Bionic or Droid 3? (Go from Bionic to D3)

[xmguy]

Ok I have a Bionic. Has some issues so I'm getting another one though VZW. Thing is I got to thinking. I don't have 4G in my home area. Probably won't for a year or more. Also when I'm in a 4G area I'm content with 3G. So I'm considering swapping to the Droid 3 (D3). Has anyone in this forum had experience with the Droid 3? I know it's almost the same as the Bionic. Minus the screen size, 4G and keyboard of course. I just want to find out if I'd really be happier with the Droid 3 over the Bionic? To even the playing field. I want to act like the D3 has NO physical keyboard. So any views disregard the keyboard unless necessary.

What do you all think, Bionic or Droid 3? I have until this Tuesday to decide as my 14 day window ends.

 

[Insidious]

Ive heard the D3 has redraw issues due to lower RAM. Other than that they are the same exact phone. Also some people have reported after a while the keys when pressed repeat so iitt wwouldd llook llikke thhiss. Lol that's all I know I can ask my friend who seems to be pretty satisfied with his.

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using DroidForums

 

[jaycemiskel]

I'm definitely satisfied with mine. Since rooting it, I have absolutely no redraw. I also have the leaked update. You should be pretty happy with the phone. I also like the fact that it's 4". Seems like the sweet spot to me.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

 

[Tillmorn]

I know you said to disregard this, but I do at times wish I had a keyboard. Mostly for mapping Emulator buttons, since SNES games, for example, are sometimes tricky to play with a touch screen. Also, and more importantly, the Droid 3 has international capabilities. Not sure if that's a big thing for you, but I was heavily leaning towards it since I'm planning to spend most of the summer in Ireland. In a battle between the Bionic and the Droid 3, that is the D3's biggest selling point, in my opinion.

However, the biggest drawback to the Droid 3 is its 512MB of RAM. Perhaps you would be hard pressed to top it off, but I'm frequently running in the high 300's, low 400's on the Bionic. And after playing around on a buddy's D3 last week, I can definitely say that the Bionic just does some things faster, besides downloading things (app launching speed and what not). I've also read a handful of stories concerning redraw issues, but this seems to be an easy fix if you run anything besides the stock launcher. Secretly, I've always worried that the sliding mechanism on the OG/D2/D3 would eventually mess up after extensive use. I haven't heard any large outcries of this happening, thankfully.

I would stick with the Bionic. Apparently there's an OTA in the works to fix issues such as the camera and the whine a lot of us hear when using headphones, so it'll only get better within the next couple of months. And the 1GB of DDR2 RAM does make a difference with how smoothly things seem to flow. If you're like me, the thought of upgrading in a year to a 4G device is not an option since all the lines on my family plan were activated around the same time. And the idea of waiting another 20 months for 4G is...somewhat dull to me, but I live somewhere that is already heavily saturated with 4G signal.

But I have to ask: If you're disregarding the 4G capabilities of the Bionic, and the keyboard of the Droid 3...what would be the reason for the switch? Because most people would argue that those are the distinct advantages that one has over the other.

 

[xmguy]

I know you said to disregard this, but I do at times wish I had a keyboard. Mostly for mapping Emulator buttons, since SNES games, for example, are sometimes tricky to play with a touch screen. Also, and more importantly, the Droid 3 has international capabilities. Not sure if that's a big thing for you, but I was heavily leaning towards it since I'm planning to spend most of the summer in Ireland. In a battle between the Bionic and the Droid 3, that is the D3's biggest selling point, in my opinion.

However, the biggest drawback to the Droid 3 is its 512MB of RAM. Perhaps you would be hard pressed to top it off, but I'm frequently running in the high 300's, low 400's on the Bionic. And after playing around on a buddy's D3 last week, I can definitely say that the Bionic just does some things faster, besides downloading things (app launching speed and what not). I've also read a handful of stories concerning redraw issues, but this seems to be an easy fix if you run anything besides the stock launcher. Secretly, I've always worried that the sliding mechanism on the OG/D2/D3 would eventually mess up after extensive use. I haven't heard any large outcries of this happening, thankfully.

I would stick with the Bionic. Apparently there's an OTA in the works to fix issues such as the camera and the whine a lot of us hear when using headphones, so it'll only get better within the next couple of months. And the 1GB of DDR2 RAM does make a difference with how smoothly things seem to flow. If you're like me, the thought of upgrading in a year to a 4G device is not an option since all the lines on my family plan were activated around the same time. And the idea of waiting another 20 months for 4G is...somewhat dull to me, but I live somewhere that is already heavily saturated with 4G signal.

But I have to ask: If you're disregarding the 4G capabilities of the Bionic, and the keyboard of the Droid 3...what would be the reason for the switch? Because most people would argue that those are the distinct advantages that one has over the other.

I guess i was thinking price point. 4G usability. Now granted I do use a sling-box type app to watch tv on. I tried it yesterday in a 4G area. Wow! I don't leave nor have i left the US. The reason I went for the Bionic was its memory. Front camera. Its a really cool phone. And yeah the slide keyboard CAN get loose. Had the Droid 1 & 2. Most of what i use my phone for. Real fm radio. Streaming internet radio. That's network stuff. All seems to work fine on 3G. I DO like that if I keep my Bionic in 3G only my battery life is excellent! I also call and text from time to time. I record my youtube covers with my bionic front camera too. Love it. But the d3 has that too. So i'm at a cross roads .

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

 

[TyrantII]

I'm definitely satisfied with mine. Since rooting it, I have absolutely no redraw. I also have the leaked update. You should be pretty happy with the phone. I also like the fact that it's 4". Seems like the sweet spot to me.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

That's what I'm thinking. Battery life is also a lot better, is it not?

I'm trying to decide between the D3 and the Bionic, by the end of today to take advantage of a deal. I like the smaller size since I carry in my pocket, but the Bionic is faster and had 1Gb RAM. I don't do multimedia much, but use google maps, location searching / web, the camera a lot when traveling. Also Tether, but the lack of 4G in my area means I don't really expect to use it much until the next round of phones comes out (12-24 months).

Whats a better phone for me? What more future proof (can we even say that with phones)?

 

[voodoodaddy]

Had a Droid 1, when I upgraded this is what I wanted:

physical keyboard
4g
dual core processor at 1ghz
1gb ram

Bionic has 3 of the 4, Droid 3 has 2 of the 4. So it was clear to me that, since I have to go another 2yrs with whatever phone I upgraded to, I better get the one that has the most horsepower. The D1 was great when I got it, but after 2yrs it was very underpowered, not that the Bionic wont be in 2yrs. But I still miss the keyboard.

 

[Tillmorn]

That's what I'm thinking. Battery life is also a lot better, is it not?

I'm trying to decide between the D3 and the Bionic, by the end of today to take advantage of a deal. I like the smaller size since I carry in my pocket, but the Bionic is faster and had 1Gb RAM. I don't do multimedia much, but use google maps, location searching / web, the camera a lot when traveling. Also Tether, but the lack of 4G in my area means I don't really expect to use it much until the next round of phones comes out (12-24 months).

Whats a better phone for me? What more future proof (can we even say that with phones)?

I cannot speak to the map/navigation experience on the D3, but I used the Bionic's last night and it was quite literally outstanding. Navigated me to a party at a very remote, backwoods, off the beaten path house in "the middle of no where" Elgin, SC.

 

[uncle_randall]

I dont wanna drag this out, my droid3 is bomb tits. Hope that helps

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[SSHGuru]

I went from the D1 to the Bionic - I use SwiftKey for the keyboard which absolutely kicks ass. I think the speed and the extra RAM alone should be enough for you to keep the Bionic. You don't want less then 1Gig.

 

[Infiniti87]

I also went from the Og Droid to the Bionic. I am extremely happy with the Bionic. My girl has the Droid 3 and I do like it but I still prefer the Bionic. Sometimes I miss having a physical keyboard but I wouldn't trade my Bionic for anything. I have faith that updates will fix all the little quirks the bionic has. That's the price we pay for being early adopters. I was one of the lucky ones though that hasn't had any problems with my Bionic except for two black screen lockups the first 2 days I had it. Either choice is good but I think the bionic will have more of a developer following for Roms and such if your into the whole rooting thing.

Sent from the rocket in my pocket, my all powerful DROID BIONIC.

 

[mikedyk43]

Although you asked to not mention the keyboard, I love my D3 because I can't stand typing on a touch screen. I can, however, confirm the tendency of the keyboard to repeat a letter after only pressing it once (especially space bar). Hopefully its just a software glitch that gets corrected soon. I have found that only 512Mb of RAM means that I still will have to frequently go to running services and kill several apps to keep the phone running quickly, but not near as often as with my D1. IMO this decision really comes down to the items you are trying not to consider. Can you or can you not live without a physical keyboard. If you can live without, I would tell you that the Bionic is superior.

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