Nexus vs Bionic: Should I Make The Switch?

[mikespe]

I currently have the Bionic but have been STRONGLY considering switching to the Nexus. The lack of support from Motorola has been abysmal at best. First they release the Bionic 6 months later than projected which put it with the NEXT release of phones on the market...Nexus being one of them. Then there's the whole data lose problem that occurred that took them another 4 months to fix. Now there is the whole ICS so called "release" soon. Basically Moto has put the Bionic completely on the back burner!

I'm beginning the feel the Nexus might have been the phone I should have bought. How does it compare to the Bionic? Any former Bionic owners who made the switch to Nexus? Was it better than the Bionic? How is Samsung's support? Phone durability? Battery life? Data signal? Screen?

Also, if I by a used/refurb Nexus (ebay or elsewhere) and switch my account to it, can I sell my Bionic to offset the cost or with being under contract with Verizon for another 18 months would I have to hang on to it until the contract expires? Meaning will it be considered a "bad ESN"?

Thanks!

 

[jntdroid]

You likely won't be able to equal the cost of a Nexus by selling your Bionic, but you can take a chunk out of it. The off-contract price on Nexuses is going down at a decent rate right now. Check Craigslist and Swappa.

The Bionic has better battery life.

The Bionic, at least now anyway, could have better/stronger signal/radio. This will depend on location as some people have had zero issues with signal on the Nexus. However, it's a "known" bug (i.e. it's known, but not everybody deals with it) that the radios at times just go to sleep, so to speak - in weaker 4G areas this appears to be more of a problem. But again, your experience might not have any of that. It's rumored the 4.0.5 update will fix a lot of the Gnex signal issues.

And I think 2-3 updates in a 6 month timeframe isn't exactly "backburner".

Durability... I think the Gnex feels solid, or at least very tight. I thought the Bionic felt solid as well. So, hard to say on durability, though obviously Moto has a better rep in that department - justified or not.

That said, the Gnex has a much better camera, much better screen (though not as easily viewable outside), and an overall smoother experience. And, theoretically, will get updates sooner than other phones... though we're already seeing that might not be the case, at least not as much as previous Nexus phones. Heck, I think the Bionic even had more updates than the Gnex by this point in its life-cycle, but I could just be throwing some hyperbole into my memory...

Edit: sorry, misread your last question... you can sell your Bionic, it's not tied to your contract. It won't have a bad ESN as long as you activate another phone on your line first. Even then, it won't be a "bad" ESN, just one that's not usable until you deactivate it off your line.

 

[mikespe]

Thanks for the feedback...I bid on a Nexus that was going for $300 which is a great deal (same price as a contract) but until I compared the 2 phones more I retracted the bid. The Bionic is a VERY good phone. But I guess I got spoiled with the OG Droid being able to change ROMS freely & having an unlocked bootloader. With the bootloader locked it makes it MUCH harder for the developers to work on the phone and makes flashing ROMS more risky. Plus the ICS Roms out now just aren't complete...issues with data, camera not working, etc....I have ICS on my Acer Iconia A500 tablet but my phone is my main phone (no home line) and I NEED everything to work...

 

[Verro84]

I currently have the Bionic but have been STRONGLY considering switching to the Nexus. The lack of support from Motorola has been abysmal at best. First they release the Bionic 6 months later than projected which put it with the NEXT release of phones on the market...Nexus being one of them. Then there's the whole data lose problem that occurred that took them another 4 months to fix. Now there is the whole ICS so called "release" soon. Basically Moto has put the Bionic completely on the back burner!

I'm beginning the feel the Nexus might have been the phone I should have bought. How does it compare to the Bionic? Any former Bionic owners who made the switch to Nexus? Was it better than the Bionic? How is Samsung's support? Phone durability? Battery life? Data signal? Screen?

Also, if I by a used/refurb Nexus (ebay or elsewhere) and switch my account to it, can I sell my Bionic to offset the cost or with being under contract with Verizon for another 18 months would I have to hang on to it until the contract expires? Meaning will it be considered a "bad ESN"?

Thanks!

Just keep calling VZW and complain to them about the Bionic and if they offer u a switch take the Nexus lol. Worth a shot I had the Bionic but IMO the Nexus is better

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using DroidForums

 

[HackerCity]

I too was like you. I knew going in that the boot loader would have an impact on custom ROMs. I like the durability since the D1 to Droidx. I then got my hands on the Thunderbolt when it was released. I had forgotten what it was like to have something unlocked. I then again gave in to the Bionic. After the 902 update the radio was finally solid. However, the lack of ROMs and themes kept bothering me. I was excited when dhacker got ICS up and running. I ran that as my daily. Although I kept scouring the GNex forums and saw all the things they were doing.
So ultimately I gave in. It took all but 20 minutes to unlock and root. I am running Boot Manger and have 5 ROMs that I switch between since I'm such a crack flasher... its nice if something chokes I can just pull the battery and boot to recovery and reload a backup.
No more flashing the FYZ files to get back to .586 then up to .593 then .902 all while using forever root methods. Which we know takes a good thirty minutes just to get back to a state that is where you were.
I like the ability to just flash what I feel works best and with Boot Manager its nice to test out new ROMs and themes.
The phone is pretty solid. It fast, stable and if u get the extended battery you should be fine. I have yet to play with any of the kernals out there but I'm getting there.
So to sum it up. I'm happy with my switch. For all the same reasons everyone else is.

So if you have the opportunity switch. You won't regret it. That's my opinion though.

Good luck... maybe we will see you on this side!!!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[Rodimus4180]

I completely agree with hackercity, I the Bionic is a great phone, I've had one since day one. But the Gnex in my opinion trumps it with the better screen, the camera and of course the unlocked bootloader. With the lack of dev support for the Bionic I was bored with it, but I love flashing stuff to my gnex its not a chore like it was with the Bionic, and if I borked something it took forever to get the Bionic back to just stock. With the Nexus its a ten minute at most recovery process. Like I said the Bionic is a great phone, but I just don't like that it's pretty well locked down. In my opinion the Nexus is the better phone all around, and I think getting one over the Bionic is a good choice.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

 

[mikespe]

I might try calling verizon but since I bought the Bionic about 8 days after launch the most I would get from them is a refurb Bionic. It is such a shame too because the Bionic is such a nice phone. Feel good in the hand, sounds great, Screen is very nice indoors AND in bright sunlight. It's fast. Built VERY well.....Motorola really dropped the ball on this phone. It could have been the next OG Droid as to customer loyalty, longevity, and overall great phone. YES there were a couple updates since launch but those were to fix the data issue...which I never had until the "fix" to 893.

I really wish the ICS ROMS out were fully functional...but with all the work it would take to flash one, if I had to take my phone into Verizon for anything it would be a PITA to restore...

 

[JRParsons]

You may be able to talk them into a different model, I've heard of people getting Rezounds, I got a Stratosphere (the big 3 had just been released, and although I tried, I couldn't get a Rezound, Razor or Nexus).
I POLITELY told them I had been a customer for x amount of years, had always been happy with Verizon, but just couldn't deal with the data drops, because I work on the road, blah, blah, blah. I asked if there was any other model they could give me, and after a little negotiating ended up with a Statosphere. Now that the high end phones have been out a while, there is a chance you may be able to get a gnex, if not all you lost was the 10 minutes on the phone.

Sent from my Illudium PU - 36 Explosive Space Modulator.

 

[GalaxyFlatulence]

i complained about vzw and my bionic to the FCC, that's how i got my GN


will never buy another moto phone either :biggrin:

 

[mikespe]

well tried calling vzn & got to a 2nd level tech...I told them the last update destroyed my battery life (which it did)...he wants me to run in safe mode for a day to see if it's the phone, battery or an app or 2...I tried BSing saying I NEED the apps on my phone & can NOT run in Safe Mode for a full day. He didn't buy it. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow. The first guy I spoke with said he wouldn't be able to get me another 4g phone! I said But the Bionic IS a 4g phone! I should be able to trade to an equivalent phone. I said I did NOT want a refurb phone & someone else's problems...that's when he transferred me to 2nd level tech.

At least I tried! I just wish I waited for the Nexus! But the OG Droid just couldn't last much longer...This WILL be my last Moto unless they change their ways!!!

 

[mikespe]

i complained about vzw and my bionic to the FCC, that's how i got my GN

HOW? What did you say?

 

[GalaxyFlatulence]

HOW? What did you say?

you're having the exact same legion of probs i had with m bionic (still trying to sell that piece of crap). vzw only wanted to downgrade me to an older phone.


go online to the FCC's website. there's a list of companies to complain about-vzw is on there. type up your gripe! in about a week a lady from the executive office of whatever at vzw will call you and give you another early upgrade DancingNexus

 

[mikespe]

you're having the exact same legion of probs i had with m bionic (still trying to sell that piece of crap). vzw only wanted to downgrade me to an older phone.


go online to the FCC's website. there's a list of companies to complain about-vzw is on there. type up your gripe! in about a week a lady from the executive office of whatever at vzw will call you and give you another early upgrade DancingNexus

Thanks for the tip! I just filed a complaint...there were no companies listed but you just type the name in the box...I hope it works because I just got outbid AGAIN on a Nexus! :-(

 

[GalaxyFlatulence]

Thanks for the tip! I just filed a complaint...there were no companies listed but you just type the name in the box...I hope it works because I just got outbid AGAIN on a Nexus! :-(

good for you! verizon and moto should be sued for releasing a knowingly flawed product and then not even recalling it!

 

[jntdroid]

Mike - have you checked swappa.com for the Gnex? They have quite a few for sale right now...