I have also thought long and hard about this whole thing. With the drawbacks of the RAZR I mentioned above, I think one concern we should still have is penetration of the Bionic in the marketplace with the RAZR being marketed as the hot, sexy phone.
It wouldn't surprise me to see the Bionic go Buy One Get One Free (BOGO) from Verizon at $299. While this may make the people who bought it on day 1 for $299 upset, I think it should make them happy because it will ensure new users continue to flock to our device. If you were a new user, would you buy the Bionic for $150 or the RAZR for $300? This should ensure the Bionic continues to grow in usage, which we all know is very important for the viability of the phone going forward. To me, this would solve the biggest concern I have.
Should have picked this up when I first heard of it. Is VZW or anyone else still offering this?
Man, you're smart. I didn't even think about it that way. I'll admit, though, I was real salty when I saw it being sold on Amazon for a single penny. I mean, I had I known that was gonna happen so fast, I'd be $299.98 richer. But as long as the Bionic stays in the forefront, as long as it continues to get updated for the next two years, I'll be happy. And they already confirmed it is getting ICS, so I'm real happy about that.
Yes, on their website. The price drop shows when you go to the cart and checkout. I bought the extended battery but considered it too big. I found it easier and lighter to carry a second standard battery in my wallet and pop that in when I need more juice for a long day.
Yes, on their website. The price drop shows when you go to the cart and checkout. I bought the extended battery but considered it too big. I found it easier and lighter to carry a second standard battery in my wallet and pop that in when I need more juice for a long day.
I checked - not offered any longer. Bummer.
The Amazon deal for a penny was for brand new users only. This is common with every VZW phone one month after release. But the upgrade cost remained around $250 which is also typical.
Since I am on a roll with you, let me throw out this idea. What if VZW offers the BOGO and the extended battery for free? This would provide a solid point of marketing differentiation. The Bionic can be marketed as a lower cost, high end alternative BUT for the real power users who can't afford to charge their phone 2 or 3 times a day. It takes a long time to charge these phones. The RAZR could be marketed for people interested in a high end, stylish phone who are unconcerned about battery life (there are a lot of Android users who dismiss the importance of good battery life). This would also ensure the continued existence of our race!
I don't know if VZW will go this way, but I sure hope they do. Based on past history (The Droid X was BOGO in time for the Holidays last year, just a few months after release), I think they will go this way.
I just checked.
Make sure you log into your acct first, then add the extended battery w/cover to your cart and then view your cart. You should see it for $24.99
Damn. I was logged into my account. It gave me an immediate 25% discount, and I took it all the way through to "Submit" and it was still not at $25. Must be doing something wrong!!
I'll check again. Are you going to the "Shop", "All Accessories", entering Bionic as the filter and then choosing the battery/cover from the display of accessories? That's how I did it.
Actually, you shouldn't be logged into your account when you add it to the cart. When you add it to the cart, it will show the reduced price in the shopping cart. Then log in to your account.
