King_Bean
Well-Known Member
Verizon can eat a d#!k if they water down the GS2.
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Droid Bionic or Samsung Galaxy S II?
- Thread starter droidfan1
- Start date
Verizon can eat a d#!k if they water down the GS2.
YankeeDudeL
Android Expert
For those wondering, you can order the D3 from Costco now for $99.99 on the Costco website. It's not currently in store, but the dummy units did come in yesterday. I'd expect we'd have it set up in store on Wednesday.
The keyboard is a definite upgrade. It's thinner than the D1 or D2, but it's still got the trademark tank feeling (heavy as crap). If it was 4G, and the Bionic weren't around the corner, I'd def consider it.
The keyboard is a definite upgrade. It's thinner than the D1 or D2, but it's still got the trademark tank feeling (heavy as crap). If it was 4G, and the Bionic weren't around the corner, I'd def consider it.
SirKronan
Android Expert
I believe it's a world capable phone. Pop a sim card in there and enjoy at least triple Verizon's speeds for an extra monthly fee!
King_Bean
Well-Known Member
Every time I feel myself leaning towards the Bionic, I go to Youtube and watch SGS2 videos and I'm blown away every time. The videos remind me of just how perfect the SGS2 is (for my needs).
However, this also raises another important point. The SGS2 is out already and has been out for some time now. It's not possible to make a solid decision as to which is better when one (the Bionic) is little more than speculation and very few true confirmations.
So, while it is true that the SGS2 makes me salivate, it would be absolutely silly (and unrealistic) of me to make a solid decision until the Bionic is out and has been tried and tested. If 4G were a deal breaker for me (it's not), then the SGS2 wouldn't even be in consideration (it would be either the Bionic or wait for another LTE device to come along).
Of course, there's no guarantee that the idiots at Verizon won't completely muff things up by giving us a watered-down version of the SGS2 but I'm operating under the premise (hope) that they won't.
However, this also raises another important point. The SGS2 is out already and has been out for some time now. It's not possible to make a solid decision as to which is better when one (the Bionic) is little more than speculation and very few true confirmations.
So, while it is true that the SGS2 makes me salivate, it would be absolutely silly (and unrealistic) of me to make a solid decision until the Bionic is out and has been tried and tested. If 4G were a deal breaker for me (it's not), then the SGS2 wouldn't even be in consideration (it would be either the Bionic or wait for another LTE device to come along).
Of course, there's no guarantee that the idiots at Verizon won't completely muff things up by giving us a watered-down version of the SGS2 but I'm operating under the premise (hope) that they won't.
SirKronan
Android Expert
Well, the SGSII Verizon variant may still ship with 4G. After all, it's coming out later than the Bionic, as far as current indications go. But we're all in that boat together. I really hope the Bionic AND the Function end up being excellent, because both Motorola and Samsung can really make some killer devices when they want to.
I pray Verizon doesn't somehow water down the SGSII.
rushmore
Extreme Android User
If Samsung was not getting beat up by Apple, the SGS2 would probably already be out or in August.
I don't think this has anything to do with Apple. If it did, they'd get the devices out the door quick before Apple would win and BAN their import. Either way they are going to want to sell them. If they win, they keep all their profits. If they lose, they pay Apple a portion of their profits. Either way, they make money if they sell them vs not selling any.
H
HanSolo
Guest
How about adding a Samsung Galaxy S II 3D to the poll?
Samsung Galaxy 3D coming by the end of the year? - Phone Arena
Ridiculous. What are we supposed to do, shell out $600 every 2 or 3 months when the "next best thing" comes around?
Greed sucks.
Samsung Galaxy 3D coming by the end of the year? - Phone Arena
Ridiculous. What are we supposed to do, shell out $600 every 2 or 3 months when the "next best thing" comes around?
Greed sucks.
King_Bean
Well-Known Member
Nope. Just be happy with your current device and realize that the "latest and greatest" is only marginally better than your current device, at any given time.
My rule of thumb with smartphones is that I'm fine with my current device just as long as it functions as it should. And it's also important to remember that there won't be phones that are significantly better than your current phone until at least a year after it was released. Anything within that 1-year window will only be marginally better than what you already have.
AntimonyER
CHANGED FROM AF ADDICT MIKESTONY
Well that is not necessarily true. There are times where advances in features and technology will quickly surpass the existing phones. LTE and dual core are the two biggest, but also qHD screens, and NFC all greatly add to the phone's features, and are hitting the scene around the same time. Yes it is true from the release of the first 1 GHz snapdragons, the phone tech was pretty stagnant for a year, but now we are hitting another jump, and the difference between a phone released in May or June vs. one released in Aug, Sept is HUGE.
H
HanSolo
Guest
Exactly. I bought an X2, then returned it within the 14 day window because I realized the big difference in phones that are supposedly going to be released only 1 or 2 months later.
If I had a working phone to carry me over another 2 months I'd definitely wait!
AntimonyER
CHANGED FROM AF ADDICT MIKESTONY
Ditto, I was crushed when my Incredible died last weekend. I have a chance at the Bionic if it does release the 4th, but otherwise I will be living with an older gen phone except for having LTE for 20 months. Very disappointed.
King_Bean
Well-Known Member
Yeah, it's all relative and I should have said that in my original remark. One person's definition of "HUGE" is vastly different than the next person's.
This is the way I look at it: for any given Android device (current device), it should be able to perform 85% of the functions that the 'latest and greatest' device can perform (within a year of the current device's release). Just as long as that 85% threshold is met, I'm happy. For example, I got my D1 on Dec 2009 and even when the Evo came out, I damn sure wanted one but I was cool because I realized that my D1 could still do 85% of the things that an Evo could do (with regards to the specs that I care about...for example, I didn't care about front facing camera or HDMI out, so those things weren't factored into the equation for me).
Finances are also an important factor. If I had money to burn, I would have gotten that Evo even though I knew I really didn't need it and it wasn't that much better than my D1 (with regards to the specs that are important to me).
However, just a few months ago, I reached the point where I felt my D1 is no longer 85% as "good" as the 'latest and greatest' devices. For me, once my phone falls well below that 85% threshold, it's time to upgrade and that usually doesn't happen (for me) until at least a year after my current device has been out (of course that will vary and like I've repeated way too many times in this post, the 'latest and greatest' specs are only impressive if the particular specs that are important to you...for example, LTE isn't super important for me).
King_Bean
Well-Known Member
And, by the way, you don't HAVE to give into the greedy corporations' planned obsolescence and shell out $600 every three months. You can always "suffer" with your current device until your contract is up. Just as long as your device is 85% as good as the 'latest and greatest' (with regards to the specs that are important to you), the "suffering" shouldn't be that bad. I guess that would have been a more concise answer as opposed to the novel I typed above.
BlueBiker
Android Expert
Just put a Type R sticker on the old device, and you're good to go.
SirKronan
Android Expert
They need to make some of these devices a good bit more durable then ... There are way too many OG Droid owners with duds or near duds waiting for their replacement to release. The Droid 3 would be good ... IF it had LTE. But then they wouldn't have been able to make it so thin. A lot of us are hoping the Bionic/SGSII finally gives Verizon an upgrade to actual up to date technology handsets. Verizon users have seriously gotten the shaft technologically speaking.
Three LTE handsets with single core processors. Yeah, you can download like a crazy banshee, but processor heavy content will stutter. So you have all these wonderful data speeds, but a single core to process and display that data with. Do they work ok? Yes. Are they fantastic for tethering? Of course. But it's not a complete package.
Then you have the latest two dual core beasties that Verizon has released - the second gen DX and the THIRD gen Droid w/keyboard. Both have killer processors that are capable of ridiculously good performance and battery life, but your data speeds are capped to WiFi only for good speeds, or 3G when you're out and about.
You can whine about the other carriers not having 'true' 4G as much as you want, but it's still 3-5 times faster than Verizon's 3G service on a good day. When you go from 1.4 megs on Verizon's 3G to something three to four times faster, that literally means the difference between being able to stream video in real time, and NOT being able to.
Get with the times, Verizon. You are MONTHS behind the other carriers when it comes to handsets.
johnlgalt
Antidisestablishmentarian
Well put. I have the original DROID - and I've made it still 85% as good, by rooting, OCing and running a variety of ROMs over the time period I've had it (since drop day), currently running CM7 Nightly builds and able to *use* my phone, in spite of 100+ apps installed and umpteen services that run on boot.
o_0
there are also plenty of us owners that have had no problems with our devices. My KB still slides out stiffly, my glass is not scratched, charge port works well, only thing is the paint peeling off the camera button. Bu I do agree that VZW seems to want to offer *either* 4G *OR* beasts for phones. No 4G beast *of* a phone, yet.
SirKronan
Android Expert
Yep. Rooting and ROMs definitely make my Fascinate up to par, speed wise, and the camera always has been quite good. A feature I've missed constantly, though, is video output. There have been many many times when this would've come in very handy. Looks like we'll be completely good to go on all fronts with either the Bionic or Function on Verizon. They just need to release them already. They have MORE than enough "half-superphones" already.
rushmore
Extreme Android User
Zero stability or performance issues with the D3, so considering the Bionic does not have a keyboard or GSM radios to also deal with, seems a given the Bionic will be solid stable as well.
The wild card is the LTE and if the Bionic will have the same battery and signal issues as the other three devices.
The wild card is the LTE and if the Bionic will have the same battery and signal issues as the other three devices.
drdoom
Android Expert
And how do you know that the Bionic will automatically have better battery life than the Thunderbolt/Droid Charge?
almahix
Android Enthusiast
With all due respect may I ask confirmed by whom? For my money everything now is just speculation. (I really don't care if it has 4g or not. I think it will be a long time before 4g is active where I am.)