★★★ The "Official" I got my DROID BIONIC Thread ★★★

[Human_Droid]

I got my bionic yesterday at a verizon store. My one year old son picked it out, and after playing around with the demo I decided I could leave the store without it.

:blink:

 

[GadgetRick]

Had it since Thursday evening (it's Sunday afternoon). Been banging away at it quite a bit. Have a few observations:

Screen - this has been a bone of contention with many. While I can see what people are complaining about (occasionally), it hasn't really been a bother. Sure it's a little annoying when you can see the dots but you can't see them all of the time. Overall, I like the screen better than my OG Droid and, when new, I thought it was one of the better screens out.
Battery Life - I didn't get the extended battery. I'm still going through some drain/charge cycles. Life is getting better each time. I have 60% left after 4ish hours in 4G area with normal push, etc. Not really pushing it hard today but using it as I normally would. Can't complain too much about that. I also notice it seems to have more left towards the lower end than it seems. Always seems to last longer towards then end than I expect.
Feel - Have to say it feels nice but it does feel almost too light. I'm sure the extended battery would help that feeling but, honestly, it's not all that bad. Just wouldn't mind a few more ounces of heft. I'm afraid I'll drop it and not even realize it.
Speed - as everyone says, it's just fast. 4G is fast but the phone itself is stupid wicked fast. Not much else to say on that.
Camera - Lots going on regarding the camera. I chimed in on a few threads as I'm a photographer. Overall, I have very little to complain about this camera in my phone. It's certainly better than the one in my OG Droid. However, I still just don't get why Moto can't get the software right. For as fast as this phone is, it still takes longer than it should to get the camera to where it's ready to take a photo. Much faster than my OG Droid but it should be faster. They just can't seem to get camera software right. I realize there are 3rd party solutions but Moto really should get this right out of the box. I have not used the front-facing camera yet.
Software - Lots of great new stuff to play with but TONS of stuff which I wish I could get rid of. And I HATE the way they display apps. Why can't I just have them in alphabetical order??? Again, I know there are other solutions but, come on...
Audio - As has been said before, the call quality seems excellent so far. I'd like a little more volume output from both the normal speaker and the speaker phone speaker. They're adequate for normal use but if it's a little noisy it's not quite loud enough.
Lock Screen - Not much else to say except WTF!!?? Ugly as hell...
Stability - So far (knocking on wood), only one battery pull crash. Some 4G issues where you have to reboot to get the phone to connect to the Internet again but, other than these things, all is (overall) well. There are other little things but nothing else serious that I've found yet.
Storage - I don't understand why Moto screwed this one up. It's so friggin' confusing. How about on-phone memory and SD memory? Why is it so difficult to move apps to the SD card? And why on Earth put a 16GB SD card in it instead of a 32GB? I realize the cost, etc. but it's already expensive!

Overall, I love love LOVE this phone. Are there some things I'd like to see improved? Of course, however, it's BY FAR the best phone I've used yet. I'm sure something better will be along shortly but, until then, I love my Bionic...

 

[Human_Droid]

I think the speed of the camera is sorta related to the glass it's focusing through. I'm speculating but "dirty" (not fast glass) glass might slow the camera down... ??? I don't mean physically dirty with filth, i mean the glass isn't the best for a camera.

 

[Shadez]

Had it since Thursday evening (it's Sunday afternoon). Been banging away at it quite a bit. Have a few observations:

Screen - this has been a bone of contention with many. While I can see what people are complaining about (occasionally), it hasn't really been a bother. Sure it's a little annoying when you can see the dots but you can't see them all of the time. Overall, I like the screen better than my OG Droid and, when new, I thought it was one of the better screens out.
Battery Life - I didn't get the extended battery. I'm still going through some drain/charge cycles. Life is getting better each time. I have 60% left after 4ish hours in 4G area with normal push, etc. Not really pushing it hard today but using it as I normally would. Can't complain too much about that. I also notice it seems to have more left towards the lower end than it seems. Always seems to last longer towards then end than I expect.
Feel - Have to say it feels nice but it does feel almost too light. I'm sure the extended battery would help that feeling but, honestly, it's not all that bad. Just wouldn't mind a few more ounces of heft. I'm afraid I'll drop it and not even realize it.
Speed - as everyone says, it's just fast. 4G is fast but the phone itself is stupid wicked fast. Not much else to say on that.
Camera - Lots going on regarding the camera. I chimed in on a few threads as I'm a photographer. Overall, I have very little to complain about this camera in my phone. It's certainly better than the one in my OG Droid. However, I still just don't get why Moto can't get the software right. For as fast as this phone is, it still takes longer than it should to get the camera to where it's ready to take a photo. Much faster than my OG Droid but it should be faster. They just can't seem to get camera software right. I realize there are 3rd party solutions but Moto really should get this right out of the box. I have not used the front-facing camera yet.
Software - Lots of great new stuff to play with but TONS of stuff which I wish I could get rid of. And I HATE the way they display apps. Why can't I just have them in alphabetical order??? Again, I know there are other solutions but, come on...
Audio - As has been said before, the call quality seems excellent so far. I'd like a little more volume output from both the normal speaker and the speaker phone speaker. They're adequate for normal use but if it's a little noisy it's not quite loud enough.
Lock Screen - Not much else to say except WTF!!?? Ugly as hell...
Stability - So far (knocking on wood), only one battery pull crash. Some 4G issues where you have to reboot to get the phone to connect to the Internet again but, other than these things, all is (overall) well. There are other little things but nothing else serious that I've found yet.
Storage - I don't understand why Moto screwed this one up. It's so friggin' confusing. How about on-phone memory and SD memory? Why is it so difficult to move apps to the SD card? And why on Earth put a 16GB SD card in it instead of a 32GB? I realize the cost, etc. but it's already expensive!

Overall, I love love LOVE this phone. Are there some things I'd like to see improved? Of course, however, it's BY FAR the best phone I've used yet. I'm sure something better will be along shortly but, until then, I love my Bionic...

Nice review, but one thing I would point out, the phone feels solid to me. Adding more weight and dropping = more damage. Just something to consider.

 

[ConqSoft]

The apps are shown in alphabetical order already. Not sure what you mean.

 

[Graymayre]

Ha ha, I just got my Bionic, picked it up today and took it home with the black silicone case on it. Otterbox on order, my guy as Verizon is expecting me back to return this case. Problem is that I think I like it...
Anyway, as soon as I got it home, I rooted it and did the wifi hack using SQL Lite and Radiocomm. Works beautifully.

One issue, my 3G speed is slower than it was on my D2G.
My D2G and my wife's iPhone 4 both got around 800kbps to 1.2 mbps.
Now I get 600-700 and she gets 1.2. Any ideas?

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

 

[Graymayre]

Also, I think I know why Moto partitioned the internal memory.
Who here uses more than 8GB for apps? Without heavily bogging the phone down, that is. What's the point of having 16GB when it can only be used for apps and app data?
Voila, partitioned. Only problem is all the apps that are configured for the root\sdcard path by default, such as Astro and Titanium Backup. If you want to back up to your external, you're going to have to copy files until they update the apps.

And is the pixel grid seriously diagonal? I have never seen that before. What is the reason for that?

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

 

[GadgetRick]

I think the speed of the camera is sorta related to the glass it's focusing through. I'm speculating but "dirty" (not fast glass) glass might slow the camera down... ??? I don't mean physically dirty with filth, i mean the glass isn't the best for a camera.

Not talking about focus speed, talking about the time it takes to open/get ready to take a photo. It's not a focusing issue, it's an application launch speed issue.

 

[GadgetRick]

Nice review, but one thing I would point out, the phone feels solid to me. Adding more weight and dropping = more damage. Just something to consider.

I'm not saying it doesn't feel solid, just light.

And you are correct, more weight would (possibly) cause more dammage. However, the amount of extra weight I'm talking about wouldn't affect that all that much.

It's just a nit-picky observation about the phone, that's all.

 

[GadgetRick]

The apps are shown in alphabetical order already. Not sure what you mean.

Hmm, that's strange. When I read your reply I went back to the phone because I know I've been cursing trying to find apps--even mentioned it to my wife and my friend. Was having a tough time finding them because they weren't in alphabetical order. Now, when I look again, they are.

I know I was looking at them filtered for All Apps. That's strange. If I hadn't mentioned it to a couple of people I'd think I was going crazy...

 

[Shadez]

I'm not saying it doesn't feel solid, just light.

And you are correct, more weight would (possibly) cause more dammage. However, the amount of extra weight I'm talking about wouldn't affect that all that much.

It's just a nit-picky observation about the phone, that's all.

Yea I know what you mean. I liked the heavier feel of the bionic when I had it, but its a nice change, at least for me to carry something bigger, better, and lighter.. again, just a preference

 

[GadgetRick]

Also, I think I know why Moto partitioned the internal memory.
Who here uses more than 8GB for apps? Without heavily bogging the phone down, that is. What's the point of having 16GB when it can only be used for apps and app data?
Voila, partitioned. Only problem is all the apps that are configured for the root\sdcard path by default, such as Astro and Titanium Backup. If you want to back up to your external, you're going to have to copy files until they update the apps.

I'm not concerned with them partitioning the memory--I get that. What I am annoyed at is how it's all managed. I'm sure it made sense to someone somewhere but, from what I can see, it's one big CF and I believe it's what's causing the disappearing apps bug.

Also, how do you mount the phone to copy stuff to/from the SD card? I can't figure it out. I'm sure, if I did some research, I'd figure it out but I shouldn't have to dig so deeply to figure something so simple out. When I'd mount my OG Droid it was easy to access the SD card. Why the change?

And, as I mentioned before, why only a 16GB SD card. I realize it seems like a LOT of space, however, I started in the computer world with 64k (yes, I said K) of RAM. Back then that was more RAM than anyone ever needed...until something else came along. I remember when you could fit a full OS, applications and data files on a (yes, ONE) 128k floppy. So, 16GB isn't as much space as you might think today.

 

[Shadez]

I'm not concerned with them partitioning the memory--I get that. What I am annoyed at is how it's all managed. I'm sure it made sense to someone somewhere but, from what I can see, it's one big CF and I believe it's what's causing the disappearing apps bug.

Also, how do you mount the phone to copy stuff to/from the SD card? I can't figure it out. I'm sure, if I did some research, I'd figure it out but I shouldn't have to dig so deeply to figure something so simple out. When I'd mount my OG Droid it was easy to access the SD card. Why the change?

And, as I mentioned before, why only a 16GB SD card. I realize it seems like a LOT of space, however, I started in the computer world with 64k (yes, I said K) of RAM. Back then that was more RAM than anyone ever needed...until something else came along. I remember when you could fit a full OS, applications and data files on a (yes, ONE) 128k floppy. So, 16GB isn't as much space as you might think today.

Ah this post brings back memories, I remember paying $800 for a 20 meg sider hard drive in 1985 to go with my 300 baud Hayes modem to replace the hand built one, one of my friends dad built, and paying like $7 an hour to be on compuserve just to go in CB simulator. The good old BBS days ... showing my age again..

 

[hodgewdm]

Nice so far

So my wife went out the other day and surprised me with a new Bionic. What a awesome phone!! What a awesome wife!!! Sad to see the D1 go into retirement. That phone was modded about as much as possible. The speed of the Bionic is incredible and i don't have 4G coverage yet...

RIP D1...you will still be my first smartphone and will be relegated to light WI-FI duty only...Thanks for the memories!!!

 

[GadgetRick]

Ah this post brings back memories, I remember paying $800 for a 20 meg sider hard drive in 1985 to go with my 300 baud modem to replace the hand built one of my friends dad built, and paying like $7 an hour to be on compuserve just to go in CB simulator. The good old BBS days ... showing my age again..

I never had a Compuserve account, I did, however, have a Genie account if that counts...