the Bionic (40gig for the TB vs. 32gig at the most for the Bionic)). The FFC on the Bionic is VGA (0.3MP I think, same as iPhone, and no more than 0.7), while the one on the TB is 1.3MP. Not a deal breaker, but still a disadvantage for the Bionic.
Something tells me HTC is putting their duel core device towards T mo or sprint. I think the TB is only a EVO refresh. Going to pass.....
 

Amagine

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How many people honest to goodness use the HDMI though? I've had my X since august and have yet to use that port... and honestly wont till redbox or netflix irons out their mobile streaming.
 
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Johnly

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It is great for sharing family pics on the spot. It is a new feature, so I wouldn't expect it to be used by the masses native. It gets used here though, but we are family/pic taken sharing fools.
 

electric6

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bionic is meh to me. Motoblur + slower quadrants for the tegra 2's + only 512mb of memory = no deal for me
 
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Haloman800

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@Forgetful In the video I linked, the man stated it would have higher quadrant scores. I also asked cereal killer and he confirmed this. This is because quadrant (and Android OS) doesn't know how to handle Dual Core, so it can't be utilized. By the time it can, the phones will most likely be out of date, and we'll be eligible for upgrades again ;).

@smokiedabong Like someone else said, how often do you plan on using HDMI? My dad has a DX and he's only used it once.. To test it. The TB has DLNA, which the EVO doesn't, and if connectivity is that important to you, pick up the device coming uot for it that lets you connect it to non-DLNA enabled devices.

Everything on the Thunderbolt is an improvement over the EVO. It also has more RAM than the BIONIC, higher quadrant scores, a better screen, better cameras, a kick-stand, etc.

The more I think about it, the more I see the ThunderBolt coming out on top.
 

wctaylor79

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Agree that I think that my mind is set for the TB, but at what price. Of course rumor is $250, but with ATT&T coming out with their pricing so much less whats to think? Sure TB has a couple ups on ATT&T, but really most of the phone is the same.
 

Forgetful

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@Forgetful In the video I linked, the man stated it would have higher quadrant scores. I also asked cereal killer and he confirmed this. This is because quadrant (and Android OS) doesn't know how to handle Dual Core, so it can't be utilized. By the time it can, the phones will most likely be out of date, and we'll be eligible for upgrades again ;).

.

I heard in the video he said that. I also saw some article or chart showing the data for the quad scores referencing that the Bionic overall score was higher. But yes I agree that the Dual Core is not going to be higher scoring until there is an android OS that supports it. So for now the Bolt is the higher preforming phone. And who knows when we'll see a dual core OS for phones like you said. Barring something strange, I'm picking up the Bolt at release.
 

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Here's a list of advantages/disadvantages the Thunderbolt has over the Bionic:

Thunderbolt has more RAM: 756 compared to Bionic's 512.

Thunderbolt has a Kickstand - and contrary to popular belief, you CAN charge it while using it, because the Kickstand also lets you stand the phone upright.

Thunderbolt has a 32GB microSD card pre-installed, Bionic doesn't have one.

Thunderbolt has Dual-LED flash, Bionic has single.

Thunderbolt can handle data and voice over 3G/4G, Bionic can't; What that means is you're able to say, Google something while in the middle of a phone call.

Thunderbolt has a better FFC (1.3MP), Bionic has 0.3 FFC.

Thunderbolt has a built-in FM radio (Not sure if there's an app for this, but hey).

Thunderbolt has an external speaker; Bionic doesn't.

Thunderbolt has DLNA connectivity, Bionic doesn't (to my knowledge)

RUMORS:

Thunderbolt will have an unlocked bootloader, Bionic will almost certainly have a locked one.

Thunderbolt's back facing camera supposedly has a better lens than the Bionic (/Inc./EVO)


OTHER:

Sense 2.0, while a majority of people prefer it to MotoBlur, it's a matter of preference.

Thunderbolt will be released sometime in February (the 14th, 24th, 28th are some speculated release dates), While BIONIC is prepped for a release in the 2nd quarter between April and June

Thunderbolt will have a device that allows connecting to non-DLNA enabled TV's, while the Bionic can only be connected to HDMI-enabled TV's.

The Thunderbolt has a sleeker design than the Bionic (A matter of opinion, but mostly agreed upon.


DROID BIONIC Advantages over Thunderbolt:

Dual-Core Tegra 2 Processor, both clocked at 1GHz (Although according to this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0Mx-nkvQUA&feature=player_embedded , the Thunderbolt is still faster).

DDR2 RAM instead of regular (I think DDR2 RAM reads/writes faster).

Higher resolution, 540 by 960 for a total of 256 pixels per square inch, compared to the Thunderbolt's 480 by 800 for a total of 217 pixels per square inch).

Better battery (1930 mAh compared to the Thunderbolt's 1400 mAh)

More built-in memory (16GB's compared to the Thunderbolt's 8GB's, although the BIONIC doesn't have a microSD pre-installed, so the Thunderbolt will still have more memory out of the box at 40GBs).


OTHER:

Bionic will have more accessories at launch.



If I missed anything or made a mistake, post it and I'll add/change it.

This is still speculation on the Bionic end. No real specs have been released yet.. The phone is not finished yet. 512MB DDR2 Ram is faster then 756MB Ram. I have not heard that the Thunderbolt being DDR2. Motorola always comes with Micro SD Card installed so we just have to wait and see will it be 16G or 32G if it comes with 32G Micro SD then that is 48Gs the Bionic will have. Yes the front facing Camera is better then the Bionic's. But really how many of us is going to use it all the time. especially if your friends do not have the front facing camera.. All I am saying is wait until Motorola releases the full specs before speculating. I am one who do not care if my phone is locked or not.. I do not root my phones
 
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Here's a list of advantages/disadvantages the Thunderbolt has over the Bionic:

Thunderbolt has more RAM: 756 compared to Bionic's 512.

Thunderbolt has a Kickstand - and contrary to popular belief, you CAN charge it while using it, because the Kickstand also lets you stand the phone upright.

Thunderbolt has a 32GB microSD card pre-installed, Bionic doesn't have one.

Thunderbolt can handle data and voice over 3G/4G, Bionic can't

Thunderbolt has a built-in FM radio (Not sure if there's an app for this, but hey).

Thunderbolt has an external speaker; Bionic doesn't.

Thunderbolt has DLNA connectivity, Bionic doesn't (to my knowledge)

RUMORS:

Thunderbolt will have an unlocked bootloader, Bionic will almost certainly have a locked one

Thunderbolt will have a device that allows connecting to non-DLNA enabled TV's, while the Bionic can only be connected to HDMI-enabled TV's.

DROID BIONIC Advantages over Thunderbolt:

Dual-Core Tegra 2 Processor, both clocked at 1GHz (Although according to this video: YouTube - HTC Thunderbolt Unboxing and Demonstration , the Thunderbolt is still faster).

DDR2 RAM instead of regular (I think DDR2 RAM reads/writes faster).

More built-in memory (16GB's compared to the Thunderbolt's 8GB's, although the BIONIC doesn't have a microSD pre-installed, so the Thunderbolt will still have more memory out of the box at 40GBs).

This is still speculation on the Bionic end. No real specs have been released yet.. The phone is not finished yet. 512MB DDR2 Ram is faster then 756MB Ram. I have not heard that the Thunderbolt being DDR2. Motorola always comes with Micro SD Card installed so we just have to wait and see will it be 16G or 32G if it comes with 32G Micro SD then that is 48Gs the Bionic will have. Yes the front facing Camera is better then the Bionic's. But really how many of us is going to use it all the time. especially if your friends do not have the front facing camera.. All I am saying is wait until Motorola releases the full specs before speculating. I am one who do not care if my phone is locked or not.. I do not root my phones

I wanted to clear a few of these things up:

RAM - TB has more RAM (regular, not DDR2), while Bionic has better RAM (DDR2, reads/writes twice as fast as regular). It remains to be seen who will come out on top on that issue (space vs. speed).

FFC - Bolt is clear winner here, Bionic will have blurry video-chat, but how many people will really use it very often? And it won't even matter at all if you don't know anyone else with a FFC phone yet.

Kickstand - sure you can charge while video-chatting, but what about while watching a video? Nope. I guess HTC somehow thought video chat functionality was more important than watching videos/movies.

MicroSD card - the X came with a 16gig, so I imagine the Bionic will too. Still, that leaves the TB with 40 gig out of the box and the Bionic with 32.

Simultaneous talk/data - this feature will be possible on the TB, but not a selling point (according to internal documents) because users will not get the same quality Verizon experience while using it (which makes me think it will be a little sketchy at times). Also, it remains to be seen whether the Bionic will have this or not. It has not been rumored yet, but it is certainly possible.

FM radio - while the Bionic is not rumored to have one yet, the X had one so I'm confident the Bionic will too.

External speaker - the TB's will be big and probably louder and sound better, but the Bionic will still have a speaker (just not as visible and big as the TB's)

DLNA - the X had DLNA, so I suspect the Bionic will too. Its probably just becoming a standard feature on Moto phones, so not listed in early spec sheets yet. Thus, it will most likely be able to do both DLNA and HDMI.

Bootloader - both phones will have "locked" bootloaders, but the Bolt will get permanent root from the developer community, while the Bionic will not. This makes the HTC phone much more "hacker-friendly." This only becomes an issue if you want to root and put custom roms on your phone, etc. If you are not into that techy stuff, then this is a non-issue.

Clocking/cores - the Bolt beat each core individually of the Bionic, but putting the two together, the Bionic has a higher total quadrant score. What does this mean? Not much, quadrant scores are easily manipulable. The OS on the Bionic and Android software itself are not optimized for dual core yet, so there will be very little advantage in having dual core for a while (except maybe gaming?). Maybe by the fall or winter they will be able to utilize dual core better, and have apps that can take advantage.
 
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