Droid Bionic review

Droid Bionic: The Six Million Dollar Phone?

The Droid Bionic is Verizon's first 4G LTE smartphone to feature a dual core processor. The combination makes the Droid Bionic one of the fastest and most powerful phones available now. The 1 GHz processor is matched by 1GB of DDR2 RAM. It's also a rugged and stylish device.

The Droid Bionic measures 2.63" x 5" x .43" and weighs 5.6 ounces. That makes it a bit larger and heftier than the newly released iPhone 4S, but it slides easily into my pocket. I also have to say it feels good in my hand, and isn't slippery. I'm always afraid of dropping iPods and iPhones because of the slippery back.

Unlike the Apple iPhone, the Droid Bionic comes with a user replaceable battery and a slot for a removable MicroSD card of up to 16 GB capacity. Another 16 GB of flash storage is built into the Droid Bionic, for a total of 32GB. Battery life is rated at 650 minutes of talk or 200 hours on standby. I use my phone sporadically throughout the day, for a combination of calling, texting, web surfing, while running a variety of apps that pull data to update my mail, news, weather and other data. (It also helps me write long run-on sentences much faster than ever.) The battery lasts the day, and I plug it in at night - no problem. If you use wifi or Google Maps, you'll drain the battery much quicker, but that's to be expected.

It's a little harder to get to the battery, as compared to my previous phone (the original Droid) but that's not a bad thing. No more accidentally popping off the battery cover while yanking the phone out of my pocket - the Bionic requires a determined tug to pop off the back case, where the battery, SD memory card, and SIM card are found. Wait, did I see a SIM card in a Verizon phone? Yup, the Droid Bionic has a 4G LTE SIM card (as do all Verizon 4G phones) that's specific for your phone. So it's no longer true that only GSM phones have SIM cards inside. The Bionic can operate in CDMA mode (like most Verizon 3G phones) or in CDMA+LTE 4G mode.

How Fast is Dual Processors and 4G?

Is it fast? Listen Bud, it's got radioactive umm, sorry. Mixed my metaphors and super-heroes there. But yes, the Bionic is fast. The dual processors make a difference in boot time, and everything feels more fluid than on my old-school Droid. Apps open quickly, and I especially enjoy quick access to my photos and videos. I'm lucky to have a 4G connection at my home office, and using the SpeedTest app, I've clocked top speeds of 12.5 Mb/sec (download) and 7.0 Mb/sec (upload). Yes, that's easily ten times faster than a typical 3G network speed, but surfing the Web on the 4G Bionic doesn't feel 10X faster than on a 3G phone. Faster, yes. Maybe a lot faster - but it's hard to quantify when latency and the occasional tall building factor in. But if you do any downloading, gaming or online video, you'll definitely notice.

The Droid Bionic's screen is a 4.3 inch qHD display with 940 x 540 pixel resolution. Its surface is Corning "Gorilla Glass" for extra protection against scratches and cracks. The rep in my Verizon store tried to sell me a bunch of screen protectors, but I really don't think you need one with this new glass.

Below the display are the standard Android touch-sensitive buttons (Menu, Home, Back, Search). The left side of the phone features a MicroUSB port and a Micro-HDMI port. On the right side is a volume rocker. On the top edge is a headset jack and a power/sleep button. Two cameras are included: an 8 Mpixel 1080p video camera on the back and a user-facing VGA cam for video chat and self-portraits.

The Droid Bionic, like other Droid phones, is compatible with three peripheral devices from Motorola. The Lapdock ($299) provides a netbook-like experience for your Droid Bionic, with a larger screen, real keyboard, and trackpad. A Vehicle Navigation system ($40) enables hands-free use of the Droid Bionic while driving; you can navigate via the phone's built-in GPS, listen to music, or make calls. The standard Docking Station ($40) is more than just a charger; you can also turn your Droid into an alarm clock, listen to your music, and more. Bionic can also connect to an HD Docking Station ($100) which connects the phone to a computer monitor or TV through HDMI. This lets you run apps such as games, video and a full Firefox browser on a larger display. You also get three USB ports, so go ahead and plug in a keyboard and mouse if you like.

The Droid Bionic is loaded with the latest Gingerbread Android operating system. It costs $300 and is available only on the Verizon network. Expensive? Yes, but it's the same price as the 32GB iPhone, which does not offer 4G. Overall, I'm very happy with the Bionic -- no iPhone envy here!

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