How do you like the Bionic?

TeamCozumel · Oct 5, 2011

I'm starting a new Droid Bionic thread to just get some feedback on how folks like it.

We purchased two of them the day they came out and we love them. The 4G LTE really makes a difference when we use the internet. We also use PDAnet so hooking up our laptops is like having broadband at home. Webpages snap open instantly. I also use the hotspot option on the xbox so Black Ops games are incredibly smoother and I get more kills!

We're even using it at mom's place near Olympia Washington. She has DSL through the local phone company but our Bionics are faster than her DSL.

What is your experience so far?

mcavoy33 · Oct 7, 2011

I'm tempted to get what, but how much bandwith do you use gaming? Could I use it to stream netflix or would it be too costly?

Rocketman · Oct 7, 2011

I've got one. This is my first smart phone so I have nothing to compare it to. With that said, I really wasn't impressed with it at first. There was just too much to understand about how it works and getting enough apps to do what I want it to do.

Now that I've had it for a week or two, I've found a lot of really cool apps and I'm getting better with using the phone. My biggest complaint has been the keyboard. I had a phone once with a slider keyboard and loved the physical keys. This virtual keyboard (is that what you call it?) is really tough to get used to...for me at least. I paid a few bucks for an app from Beansoft called Thumb Keyboard. It has helped a lot. It can be customized to suit. It took a few tries to get it right, but I'm starting to like it a lot now.

My biggest complaint at the moment is the battery life. Mine doesn't last long at all if I'm using the phone. I haven't timed it, but I doubt I could browse and post on EO for more than an hour before it's dead.... maybe quicker.

Dakota · Oct 7, 2011

The battery life is a problem with all smart phones the days of going a day or two on a charge are gone....

Turtle · Oct 7, 2011

Dakota said:
The battery life is a problem with all smart phones the days of going a day or two on a charge are gone....

Because I know it's coming (Scott), I've got to say that since the hardware and software of the iPhone are co-designed specifically to enhance battery life, poor battery life really isn't an issue with the iPhone the way it is with the other smartphones.

blackpup · Oct 7, 2011

Regarding poor battery life, your phone may be running apps in the background that are killing the battery life. Read about that problem some where, one suggestion was to keep the background apps from running .

This article might be useful

http://cs.dogpile.com/ClickHandler....0d&ep=1&hash=776CB4329061FE6A0B7ED023FFF5C96F
jimmy

scottm4211 · Oct 8, 2011

Turtle said:
Because I know it's coming (Scott), I've got to say that since the hardware and software of the iPhone are co-designed specifically to enhance battery life, poor battery life really isn't an issue with the iPhone the way it is with the other smartphones.

I wasn't gonna mention that....

Dakota · Oct 8, 2011

Turtle said:
Because I know it's coming (Scott), I've got to say that since the hardware and software of the iPhone are co-designed specifically to enhance battery life, poor battery life really isn't an issue with the iPhone the way it is with the other smartphones.

I stand corrected....actually I am sitting, but that is beside the point

Turtle · Oct 8, 2011

People with orthopedic shoes.... they stand corrected.

Dakota · Oct 9, 2011

Turtle said:
People with orthopedic shoes.... they stand corrected.

Or people wearing Dr. Martin's

AMonger · Oct 11, 2011

I'm kind of surprised. I thought the Bionic was supposed to be all that and the proverbial bag. I just read a review last night cnrt, iirc, that said it wasn't all that impressive. I was ready to go out and get one; I've got to get away from tmo.

Turtle · Oct 12, 2011

AMonger said:
I'm kind of surprised. I thought the Bionic was supposed to be all that and the proverbial bag.

It is, and a pickle on the side. Of course, in a few months the bag will be empty and the pickle long gone,

I just read a review last night cnrt, iirc, that said it wasn't all that impressive.

Where did you read that at, iPhone Quarterly? Any honest review will note that it's far and away the best combination of wireless and device speed we've seen yet. 4G LTE is impressive, so is dual core. I can't see how that combination could be not all that impressive.

Reminds me of the article I read the other day where someone figured out why the iPhone's screen will always be 3.5 inches. It's because 3.5 inches is the perfect size, and it will never be any larger because it was designed to be the exact size it is, simply because one's thumb can reach the entire swath of the screen. He called it genius and revolutionary. Of course, when the iPhone comes out with a bigger screen it will be hailed as highly innovative, exciting, and likely genius. Someone will then point out that lots of smartphones have had bigger screens for a long time, and the standard canned response will be, "Yeah, but Apple is the first one to get it right," wish is exactly the responses fanboys are giving to Apple's revolutionary voice commands software on the new iPhone, which doesn't work any better than the voice commands I've been using on the Droid for nearly two years. And so it goes.

I was ready to go out and get one; I've got to get away from tmo.

I finally got around to getting a Bionic (and the Otterbox Defender case) yesterday. It's pretty sweet. Very fast, and the 4G made reinstalling a snotload of apps go incredibly quick. The free subscription for the entire season to NFL Mobile is kinda kewl.

There is a problem with the app from the Marketplace called "app2sd" in that it moves the apps to the SD card, where they promptly disappear upon reboot. Until a fix is found, just leave everything on the internal storage. There's certainly plenty of it.

mcavoy33 · Oct 12, 2011

AMonger said:
I'm kind of surprised. I thought the Bionic was supposed to be all that and the proverbial bag. I just read a review last night cnrt, iirc, that said it wasn't all that impressive. I was ready to go out and get one; I've got to get away from tmo.

I think I'm going to go with the I-phone as well on my next upgrade.

scottm4211 · Oct 12, 2011

I have both an iPhone and a Motorola running Android with 4.1" screen. The bigger screen just does not work for my hand size.

Turtle · Oct 13, 2011

Bionic has a 4.3" screen. It's big. Very big. I like it a lot, but it's very big. Any bigger at all and it wouldn't fit in my pants pocket. Unless you're an NBA forward, it's very tough to hold it in the palm of your hand and do everything you want with your thumb. It's great for viewing stuff, Web, pic, videos, but it's just about as large as I'd like it to be.

chefdennis · Oct 13, 2011

Ok, with my daughter being within the Verizon family, she keeps telling her mom and I that we need to upgrade to the Bionic...

Now, neither of us have any phones that run any kind of apps at all..nothing, just plain old cell phones, I have one that doesn't even have a camara in it, its that old....SOOO..as complete illiterates to these "smart" phones with their "apps", do we jump into the "newset biggest Bionic or go with something else to "learn" our way around???

LOL, not that i don't trust my daughter, but she is really a "salesperson"!!!! LOL...

scottm4211 · Oct 13, 2011

Dennis I think that phone is probably physically too big for your wife to comfortably use.

paullud · Oct 13, 2011

chefdennis said:
Ok, with my daughter being within the Verizon family, she keeps telling her mom and I that we need to upgrade to the Bionic...

Now, neither of us have any phones that run any kind of apps at all..nothing, just plain old cell phones, I have one that doesn't even have a camara in it, its that old....SOOO..as complete illiterates to these "smart" phones with their "apps", do we jump into the "newset biggest Bionic or go with something else to "learn" our way around???

LOL, not that i don't trust my daughter, but she is really a "salesperson"!!!! LOL...

Any phone with a Droid OS will work close to the same. I wouldn't get one of the less marketed phones as they usually fall off of the list for software upgrades. Any smart phone will take some time to learn but it is the same for anything new.

Posted with my Droid EO Forum App

chefdennis · Oct 13, 2011

LOL, Scott, do remember the post about my "black eyes"....

She isn't really interested in a new phone at all. but you know how your kids can be...me, I like some of the features but i don't use what i can on my simple plain job now....but i figure it is time to move into the "modern era"....lol...so i was just lookin for advise that doesn't come from my "salesperson" daughter...

scottm4211 · Oct 13, 2011

I think for someone who doesn't really care to upgrade the bionic could be overwhelming. You should go for it yourself and get the princess a new iPhone