By Video editing by Steve Albright
The Motorola Droid Bionic is Verizon’s first Android Phone to have both 4G LTE Connectivity and a dual core processor, immediately launching it into the elite smartphone realm. But with it’s delayed release – having first been announced in January and just launching in September – does it still carry enough bravado to warrant your hard earned dollar? Read (and watch) on to find out.
Bionic Hardware Review
The Droid Bionic has an attractive and familiar look consistent with several other Motorola Droids (most notably the Droid X2) with a little lip below the 4.3-inch screen. While the Bionic is slightly thicker than the X2 it’s still only .43-inches thick, the thinnest 4G phone on Verizon to date, and it feels reasonably sized and weighted. It’s pretty impressive what Motorola is able to pack into the Bionic’s relatively small frame.
The 4.3-inch qHD display has 960 x 540 pixel resolution and is pretty darn good. Close inspection will reveal images and videos that seem to have a slight cross-hatched pattern underlayed which might irritate some, but overall I was impressed with the screen quality. The screen is made of Corning’s “Gorilla Glass”, an extra tough material that protects against scratches and broken screens. It’s not indestructible, but it makes an awesome difference.
Below the display you’ll find the typical Android buttons (Menu, Home, Back, Search) which are capacitive (touch sensitive) and very responsive. The left side features a MicroUSB port and a Micro-HDMI port, the right side has a volume rocker, and there is 3.5mm headset jack on the top of the phone along with a power/sleep button.
The Bionic has two cameras: an 8MP camera on the back and a VGA camera on the front for video chat and self-pics. Also on the front, on the other side of the earpiece, you’ll find an LED status notification light; this is a small feature but one I appreciate – it’s nice to have a visual indication that you have calls, messages, or e-mails awaiting you when your phone is otherwise “off”.
On the top/back, behind the power button, is a little slot to help pry open the battery cover. Call it nitpicking, but the battery cover along with the MicroSD Card and 4G SIM Card underneath were the most frustrating part of using the Bionic.
Don’t be shy: you really have to yank the battery cover to get it off (but if you break it don’t blame me!). Once it’s off you’ll find a 1735 mAh battery which you’ll need to remove to access the 4G SIM card. You can remove the MicroSD card without removing the battery, but neither are easy to finagle. Luckily we don’t usually need access to remove/replace these so the irritation will be rare.
The Motorola Droid Bionic has a solid set of features and an impressive spec list, but what makes this phone special is a certain Bionic trio:
- 4G LTE Connectivity
- 1GHz Dual-Core processor
- 1GB RAM
The Bionic Trio (4G + Dual Core + 1GB RAM)
The Bionic is Verizon’s first phone to rock both 4G LTE connectivity and a dual-core processor- throw in 1GB of RAM and you’ve got an impressive combination of specs serving as your phone’s “engine” of sorts.
Let’s start off by looking at the Bionic’s 4G connectivity advantage which is an easier feat to illustrate. Check out the below video where we run three tests comparing the Droid Bionic’s 4G LTE speeds on Verizon with both 3G Verizon speeds using the Droid X and Home Wi-Fi (Comcast) using the Nexus One.
As you can see, the quality of Verizon’s network spoiled my fun in two of the three tests. I’m in Baltimore where Verizon has an excellent 3G and 4G signal, so loading Phandroid.com and loading YouTube videos was lightning fast for both scenarios (even when compared to Wi-Fi). But Speedtest.net is where you truly see the power of Verizon’s 4G LTE network.
The Droid Bionic absolutely CRUSHES not only 3G but also Comcast Home Wi-Fi running the Speedtest.net app. With Verizon 4G I consistently got download speeds of 20+ Mbps and upload speeds of 3.5+ Mbps. It might be hard to understand how that extra power comes into play when 3G loaded websites and YouTube HD just fine, but think about this: if the 4G network only had 1 or 2 bars would it still be faster than Verizon’s 3G at 4 bars? My bet is yes and that’s where I think you would really see the value of the 4G network- even in areas with only average connectivity your 4G should zoom while your 3G might struggle.
While the 4G LTE Radio provides quick downloading and uploading of data/multimedia, the dual-core processor splits the on-device work across two processors thereby lightening the load. Add the powerful 1GB of RAM and the Bionic powerfully pumps where other devices might putter along.
While it’s harder to visualize the importance of processors and RAM, one popular measuring tool is Quadrant which looks at a number of indicators and metrics, boiling them down to a “Quadrant Score”:
As you can see above, the Droid Bionic well outperforms a number of top Android smartphones. I consistently scored between 2,200 and 2,500. Quadrant is a great way to ballpark the value of hardware specs but it’s only a relative comparison tool and not an exact science. There are other benchmarks out there but I offer this example simply to prove the Bionic is indeed a beast.
Bionic Software Review
The Droid Bionic ships with Android 2.3.4, the most recent version of Android (at publication of this review). With a new version of Android expected by year’s end, some might be tempted to wait: although Verizon has promised to support software upgrades for 1+ years, they usually come with a fair delay.
That being said, the Bionic runs the Android OS rather flawlessly. It’s quick, without lag, and an overall enjoyable experience. Credit the dual-core processor and 1GB RAM here. From apps and games to web-browsing and videos, the Bionic offers smooth sailing smartphone use.
MOTOBLUR, the manufacturer’s former custom OS overlay, has been replaced with a less intrusive option which offers some of the same features – like resizable widgets – without the bulk that previously dragged down performance. However, the Bionic does come preloaded with a large number of annoyingly undeleteable apps and games, some welcomed and others dead weight.
Bionic Multimedia Review
The Droid Bionic comes preloaded with a bunch of apps that occupy a chunk of its 16GB of internal memory. Among them: Amazon Kindle, Blockbuster, City ID, GoToMeeting, Let’s Golf 2, MOTOPRINT, NFL Mobile, Quickoffice, Slacker, Videosurf, and ZumoCast. It’s also packed with Google goodies like Maps, Navigation, and Places while Verizon pre-installs their entire VCast lineup.
It’s a mixed bag, but some of the apps I already regularly use (NFL Mobile, Slacker) and others I tried for the first time and enjoyed (ZumoCast, VideoSurf).
ZumoCast is pretty awesome: quick signup, quick install on your computer, and all of a sudden your phone can access any file on your computer from anywhere in the world. Of course your computer has to be online and running ZumoCast, but after setting this up once it’s like your own little free version of Dropbox. You can choose what folders and files to share with your phone and let me tell you- it’s worth downloading and trying out. While many people assume preinstalled apps are bloatware, ZumoCast is nothing but files-on-the-go goodness from Motorola. Great stuff.
VideoSurf is like Shazam for TV and Movies – pretty neat – but after thinking about it seems a lot less logical. Whereas you’re often listening to music with no way of identifying the artist/song, you usually have access to see the programming guide when watching TV or movies. Unless you’re watching YouTube or another online video source, but I found using VideoSurf on my desktop monitors with YouTube a lot less effective. Even so, cool idea.
Additional multimedia features include HDMI mirroring through the Micro-HDMI port, DLNA connectivity, and the ability to turn your device into a mobile hotspot if you pay for the associated plan. All of these features are well documented and work beautifully with the Droid Bionic, although I’ve always had headaches and troubles with DLNA across the board.
The enjoyability of the Bionic’s multimedia is due in large part to the hardware specs: the 4G LTE connectivity allow you to stream videos and load webpages with great speed and the processor and RAM give the device more than enough power to operate effortlessly. The nitpickers will point to the less-than-perfect display as a flaw when compared to other top phones, but the vast majority of folks will find it perfectly pleasurable for all types of multimedia viewing.
Bionic Camera Review
Of all the high-end features of the Bionic I was most disappointed with the camera. After seeing spectacular pictures captured with the phones like the Droid Charge, my bar for mobile picture taking has risen. The Bionic photo experience comes in under that bar. While it’s capable of taking great photos, there are a couple of problems and irritations that prevent it from being a top smartphone shooter. To summarize:
- Auto-focus is hit or miss and takes a few seconds to stick
- Pictures may mis-focus and appear blurry
- Colors can seem dull and/or washed out
The rear 8MP camera comes with an LED flash and auto-focus. I took several pictures in different environments with various settings and just didn’t see consistent results. See the samples below and click to enlarge each picture:
This picture of a flower is taken with all automatic settings and although the real-life color was vibrant and robust, we see the flower washed out and leaves too contrasted in the picture. Definitely doesn’t capture what I intended.
I got much closer on that same flower and used the Macro settings. Although the clarity and focus was good, something simply wasn’t right with the color balance. Interestingly enough, , what I saw in the viewfinder and what I saw once the picture snapped were very different, making me wonder if an imposed software filter causes unintended alterations. Maybe a software update can fix the color issues.
Landscape photos were generally better in terms of color and focus.
One thing I noticed was a delay/lag in the auto-focus finding a target and often improperly focusing, leading to blur. It didn’t happen the majority of the time, but enough to find myself resnapping the same picture several times on occasion.
The above picture is taken in a pitch black room and the results are as you’d expect: seeable but blurry when large. Not bad for a completely dark room though.
The above picture was taken with the front-facing VGA camera. Let’s face it: you aren’t trying to work masterpieces when using this camera, you’re either trying to video chat or take a self-pic. For these purposes, the Bionic was perfectly servicebale. Since I don’t have a British accent, standing in front of a bookcase full of Encyclopedias is my main gimmick to appear intellectual. Unfortunately, I’m undermined by the beard.
I found the 1080p video recording on the Droid Bionic to be really good considering the lackluster still photo results. Here is a video of my brother and I trudging into the backyard where a usually dry ditch made way for a steady stream during a crazy weekend of rain:
One thing I did enjoy about the Droid Bionic Camera was the software. Whereas I’m usually left sifting through menu after menu to find various settings and options over here and there and drag-click-open-zoom what? Yeah… the Bionic makes it easy with a simple side drawer that comfortably explains/expands further.
Let’s clear something up: unless you’re some type of mobile photo guru, chances are the Droid Bionic camera will be perfectly fine for you. There are plenty of settings to help optimize you pictures and I did indeed snap some good photos. It isn’t one of the best mobile cameras on the market by a longshot, but it’ll do the trick for your casual everyday photos- just don’t expect to blow up your Bionic photo of the Egyptian Pyramids into a poster for your wall.
Battery Life & Call Quality
The battery life and call quality are essential elements of phone use but typically get a footnote in reviews because of their unexcitability. The same goes here. I found call quality to be better than average and battery life to be average.
One thing Droid Bionic users NEED to keep in mind is to turn off resource intensive features when they’re not being used: this means 4G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, and other non-essentials. That alone will extend your battery life a good deal if you’re not already paying attention to these factors. I also imagine the Bionic will get more mileage out of the battery charge once more developers and Android in general better supports the dual-core architecture.
The bottom line is that the call quality is good, the speaker phone is reasonably loud, and the battery life falls in line with what any high-end Android Phone would yield. While I’d love to get more juice out of the Bionic, this is just an industry-wide issue that needs to be addressed. I’d suggest snagging a car charger and additional wall-charger so whether you’re at home, at work, or in-transit you can always stay plugged up. This and smart feature-use should solve a lot of your problems in the first place (with any phone).
Bionic Accessories
The Motorola Droid Bionic has a few accessories that are MUCH more interesting than car chargers and wall chargers. Try the Laptop Dock for example, which turns your Bionic into a fully usable laptop, promo image from Motorola below:
“Fully usable” is relative as you’re still limited to a somewhat netbookish environment but the nice thing is your phone does all the heavy lifting and already has your contacts, data, files, and information so no syncing is required. The Bionic actually powers the Lapdock which is more or less just a shell. Think Krang on TMNT. Or forget I just said that.
The Lapdock is kind of pricey at $300 but certainly a nice option. There’s also an HD Station for $100, Standard Dock for $40, Car Mount/Dock for $40, and Webtop adapter for $30. The latter of those is a nice bargain, allowing you to then connect your phone to an external display for using the Webtop experience that’s found on the Lapdock. It also lets you use the phone to scroll and type although bluetooth peripherals are welcome.
The Verdict
Friends and family constantly ask me, “What Verizon Android phone should I get?” and I’ve consistently told them, “Wait for a dual-core Android Phone with 4G LTE so that you’re phone is future proof.” Here it is.
The Motorola Droid Bionic is an excellent option, highlighted by the Bionic trio of 4G LTE, 1GHz dual-core processor, and 1GB RAM. A lot can happen in the 2-years until your contract is up, and these specs essentially “future proof” the Bionic, ensuring it’ll have the horsepower to run more resource intensive apps, games, and content as time goes on. It’s not the perfect device – the camera isn’t great and it’s missing a couple features like GSM/World radios and an NFC chip – but if these aren’t deal breakers then the Bionic is a top-shelf option and Verizon’s best.
Patient techies that crave the highest of high end phones may want to wait for the holidays when Verizon is likely to launch the rumored Droid Prime, but everyone else can confidently buy the Droid Bionic knowing it’s a great phone that should last them the duration of their contract… and considering the pace of today’s technology, that’s a mighty bold statement.
Good review!
This phone is great. The fact that it is now easily rootable means that this is phone is just going to get better. It would be in my hands right now if it wasn’t for one thing: the screen. I know a lot of people can’t notice it or say it doesn’t bother them but for me I can’t not notice it.
It won’t be easily rootable once the first ota is out since moto patched the exploit used to root, so unless you get one before it gets the first ota you will be most likely waiting awhile to root after that.
First of all I have to be a grammer nazi, “awhile’ is not a word. Second, if by “a while” you mean a week or two before somebody comes up with a different exploit, you’re probably right.
I think it will be more than a week and sorry grammar Nazi Damn.
Actually it is….. I guess you need to go back to grammer school!
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English; Old English āne hwīle (dative); see a1 , while
Usage note
The adverb awhile is spelled as a single word: After stopping in Hadley awhile, we drove to Deerfield. As the object of a preposition, the noun phrase a while is used, especially in edited writing, but the single-word form is becoming increasingly common: We rested for a while (or awhile ).
Wheres the Lapdock for the Photon…
This phone to me was worth the wait!!! Nice little perks and features to it and lightning fast in low coverage areas………Awesome device!!!
Nice review, and even though ROMS are imminent, I’m still waiting for the vigor (which I will call Vger). The delay with the the release of this thing just pissed me off.
Now, if we only had unlimited data…:(
Custom ROMs aside, I just can’t get excited about this phone, in current state.
I refuse to allow the ‘norm’ of Android phones only getting 8-10 hours with regular use. I despise my Droid Incredible for that very reason. I want… no NEED… a phone that can get me in to the next day on one charge.
I would much rather have a phone that is 4 mm thicker, but with a 1900+ mAh battery, than this super slim phones. Give me a phone that is usable, not one that looks great as a paper weight on my desk
Im pretty sure you can purchase the extended battery
The extended battery (2800 mAh) and back are well worth the extra $50, and do do add much to the phone’s size. I wish this had come standard.
25 Bucks for the extended battery . got mine at Verizon and its freaking rocking. Hope trident comes out with a case for the ext battery because im leaving this baby in.
then why not buy the extended battery? its 2760mah and per your wish its about 4mm thicker.lol. theres a very nice video review of it here
http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/09/droid-bionic-gets-extended-battery-treatment-proudly-struts-its/
I rather have 2 batteries than to have an extended battery
You can always have 2 or have a charger at home work and in the car. I have one at home and at my job
Can you do a comparison of the international samsung galaxy S2 and this phone in terms of 1080p playback, pictures, web rendering etc?. Thanks
this whole review is awesome.. wow. great job bro. the whole page really covers it all.. man.. your good.
Comparing this phone to nothing does not help a smart consumer. Please compare this to an international SGS2 to see how it really stacks up. Then, compare it to the US versions coming out this week or next week.
Why would he compare it to phones that haven’t even been released yet? Do you want a comparison to the Nexus Prime too?
And what would the point of comparing them to Euro phones since they are for completely different markets and consumers? The North American versions might be similar to the Euro versions, but they will still be different enough to make comparisons now pointless.
They have been released and used on the US networks. I want to see how this compares to phones that are months older. The international versions work on the US networks and have stellar reviews.
I want this phone (as crappy as I think it is) compared to what has set the bar for Android. I would expect a phone that comes out months later to be superior to the older phone. I suspect that it is inferior as do many people.
Great Review. Right to the point. I’ll say it anyways: Until the get that bootloader unlocked, no way! Stickin’ with HTC products.
I felt the same way, but with Google owning Moto now I feel pretty confident it will come. I could always be wrong, it’s happened before, but I have faith.
Moto said they were unlocking all their bootloaders soon, forgot exactly when though.
Thanks for the thorough review… all the others I read it sounded like the reviewer spent about 5 minutes with the phone.
I am loving the phone, and yeah the battery doesn’t last forever… but its pretty rare for someone to have a job where they can’t plug the phone into a car or wall outlet throughout the day if needed.
Still tinkering with all my apps & settings, but all I can say is this phone blows my OG droid out of the water, anyone with a 2 yr old android phone considering the Bionic will not be disappointed
failed in comparison to the GS2
Nice, I want that with GSM (and world) capabilities so I can just slip in a SIM when I go to South America and other places.
Im sorry, I was considering the bionic, but when I went into Verizon to check it out the screen just was horrible, maybe if it is your 1st phone it might be ok. Colors are washed out, greens look brown, and the dots. Plus it looks cheap, I’m waiting for a real phone. Sorry, I’m just not impressed. Did the reviewers get a pay off?
You are not the only one. All VZW stores by me have the Bionic as far away from all other phones so there cannot be a side by side comparison. I had the sales guy bring a demo phone over and compared the screen to the others (iPhone, Sammy, HTC, and LG). The Bionic was the worst of the bunch. Pretty sad that they chose to go cheap on the most important part.
Yes because you don’t like it means that everyone else can’t like it and that anyone who says they do is payed off…
The Anti-Pentile department are collectively crazy. I sat and compared the Bionic screen to the other 4G phones that were right next to it at the store. Not only was the bionic brighter the color reproductions were just fine. There was a minor difference in the grey tones between the Samsung and the Bionic (the former being marginally better). At an extreme viewing angle the Samsung was better, but I’ve no reason to look at the screen nearly 90 degrees. The dots were visible but only when held extremely close and under specific scrutiny.
I’m in a slightly unusual position, in that my unlimited data plan was grandfathered in when I updated to the Bionic, and that I got the Costco deal (which included a car charger, wall charger, standard doc, extra 1750 battery and charger, case, car mount, screens….it was quite a haul).
All that helps, but even without those things, I can say this is a kick-ass phone. Very snappy, very responsive, has just an unbelievable feel in your hands — thin and light, but remarkably solid. Honestly, the Bionic’s physical makeup is a great perk.
I slapped LauncherPro on over Motoblur and it is running great. The 4G is stupid fast, the 1GB of RAM (as the review states) makes a big difference. Can’t say enough about this phone.
I understand people are pissed that it was delayed, and I was really trying to hold out for the Vigor or Prime, if for no other reason than I resented the way Motorola handled the Bionic’s release. But now I’m using it, I am very, very glad I got it.
Couldn’t wait any longer, my Verizon contract with Unlimited Data was about to expire. Went ahead with Bionic even though I had heard interesting things about the Prime. My wife and I replaced our Original Droids with the Bionic on the 8th and we could not be happier. Excellent phone, incredibly fast downloads. Build quality is superb, feels / looks much better than the plastic of the HTC and Samsung Droids. Screen looks great to me…haven’t found a good reason to root it yet.
Unlimited data never goes away, even if your contract expires, you expired it when you upgraded because you signed a new one anyways, they let us keep the unlimited data until they decide to take away the grandfathering.
Excellent review, detailed and gave me information on just about everything. Problem I face is waiting for open source software that will actually take advantage of the Dual Core Processors. While unlimitted data is a must, the hype for this phone is great so expect a drop in the speed of service
2200-2500 quadrant scores is a beast? I wouldn’t go to xda EVO 3d forums bragging about it. On 2.3.4 roms without over clocking they are just under 3000. My best was 2880. It looks like a good phone, but my buddy checked it out and screen stopped him from buying it. Had all the specs he wants, but he couldn’t deal with the screen for two years he said. Told him prime snd vigor were worth the wait. Or he could just buy a feature, uh, I meant iPhone if the screen means everything.
Looks great, but $100 for the HD dock and $300 for the Lapdock??? Are they insane???
Wait for the prime, vigor, and next iPhone to be released. You’ll be picking this up on eBay/Craigslist at a good price with the accessories. These oems must not know about how crappy the economy is with these prices. Insane indeed.
Great Review, Love my Bionic! One thing I’d add is heat managment. I’m coming from a DX2 which would heat up significantly when doing just about anything. Playing intense games made it uncomfortably hot.
I’m only running 3G atm (Hey 4G, North San Diego County is waiting…), but there is little to no noticeable heat generation.
Thought I’d throw that out there.
All of these negative comments are a bunch of horse shi*. I’v’ been using this phone since it came out almost a week ago and it’s by far the best Android device out there. I’m also using the lapdock option and absolutely love it. Is there room for improvement? of course, but this is one hell of a phone.
I have to admit the reviews from droidlife and android central were good, but you guys blow them out of the water of yours :) you did a great job
http://mobilematinee.blogspot.com/2011/09/motorola-fire-android-gingerbread-is.html