Okay, so here is my 2 cents, because I was stuck in the same boat.
I have come from the line of droids: from the OG droid, to the D2, now I am a proud owner of a D3.
The Droid 3 and the Droid Bionic are going to match up like the Droid X and the Droid 2 did last year. Similar specs in most cases, but one having a physical keyboard and the other a larger screen.
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The
Droid 3 is sporting:
- 4 Inch Screen with qHD Resolution
- Global Radio CDMA/GSM - (3G Only, no LTE)
- Dual-Core OMAP 4430 - 1GHz Stock speed
- 5 Row physical keyboard:
- In regards to this, if you've owned a OG or D2 Droid, then you will feel a difference with this one. (in a good way) They keys are spaced out - its easier to type. They have a nice solid "click" to them when pressed. You have to experience it to see what I mean.
- Android 2.3.4 with latest "3D" Motoblur UI
Comments: The D3 honestly, kicks ass. I'm far impressed with the overall build quality and satisfying feel of the D3 in my hands. The 4 inch screen is perfect. The keyboard design is solid. The overall performance of the device is pretty fast. After initial setup and such, the UI runs smooth and lag-less. Especially with live wallpaper set.
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What I know about the
Droid Bionic:
- 4.5 Inch Screen with qHD resolution.
- Yeah, that's not a typo. The latest images of the Bionic have confirmed the screen size is 4 and 1/2 inches. Still using the same qHD resolution as in the Droid 3 - Which means, less pixel density. Will have to see if its noticeable when released.
- LTE Radio (3G and 4G capable, no global capabilities)
- Dual-Core OMAP 4430 - 1GHz (Maybe 4460, which - 1.2GHz)
- Last benchmark sited indicated that the bionic would boast a OMAP 4430, which is a dual-core 1.0 GHz processor. The OMAP 4460 isn't slated to be released to manufacturers until Q3 2011. It might be possible it would be in the Bionic, but who knows. If it is, then the Bionic will have 1.2 GHz processor. Look up OMAP on Wikipedia.
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Summary: The listings above say it all. The differences are pretty obvious. There are a few things I would like to make a note of.
Memory (RAM): The Droid 3 only comes with
512MB of RAM. Many have complained that this was not enough, I was skeptical too. It appears, however, that the Android system is so smart, in fact, that it utilizes the memory efficiently and effectively. For example. Out of the box, I had 100MB of memory remaining. I was like, WTF?! Eventually, after downloading all my apps, setup different services, filled my screens, etc. I still had the same memory available. Turns out, the Droid 3 sports some excellent memory management with Android 2.3.4. If it's free, it will use most of the memory. If the system demands more memory space, non-necessary services are closed out (motoblur nonessential stuff) to make room for your apps. A few users at the Motorola Support forums have vouched for this by downloading 100 apps and utilizing all the services, social networks, widgets, etc. and the system did not bug out or slow down. Take it or leave it, or better yet, try it for yourself to see if it suits you.
Now from reports I've seen, the Droid Bionic will be sporting 512MB of memory as well. It's possible that an additional 512MB would be dedicated to webtop capabilities.
Screen Resolution (PenTile): Yes, the qHD screens that are used in the Droid 3 and the Bionic are PenTile screens. What does this mean exactly? Google it (that's what I did). The technology is different behind the old LCD screens used in previous Droid versions. Coming from the Droid 2, I noticed the difference, slightly. If you look ever-so-closely at the notification bar for example, you'll see the pixels edges on the battery, time, etc. I'm very picky and my OCD like nature would make this a defiant problem for me.
After a while, it grew on me, and I have gotten over it. The screen is clear and with the higher resolution, it can display more on the screen. There are a few more added benefits to PenTile technology, one of which I have significantly experienced already,
Battery Life. I've set my screen brightness at 50% all day today and the phone lasted 10-12 hours of heavy use. Battery statistics report the Display Screen using only
8% of the battery! That's to say as well, the Droid 3's battery performance overall is very nice compared to the previous droids.
In case of the Bionic. Now, don't take my words for granted here, I'm just speculating - but, if the PenTile screen is slightly noticable at 4" size on the Droid 3, what is it going to look like on the Bionic at 4.5" at the same resolution? I guess we'll have to wait and find out when it's officially out.
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That's my little synopsis based on my research and what I know. I may have missed a few minor details.
Bottom Line Overall: If you have the Droid X, and love the large screen and don't like the keyboard, then the Bionic may be just for you. If your a former OG Droid/D2 user and love the keyboard (like me), then you'll love the Droid 3. Either way, they are both going to be solid phones.
