Droid Bionic – What we think we know
Misconceptions generally lead to a lot of disappointment and Verizon/Motorola hate when phones release, so here’s what you should realistically expect out of this phone, all compiled in one thread instead of across hundreds of threads and thousands of posts on the Forum. Don't expect anything groundbreaking, this is likely a reiteration of what you know if you lurk forums as much as I do, this is to help those that don't and provide links (throughout the post, the links are 'points of interest' related to the subject that open in a new window to save where you're reading). I'll update and edit it if anything groundbreaking actually happens. Note that nothing is for sure, and that at any point in time Motorola can and very possibly could change specifications in this phone, they have already completely revamped it once, after all.
There’s tons of rumors about this device, but almost no facts. Thanks to sealed lips from Verizon, Motorola and even Best Buy (never thought they could keep their mouths shut, did you?), speculation has given us a lot of fun misconceptions and jokes.
Note: Unofficial image of the Droid Bionic
Bionic Background
The Droid Bionic was announced officially at CES in January of 2011. There had been rumors circulating about the device for even months before this, building anticipation and rumors that the Dual Core powerhouse would be Verizon/Motorola’s flagship after the Blunderbolt. The Bionic was announced for a Quarter 2 release, only a couple of months after the Atrix was successfully added to AT&T’s 4G network. Rumors, advertisements, speculation, and even sign up pages spread, but alas, as many other 4G phones were having troubles, clearly the Bionic was as well.
Quarter 2 passed and left a lot of people scrambling for other 4G phones that unfortunately all had positives and some big negatives, leaving some of the bitterness that the Bionic should have been released by then. As a flagship phone, Motorola scrapped the OG Bionic in fear of complications and went back to the drawing board claiming the delay was for phone 'enhancements.' You have to give Motorola and Verizon credit for euphemisms, at least. And here we are today, still awaiting an official announcement from, well…anyone.
Quick Notes
The Droid Bionic is intended to be an improvement on all the 4G phones that are available on the Verizon network currently, marketed as the 4G dual core flagship phone from Motorola.
There have been no official release dates specified since CES 2011, which claimed a Q2 release. After the remaking, there have not been official time announcements short of “Summer 2011”by Verizon… which gives them until September 23rd, 2011 to be on time.
The phone will be the largest flagship smartphone on Verizon’s market and will not have a keyboard.
Now what you really want to know…
Specifications
Size and display – The Bionic device itself will be coming in as if carrying a staggering 4.5” screen, but the screen itself will be a 4.3” qHD Gorilla Glass display with an assumed improved resolution of 960 x 540. The screen does not go all the way to the edges of the phone, which explains why it is the size of a 4.5'' device. Actual dimensions of the phone are unknown.
Expectations are that the display will be Motorola’s favorite PenTile, which conserves battery while providing a much brighter viewing experience at the cost of slight pixelation in the phones with this technology currently. There have been more improvements on the PenTile display, and although it is not confirmed you can view a great in-depth review of the X2's PenTile display here. The Bionic will also be micro-HDMI capable with a mirroring option for the media hogs.
Note: Unofficial images of the Droid Bionic
Wireless Capability – The phone will release with all your favorite wireless capabilities, including but not limited to Bluetooth, 3G, Tethering, and best of all, 4G LTE for those in 4G areas.
Dual Core Processor – The processor is to be made by TI (OMAP 4430) and will be clocked at 1.0 Ghz like the Droid 3. Rumor has it that it may have been improved to a newer model (4440+), clocking in at either 1.2 Ghz or 1.5 Ghz, but there is no evidence to currently back this. Only time will tell, as it took breaking into the Droid 3 to find out what its processor was, even after release.
MotoBlur and Gingerbread – As it is Motorola’s next flagship, you can expect the Droid Bionic to release with the newest version of Android’s Gingerbread, and should support Ice Cream Sandwich as it is developed later this fall and winter. The phone will also come stock with Motorola’s newest version of MotoBlur with its blue hue as a theme.. Both Motoblur and Gingerbread, as with many specifications, can be seen in the Droid 3, and have gotten much better reviews over previous versions. Netflix has recently been confirmed as supported on the Bionic as well.
Note: Unofficial image of the Droid Bionic's system information
Bootloader – Even with the better stock MotoBlur coming out, the bootloader is a selling point to a lot of Android enthusiasts. The bootloader will surely be locked. However, as with several other Motorola bootloaders, it should be unlocked in a reasonable time with the developer support, and until that time you will be stuck with MotoBlur and plenty of bloatware.
RAM– The phone will release with 1 GB of blazing fast DDR2 RAM. For details on how this RAM will likely be utilized in this device, you can look here (courtesy of GBH2).
Camera – An improved 8 MP camera that will certainly be nearly identical to the Droid 3’s camera accompanied by a 2 MP FFC, as well as lacking a physical camera button.
Onboard Memory, SD Card and Battery – All three are highly speculated since the initial remodelling of the Bionic. It is rumoured at 16 GB onboard with 32 GB SD memory card optional. The battery has been rumoured between 1650 mAh and 1950 mAh, which could be lower than initially expected. However, expect plenty of extended battery options to be available and cross your fingers that Motorola has taken heed of this extra time to extend battery life on its premiere 4G device.
Price - Although there has not been any mention of pricing, using other phones as examples we will likely be seeing the Bionic dropping in at $249 on contract or $299 on contract with a 32 GB SD card. As with the Droid 3, expect prices to drop sharply after a week or more of sales.
Planned Release Date - Speculations stretch from as early as July 28th to as late as September 22nd. The recent signup page on Verizon's website gives a sense of hope, but that lack of leaks and official announcements for a flagship phone makes it more difficult to be optimistic.
Misconceptions generally lead to a lot of disappointment and Verizon/Motorola hate when phones release, so here’s what you should realistically expect out of this phone, all compiled in one thread instead of across hundreds of threads and thousands of posts on the Forum. Don't expect anything groundbreaking, this is likely a reiteration of what you know if you lurk forums as much as I do, this is to help those that don't and provide links (throughout the post, the links are 'points of interest' related to the subject that open in a new window to save where you're reading). I'll update and edit it if anything groundbreaking actually happens. Note that nothing is for sure, and that at any point in time Motorola can and very possibly could change specifications in this phone, they have already completely revamped it once, after all.
There’s tons of rumors about this device, but almost no facts. Thanks to sealed lips from Verizon, Motorola and even Best Buy (never thought they could keep their mouths shut, did you?), speculation has given us a lot of fun misconceptions and jokes.
Note: Unofficial image of the Droid Bionic
Bionic Background
The Droid Bionic was announced officially at CES in January of 2011. There had been rumors circulating about the device for even months before this, building anticipation and rumors that the Dual Core powerhouse would be Verizon/Motorola’s flagship after the Blunderbolt. The Bionic was announced for a Quarter 2 release, only a couple of months after the Atrix was successfully added to AT&T’s 4G network. Rumors, advertisements, speculation, and even sign up pages spread, but alas, as many other 4G phones were having troubles, clearly the Bionic was as well.
Quarter 2 passed and left a lot of people scrambling for other 4G phones that unfortunately all had positives and some big negatives, leaving some of the bitterness that the Bionic should have been released by then. As a flagship phone, Motorola scrapped the OG Bionic in fear of complications and went back to the drawing board claiming the delay was for phone 'enhancements.' You have to give Motorola and Verizon credit for euphemisms, at least. And here we are today, still awaiting an official announcement from, well…anyone.
Quick Notes
The Droid Bionic is intended to be an improvement on all the 4G phones that are available on the Verizon network currently, marketed as the 4G dual core flagship phone from Motorola.
There have been no official release dates specified since CES 2011, which claimed a Q2 release. After the remaking, there have not been official time announcements short of “Summer 2011”by Verizon… which gives them until September 23rd, 2011 to be on time.
The phone will be the largest flagship smartphone on Verizon’s market and will not have a keyboard.
Now what you really want to know…
Specifications
Size and display – The Bionic device itself will be coming in as if carrying a staggering 4.5” screen, but the screen itself will be a 4.3” qHD Gorilla Glass display with an assumed improved resolution of 960 x 540. The screen does not go all the way to the edges of the phone, which explains why it is the size of a 4.5'' device. Actual dimensions of the phone are unknown.
Expectations are that the display will be Motorola’s favorite PenTile, which conserves battery while providing a much brighter viewing experience at the cost of slight pixelation in the phones with this technology currently. There have been more improvements on the PenTile display, and although it is not confirmed you can view a great in-depth review of the X2's PenTile display here. The Bionic will also be micro-HDMI capable with a mirroring option for the media hogs.
Note: Unofficial images of the Droid Bionic
Wireless Capability – The phone will release with all your favorite wireless capabilities, including but not limited to Bluetooth, 3G, Tethering, and best of all, 4G LTE for those in 4G areas.
Dual Core Processor – The processor is to be made by TI (OMAP 4430) and will be clocked at 1.0 Ghz like the Droid 3. Rumor has it that it may have been improved to a newer model (4440+), clocking in at either 1.2 Ghz or 1.5 Ghz, but there is no evidence to currently back this. Only time will tell, as it took breaking into the Droid 3 to find out what its processor was, even after release.
MotoBlur and Gingerbread – As it is Motorola’s next flagship, you can expect the Droid Bionic to release with the newest version of Android’s Gingerbread, and should support Ice Cream Sandwich as it is developed later this fall and winter. The phone will also come stock with Motorola’s newest version of MotoBlur with its blue hue as a theme.. Both Motoblur and Gingerbread, as with many specifications, can be seen in the Droid 3, and have gotten much better reviews over previous versions. Netflix has recently been confirmed as supported on the Bionic as well.
Note: Unofficial image of the Droid Bionic's system information
Bootloader – Even with the better stock MotoBlur coming out, the bootloader is a selling point to a lot of Android enthusiasts. The bootloader will surely be locked. However, as with several other Motorola bootloaders, it should be unlocked in a reasonable time with the developer support, and until that time you will be stuck with MotoBlur and plenty of bloatware.
RAM– The phone will release with 1 GB of blazing fast DDR2 RAM. For details on how this RAM will likely be utilized in this device, you can look here (courtesy of GBH2).
Camera – An improved 8 MP camera that will certainly be nearly identical to the Droid 3’s camera accompanied by a 2 MP FFC, as well as lacking a physical camera button.
Onboard Memory, SD Card and Battery – All three are highly speculated since the initial remodelling of the Bionic. It is rumoured at 16 GB onboard with 32 GB SD memory card optional. The battery has been rumoured between 1650 mAh and 1950 mAh, which could be lower than initially expected. However, expect plenty of extended battery options to be available and cross your fingers that Motorola has taken heed of this extra time to extend battery life on its premiere 4G device.
Price - Although there has not been any mention of pricing, using other phones as examples we will likely be seeing the Bionic dropping in at $249 on contract or $299 on contract with a 32 GB SD card. As with the Droid 3, expect prices to drop sharply after a week or more of sales.
Planned Release Date - Speculations stretch from as early as July 28th to as late as September 22nd. The recent signup page on Verizon's website gives a sense of hope, but that lack of leaks and official announcements for a flagship phone makes it more difficult to be optimistic.
