Motorola Droid Bionic

The Motorola DROID Bionic is the hotly anticipated, just launched latest Verizon 4G phone.

One of the hottest Verizon phones since its launch last year, the Bionic boasts a number of highlights including the 4.3 inch display with a front-facing camera for video calls and a main camera of 8 megapixels with HD video capability. There’s also HDMI output support so you can connect the DROID Bionic directly to your large screen TV for watching videos or games.

Previous Verizon 4G phones like the HTC Thunderbolt and the DROID Charge have been good phones but until now Verizon has lacked a device that many of us have been waiting for – a dual-core processor running on a true 4G LTE network.

Yes, we were waiting for blisteringly fast phone on a blisteringly fast 4G network. Now we have it in the shape of the Motorola DROID Bionic.

Motorola have also given us 1080p HD video recording, a 4.3-inch qHD display, and Android 2.3.4. all in a Bionic that’s had a very cool and sleek design.

Design & Feel

This phone really feels like it’s part of the DROID family. In the hand it feels a lot like a DROID X2, just a little thicker. The new look also makes it feel more like the current Motorola Android lineup.

The combination of 1GB RAM, very snappy 1GHz dual-core processor and the 4G LTE network make this one hell of a fast phone. Previously, the Samsung DROID Charge was arguably the fastest phone on the planet but the dual-core has the speed edge over the single-core Charge.

Display

The qHD LCD PenTile 4.3 inch display is bright with great viewing angles and capacitive touch that’s responsive, with everything protected by a layer of ultra tough Gorilla Glass. PenTile displays are a new screen technology from Motorola that results in a brighter screen with much improved battery consumption.

Software

The Bionic gives us Android 2.3.4 out of the box with a custom UI by Motorola. Thankfully, the days of the MotoBlur UI are over, so there’s no reason to let that put you off considering the Bionic.

As well as the Android apps you’d expect to see on a Droid phone – like Gmail, Google Maps and Navigation – you’ll also find GoToMeeting, Quickoffice, VCast Music, Verizon Media Manager and Verizon Back Up Assistant, Blockbuster, Let’s Golf 2, Netflix, ZumoCast and several others. Most users will find many of the apps useful but it’s a shame that many can’t be deleted from the 16GB memory. It would have better to offer at least some of the titles as optional downloads.

Once nice addition is the MOTOPRINT feature which lets you print via wireless to networked printers. No doubt this is feature that will be coming to many upcoming Motorola phones.

Call Quality

Motorola has built a reputation for excellent call quality and the Bionic doesn’t disappoint. Both incoming and outgoing call audio is great and the noise cancellation technology works great. There’s full Bluetooth support and you can use 4G data transfer while on a voice call.

Camera & Video

The main camera on the DROID Bionic is an 8 megapixel with HD video capture a 1080p, while the front-facing camera is a 0.3 megapixel unit. That’s not a typo, the front camera really is 0.3 leaving it adequate for video calls but not much else. It’s a shame that the redesign didn’t include boosting that up to the 1.3 megapixel that become standard.

Image quality of still photography from the 8 megapixel is good but not exceptional. That said, the HD capture is exceptional and noticeably better than many other phones.

Great Battery Life

One of the problems with 4G phones traditionally has been battery life. All that power used for 4G tends to drain the battery quicker than a 3G phone. Thankfully, the large 1,735 mAh battery on the Bionic performs well. Many users report the battery life as the best they’ve experienced from a 4G device. Checkout the reviews on Amazon Wireless from early Bionic adopters – they talk about battery life extensively, especially reviewer mdanger21 who gives some great tips on getting the best battery life on this and other 4G phones.

Web Browsing

In a word? Fast, as you’d expect from that combination of dual-core processor and Verizon 4G. There’s also full support for Flash and HTML 5. The Bionic flies along.

Other features include Quickoffice for viewing and editing documents, a full calendar app, conference calling and support for corporate email with data encryption and remote wipe feature that allows sensitive data to be erased from the phone if it’s stolen.

Review Summary

The Motorola DROID Bionic was a long time coming but it was worth the wait. With only a minor complaint here and there – the low res front-facing camera, for example – the Bionic is solidly built, exceptionally fast dual-core phone with a great feature set and of course Verizon’s famously fast 4G network. If you’ve been wavering between staying with a high-end 3G phone for dual-core speed or grabbing a 4G phone for the much faster web connection speeds, you no longer need to decide between one or the other. They’re both in the DROID Bionic.

Price Options

Verizon is selling the Bionic for $299.99. Amazon is selling it from $180 to eligible customers. Check if you’re eligible here.

DROID Bionic Specs

4.3-inch 540×960 qHD display, 1GHz dual-core processor, 8 megapixel camera with 1080p video capture, 16GB internal memory, 1GB RAM, MotoPrint support for wireless printing

Check out our full DROID Bionic Specs sheet & compare with other Verizon 4G phones.