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Considering this phone but have some concerns...

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octoberdana

Well-Known Member
I am looking into getting a new android phone so my daughter can have my iPhone.

I looked at the droid razr and I love the screen and the 3D effects but it is so wide and uncomfortable to hold in my small hands. (I wear a size 4 ring).

I like the build quality of the bionic but I have read that it is riddled with problems. I don't plan on using 4g. Am I still going to have data issues? How is the battery life? I can easily get through a work day on my iPhone. Is that possible with the bionic?

What do you like about the phone?

I am also considering the HTC rezound but my sat HTC one had the worst battery life and was cheap plastic.

Since I will have to use the phone for at least a year want to make a good decision.
 
I know people have had issues with their bionic but i haven't had many encounters with data drops, headphone squealing or many random reboots. I would say try it out and see if you like the phone.

Like you I like the bionics form factor. I actually think it has the best form factor out of all the 4g phones including the soon to be released galaxy nexus. Its not the thinnest but the overall dimensions are perfect for me. Another thing i like about it is the price, especially since you can get this phone for $199 or less with some places offering an accessories pack for free.
For that price, you'll be getting a fast 4g enabled phone that'll take you theough next year, IMO.

Good luck with your decision.
 
I live in a 3G only area, and I've had a total of 4 cropped connections, 2 random reboots (and both times it was just after updating an application from the market, but I don't know *which* one) and no headphone squealing noise, great battery life...

YMMV, as with any (mass produced) product
 
The Razr and Bionic are both excellent devices serving slightly different user markets. The iPhone is ... well ... an iPhone.

I suggest you go to a store, handle them all, and pick the one you like.

I chose the Bionic and have had one reboot (probably caused by an application) and a period of network outages (probably caused by Verizon upgrading to 4G).

If you were looking for a two-year decision I would recommend one that is 4G.

... Thom
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I had my doubts with all the problems reported. I tried the droid razr and returned it. Very thin, but it felt uncomfortably large. I bought the bionic and have had no regrets. I haven't had any of the reported issues. no reboots. I downloaded a couple apps that were buggy, but no issues with the phone itself. no 4G connectivity issues, none of that. I cannot even complain about the battery life and I have a standard battery. The issues I have had were minor (Swype keyboard acting odd, requiring me to power off and on the phone, an occasional and brief screen freeze when I unlock the phone) and in no way leave me with regret. Quite honestly I am pleasantly surprised. Even the camera (a source of angst for many) has been decent.
 
Maybe consider a different brand all together.....The Rezound seems pretty good, Nexus around the corner, have a friend with the Bionic....he does nothing but whine....and he was coming from a DINC.
 
al23 said:
I had my doubts with all the problems reported. I tried the droid razr and returned it. Very thin, but it felt uncomfortably large. I bought the bionic and have had no regrets. I haven't had any of the reported issues. no reboots. I downloaded a couple apps that were buggy, but no issues with the phone itself. no 4G connectivity issues, none of that. I cannot even complain about the battery life and I have a standard battery. The issues I have had were minor (Swype keyboard acting odd, requiring me to power off and on the phone, an occasional and brief screen freeze when I unlock the phone) and in no way leave me with regret. Quite honestly I am pleasantly surprised. Even the camera (a source of angst for many) has been decent.
Click to expand...

What a refreshing change of pace post.

... Thom
 
I had a Droid X for over a year, had no issues until my mouthpiece microphone died a month ago. I replaced it with a Bionic because I would have had to pay $100 deductible with Asurion to get the X replaced. I spent $199 @ Costco and got the Bionic with a whole slew of accessories (car dock, home dock, extra battery w/ charger, case, and car charger). It was worth spending the additional money to get all those accessories, 4G capability, and the increase in performance with the dual-core processor. Otherwise, it's basically the same phone. I am really happy with it so far.

The non-removable battery of the Razr is a dealbreaker for me, because I have found somtimes you end up having to do a battery pull to reset the phone, not to mention the potential service issues with an integrated battery.
 
SFWB said:
The non-removable battery of the Razr is a dealbreaker for me, because I have found somtimes you end up having to do a battery pull to reset the phone, not to mention the potential service issues with an integrated battery.
Click to expand...

On the Bionic you can hold down the Volume Up/Volume Down/Power keys until the menu appears and it then goes black. This is the same as a battery pull

I don't have a Razr. It must have something similar. Googling it says Volume Down/Power keys on the Razr to do the same thing.

... Thom
 
Thom Little said:
On the Bionic you can hold down the Volume Up/Volume Down/Power keys until the menu appears and it then goes black. This is the same as a battery pull

I don't have a Razr. It must have something similar. Googling it says Volume Down/Power keys on the Razr to do the same thing.

... Thom
Click to expand...

That's some great info, thanks.

My cousin bought a Razr. I will keep that in mind for when I get the phone call that her phone isn't working.

I'm still leery about the integrated battery from a reliability/service standpoint but it's definitely nice to know you can duplicate a battery pull.
 
The Bionic is a good phone overall. There's an awful lot of exaggeration about the problems people have with it(as with pretty much any topic on an Internet forum); it has a handful of quirks that are more annoyances than anything else and an update(an update is supposedly imminent) or two is likely to take care of them.

The Razr is a slightly more powerful Bionic without a removable battery. If you do not think you would use the Bionic in a way that takes advantage of the removable battery(carry spare batteries with you or use an extended battery) then you would be better off with the Droid Razr.
 
I wouldn't say there is alot of exaggeration about the phone not working. Alot of people have problems with the Bionic. That's a fact. If you buy a Bionic now you are taking a gamble of it not working and going through 2 or 3 of them until you get one that works, consistently. Or until they release the OTA update for it, which at this point could be tomorrow or in 30 more days, or who knows.

That being said the Bionic is a great phone when it does work correctly, which is less and less often for me. In my own opinion I would wait until a fix is out for the Bionic before picking it up, or look for a different manufacturer if you can't wait.
 
I've had 2 bionics. One i got from the forum's classifieds and one off a kid on Craigslist. Both have been great phones. I do experience data drops but after about 10 seconds it comes back and that doesn't interfere with any videos im watching. My only gripe is the camera. I take a lot of pictures and unfortunately I feel so useless next to my wife's charge lol
 
With the nexus coming out tomorrow, how much different is it from the Bionic? I'm thinking of picking up a Bionic in the next couple of weeks but I see nothing telling me that the Nexus is a better get- the phone is larger, which is a big negative in my book, the processor is similar, ram is similar. I know it has ICS but will I have a comparable device when I eventually upgrade the bionic to ICS? Thoughts?
 
Unless you're getting the Bionic for free, there is little reason to get it over the GNex. Off the top of my head, the GNex has a much better camera with "zero" shutter lag. I recall my Bionic had TERRIBLE shutter lag, making the camera practically useless. Probably software updates have taken care of that by now though. Also battery life will most likely be better on the GNex. I couldn't even get through an entire day (16-18 hours) on the extended battery with the Bionic. Plus having the "latest and greatest" phone over something that came out Q3.

That said, I have an iPhone 4S now and won't be going back to Android until Spring next year at the earliest (no more upgrades).
 
My advice ... NEVER compare a device in your hand to a specification of another device. Handle them both and pick the one you like.

The Nexus apparently does not have ...
-- removable SD-Ext card like the Bionic.
-- USB Mass Storage support like the Bionic.
-- FM receiver like the Bionic.

... Thom
 
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