Bionic Reviews decent or wait till Prime?

[xxnonamexx]

I was due for an update and the custom ROMS I used on my OD were starting to have issues so I am now a proud owner of the Bionic. I was hesitating but previous Samsung phone owners dislike Samsung phones which is why I stick with Motorola. It's a great phone and I will not be putting any ROMS on this thing no more headaches for me.

 

[jroc]

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Every year there are minor updates and major advancements. The Prime is a major advancement and well worth waiting for.

I agree, the look of the screen on my D1 is better. I don't mean to put anyone down, but really, how can you not see the graininess? The "mesh" look is horrendous. Same as X2 and D3. I hope Moto improves the screen next time around.

As cb2000a stated some devices carry minor updates while others carry major advancements. Bionic is a classic example of a minor update. The Prime will be a major advancement. Let's hope the Prime comes soon, I need a new phone badly.

All depends on what phone you are coming from.

Coming from a Droid 1 or Eris or G1....I doubt the Bionic is a minor update. If this is your first smartphone I doubt the Bionic is a minor update.

Coming from a Droid 1 or Eris or G1 ....comparing every spec, how can the Bionic be a minor update? Really....folks that get the Bionic can say the same thing about the Prime being a minor update. Going from Bionic to Prime: better dual core processor, more resolution, faster cpu. Unless the Prime will be quad core and have more than 1GB of ram...minor update for folks that got the Bionic.

Then when the next phones come out the in middle and end of next year....they could be seen as minor updates for folks that got the Prime.

See what happens when we play the specs, waiting game? Its a game no one can ever win, unless you have a time machine...

 

[cp24eva]

Honestly, there really isn't much wrong with the bionic. Ok, yes pentile display is a bit off-putting, but really, when watching HD videos I can't see it. I mainly see it on text. So, with that said, i mean ITS TEXT and yeah your icons maybe look a bit grained. but I dare you to watch a video and tell me that it ain't crisp. i sat last night watching plenty vids trying to find ones that looked ugly and any vid that said it was HD was really HD. I've have a few different phones within the last month. I was on AT&T had the iphone 4 and Infuse. My GF had the Atrix. Then AT&T made me mad. Jumped ship. had droid charge. Loved everything but battery life and form feel (horrendous) Droid Incredible 2. Droid 3. And now Droid Bionic. The only phone I like as much as the bionic was the Samsung Infuse. but it was on AT&T and wasn't truly 4G. I loved the droid 3. but the internet was painfully slow and the slider got loose after a week. I can't speak for the atrix, didn't play with it much. The HTC Incredible 2 was great, but it was really small for my hands and felt too girly. but the display was great. I liked it's displays better than moto.

There are bunch of Pros and not many cons to the bionic in MY OPINION. So folks can wait on the prime. You wont truly know if it's REALLY better unless you wait. And then when you wait, someone else will come out with something with 1 stat category better, and you might wait again.

I say, do what your heart tells you. not what we tell you. And if you don't like it....well sell it. Or take it back before 14 days is up. At least you can say you truly tried it. Touching it in the store kinds sucks because you can see how it reacts to the many downloads you will have and the variants of 3G and 4G connections you traverse though. And then the videos can be tested. I sat through 10 videos in the store per phone and compared. And if you are scared of motoblur....then rest assured ADW has you covered. TRUST ME!.

Honestly, with phones these days. YOU'RE DAMNED IF YOU DO AND DAMNED IF YOU DON'T.

 

[tc1]

it's not the transitions that bother me it's the kind of 'looking through a fine mesh' appearance of this particular type of screen. If you get a chance run the same videos (YouTube is handy for this) on the biopic (or x2 since they are the same screen) and the charge. I notice a distinct difference in the sharpness quality of the 2 screens. Some people don't notice it or it doesn't bother them. Some people will choose the increased brightness of the bionic's screen over the amoled. Just a matter of personal preference.

I agree, I took a look at the Bionic at verizon today.

You have to be kidding me...the screen is terrible.

 

[cp24eva]

I agree, I took a look at the Bionic at verizon today.

You have to be kidding me...the screen is terrible.

I don't particularly care for Motorola personally, but in their defense I think with the screen and the pentile display, they were more worried about battery life rather than the best lookin screen. Super amoled displays are great! I had a droid charge. But, you can only get so much time out of it before you are "charging" it again. With the pentile display you get more battery life at the cost of some screen quality degradation. In my opinion, the sacrifice is well worth it. I see the "mesh" when it's really not that important. I see the quality when it is. And watching my movies and anime on there it shows up great.

 

[Lars]

Just back from Verizon and I think I am more conflicted than before. I was leaning pretty heavily towards the Bionic, but I don't know if I can tolerate the screen. I watched a few videos, and those were fine, but text was very grainy, and the look of the battery icon and 4G LTE symbol was awful. I spend much more time viewing text than watching videos, so this could be a huge issue for me. The store I was at had the Droid Charge right next to the Bionic, and side by side it is not even close. The Charge has a very crisp screen with rich colors, and the Bionic is grainy and very muted. Also, this is a personal preference but I don't like the look of the polished plastic on the lip. A good friend of mine has the D2 and that same look was something I never liked.

However, I don't want to play the game where I continue waiting for the next greatest phone and never end up satisfied. Without much concrete evidence about the Prime, I might end up going with the Bionic if I can snag a deal at Costco. There is no denying that the Bionic is incredibly fast, and I would love to utilize 4G LTE. Decisions, decisions...

 

[astokes]

It was the screen that put me off from purchasing the Bionic, i'm going to hold out for the HTC Vigor or the Prime. Also the locked bootloader!

 

[Liderc]

Yeah the pixelated text bothered me a lot, I read a lot of sites on my phone and it was pretty bad. When I looked at videos and photos, it was perfect though, so it's weird.

 

[cbrmike]

I just made the switch from Iphone to Android and picked up the Tunderbolt on 9/5/11 and had every intention to switch to the Bionic when it came out.
I stopped by and played with the Bionic for a bit and was not impressed, the phone felt cheap compared to the Thunderbolt. Im not as tech savy as most
people on this forum seem to be.... but the Bionic did not seem to be any faster than the Thunderbolt so Im going to keep the Tunderbolt and deal with the battery
issue.

 

[Jungle King 76]

The screen is great. I just don't see three graininess out overlain others are talking about. Anyone who says it bothers them that much is just over sensitive.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

 

[jroc]

Just back from Verizon and I think I am more conflicted than before. I was leaning pretty heavily towards the Bionic, but I don't know if I can tolerate the screen. I watched a few videos, and those were fine, but text was very grainy, and the look of the battery icon and 4G LTE symbol was awful. I spend much more time viewing text than watching videos, so this could be a huge issue for me. The store I was at had the Droid Charge right next to the Bionic, and side by side it is not even close. The Charge has a very crisp screen with rich colors, and the Bionic is grainy and very muted. Also, this is a personal preference but I don't like the look of the polished plastic on the lip. A good friend of mine has the D2 and that same look was something I never liked.

However, I don't want to play the game where I continue waiting for the next greatest phone and never end up satisfied. Without much concrete evidence about the Prime, I might end up going with the Bionic if I can snag a deal at Costco. There is no denying that the Bionic is incredibly fast, and I would love to utilize 4G LTE. Decisions, decisions...

Now, if you tried it and dont like it, thats another story...the waiting game is no problem. You dont have to get something just because. The waiting game becomes an issue when you wanna have the most up to date specs and continue chasing them. I coulda got the DX2 or Droid 3, but I didnt. I coulda got the Charge or T Bolt or Revolution but I didnt.

My main thing was dual core, LTE, 1GB ram. I know the Prime will have even more up to date specs, but its not making me hold out for it just for the specs. I value phone reception and battery life too...so higher res screens and newer cpu's isnt a deal breaker to me..

BUT...if I try the Bionic and dont like the screen so much that I dont wanna get it, I wont. Yea some of us talk about you cant wait forever. At the same time, this is gonna be YOUR phone. Dont get something you dont like or want.

 

[Lars]

Now, if you tried it and dont like it, thats another story...the waiting game is no problem. You dont have to get something just because. The waiting game becomes an issue when you wanna have the most up to date specs and continue chasing them. I coulda got the DX2 or Droid 3, but I didnt. I coulda got the Charge or T Bolt or Revolution but I didnt.

My main thing was dual core, LTE, 1GB ram. I know the Prime will have even more up to date specs, but its not making me hold out for it just for the specs. I value phone reception and battery life too...so higher res screens and newer cpu's isnt a deal breaker to me..

BUT...if I try the Bionic and dont like the screen so much that I dont wanna get it, I wont. Yea some of us talk about you cant wait forever. At the same time, this is gonna be YOUR phone. Dont get something you dont like or want.

Such a simple post, yet incredibly helpful! Thank you! The Bionic is simply not the phone for me. I am not taking anything away from those who already purchased it, it is a great phone, but there are things that are not aesthetically appealing to my eye, and as a person without the luxury of getting another device for another two years, it's worth waiting another month or two for the phone that meets my needs.

The screen is great. I just don't see three graininess out overlain others are talking about. Anyone who says it bothers them that much is just over sensitive.

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I don't think it is being oversensitive. I think people's eyes are drawn to certain things differently, and for me the first thing I noticed was the graininess of the icons in the notification bar. Is it me being a little OCD? Perhaps, but I don't think anyone can deny there isn't some pixelation, but the question is whether or not it distracts from the great qualities of the phone.

 

[EFGantry]

if i could have "liked" jroc's post twice, i would have. imo, far too often people in here say, "you can't keep waiting; a better phone will always be coming out." while that's true, it doesn't mean that you should settle for the best that's available at the moment. if there's a better phone coming out, and it better suits your needs and preferences, then by all means you should wait - especially since the choice you make will lock you in for 2 years.

that's where i'm at. i've been eligible to upgrade from my OG for a while, but i haven't. like jroc, i want dual core LTE. the Bionic fits that bill, and is probably a good device that i could live with for 2 years. but, there are some drawbacks (the screen in particular) that give me pause. so, i'm going to wait for the Prime (and probably even the Droid HD) before i make a decision.

 

[jaycemiskel]

I currently have the D3. I was tired of waiting for something to come out. I plan on selling it when the Prime comes out. Specs wise it's just a minor update but if you're an Android enthusiast then you have to think about getting all the updates first. That's what I care about.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

 

[sk102704]

I noticed the graininess a bit at first but I must be getting use to it because it doesn't bother me nor do I really notice it anymore. I showed a coworker that has the i*hone 4 and she loved my screen so go figure.

It is a great device though and I would recommend it to anyone who wants my opinion.

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