DROID Bionic Released, Priced At $300 (PHOTOS)

Motorola has given birth to a new smartphone, and its name is Bionic.

A full 9 months after being unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the DROID Bionic, the newest Android phone from Motorola, has been released on Verizon. The 4G LTE device boasts a 1 GHz dual-core processor, 16GB storage with a 16GB removable SD card and a 4.3'' multitouch display screen. It's got a front camera and 8 megapixel rear camera, the ability to be a wireless hotspot for up to 5 devices and the latest build of Android, also known as Gingerbread. The DROID Bionic will cost $299 with a two-year contract from Verizon (fresh off its win as the strongest network in America, according to J.D. Power and Associates).

Motorola, recently bought for $12 billion by Google, had delayed the release of its Bionic cell phone for months and months, which had some convinced it would never hit the market. Originally slated for an early spring release, the Bionic was pushed back to summer and given a total redesign before being pushed back again to September.

For more technical specs and photos of the long-awaited Bionic, head over to Motorola's website, or to Verizon's to get your own. Also check out a few photos of the new smartphone below:

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Comments

[Sunzuki]

07:01 PM on 09/10/2011

Here we go, this is the start of the unravelling of Android. Does anyone seriously think that Google and it's shareholders will allow it's subsidiary, that cost them all $12.5 billion, to sink if it carries on as it did when it was a part of the Motorola Group?

[NielsH]

07:13 PM on 09/09/2011

I have a Nokia (don't even know the number). It allows me to make calls, I can even be called, it has SMS and an alarm, just like the first cell-phone I bought twelve years ago. I appreciate this particular set of features and really don't care for anything more. As a computer programmer I basically live behind my laptop, which has a decent keyboard and much bigger screen than a phone could reasonably have, so please forgive me my lack of enthusiasm for the latest smart phone and a deep disdain for the childish droid v iphone comments.

[romano70]

11:49 AM on 09/11/2011

Your disdain is fully noted and subsequently ignored. Go back to your computer screens, just because you don't know what to do with technology outside your work, doesn't mean the rest of us can't either.

[g4dualie]

05:42 PM on 09/09/2011

Funny. Apple's competitors have always marketed their products as though they were magical and possessed unnatural properties that could be unlocked for the right person.

Verizon favors this approach, using lighting bolts to split trees, which yield some new magical device that will be used to summon the all elements of the universe and maybe get them laid.

The PC was the same way. Especially, from the box-builders, who probably snickered and snorted under their breath as they built the next machine that would unleash the secrets of the Universe.

iPhone is not magical nor reptilian, it's just a goof box that makes calls.

I love my iPhone, and there is only one thing that is sooooooo much better than my iPad, and that's my Mac.

[moozungu]

05:50 PM on 09/10/2011

Yep... it is really just about the marketing...

[Mister Grumpy]

01:44 PM on 09/09/2011

Thanks........ but I'll stick with my Samsung Charge.........

[imonlyhereforthelaughs]

01:08 PM on 09/09/2011

Hmm...looks suspiciously like a Droid.

Listen, I rag on the Apple products for their evolutionary advances, too.

[ilostmypistons]

09:29 AM on 09/09/2011

This Moto Bionic phone is junk!!! Wait til the iphone5 comes out its gonna have super duper 3g and a huge 4"screen(maybe if not 3.7) and amazing new ios5 features like pull down notifications, wireless connectivity and maybe even a widget or two just like android were gonna party like its 2010. This changes everything

[LotusGeek]

02:04 AM on 09/09/2011

In my household we have two people with iPhone 4s, and 3 types of Android phones (HTC, Optimus, mine's a Tmobile/LG G2x). There is NOTHING that the iPhones can do that mine can't. We've compared every app that ships and stuff available at the app stores. We compared free apps only, just to keep it fair.

We've compared signal strength, pic and video taking, multimedia stuff (movies, youTube, etc.). Again, they do the same things. The biggest diff is my phone is faster (dual-core processor), it records/playbacks in HD, can be hooked up to my HDTV via HDMI and play back in native HD; you can play games with it on the HDTV too, which is fun ;)

This schoolyard sniping about "iphone wannabes" is just stupid. If it works, does what you want, is available on your preferred network, and is at a price you feel is fair, then buy the damn phone, whatever it may be. But trying to besmirch and attack a phone... really? How old are we here?

As far as how this article's phone compares to other Android phones - it's another of the "current generation" of Android phones that have the Tegra dual-core processors. My phone (and the LG flavor) was the first. I believe that every maker of Android phones will have a similar model within the next 3-6 months.

Android? iOS? Who cares.

Does it work? Does it do what I need? THAT's what matters.

[No Yards]

05:40 PM on 09/10/2011

For the most part you are correct, the two platforms have some different capabilities, but mostly they are very similar. iPhone is for people who want a closed system, and Android is for people who want an open system ... each system has its natural advantages.

The problem is that Apple doesn't want anyone to have that choice ... the people that want an open system would be forced to use a closed Apple product ... and that's not just some meaningless "marketing speak", Apple has lawyers all over the world right now filing frivolous law suits aimed to do just that.

[moozungu]

05:57 PM on 09/10/2011

Steve Job's legacy will not be how great mac products look and are easy to use, it will be his splintering of the web for personal financial gain. His creation of a private garden may enable him to yield more wealth, but in the end when consumers have to buy multiple devices to view all the web has to offer or purchase every piece of software or media through a particular device's app store well then Jobs will not be the hero that he is today

[Sunzuki]

07:08 PM on 09/10/2011

If you had spent years and tens of millions of dollars creating a UI and then another company came along, looked at it, copied it and then started selling it, wouldn't you want to stop that?

Why bother creating unique software when somebody can just copy it?

Capitalism doesn't work like that, if you had a brainwave and invented an amazing piece of technology, started selling it and another company practically copied it completely, your saying you would just be like "Whatever dude, people like, have choices, and stuff."?

[PATRICKO0796]

01:43 AM on 09/09/2011

Just a heads up to those who want to purchase. I saw that Costco had the Bionic for $279 bundled with a bunch of goodies. The bundle includes a standard dock, a vehicle navigation dock, and a battery charger that comes with an extra battery. These accessories alone ring up at around $158. The guy told me he sold out in the first 20 minutes. Said they'd be getting more on Tuesday.

[458Kid]

12:34 AM on 09/09/2011

Like all Android phones, they lack that "special" factor because there are so many, which is why Iphone 4 has no real competition...unfortunately.

[ruoth]

02:32 AM on 09/09/2011

So according to you the Iphone 4 is special because they are few???

[helioszephyr]

11:07 AM on 09/09/2011

because there are so many droid hardware mfrs, not to mention numerous models for each mfr. There is only one for the iPhone.
Meaning, the droid market is fragmented, more of the same, and very little differentiation between them.

[imonlyhereforthelaughs]

01:11 PM on 09/09/2011

And iPhones are so rare????

[dsa1115]

08:57 PM on 09/08/2011

Another IPhone wanna be.

[orbs]

09:44 PM on 09/08/2011

Not even.

Though I suppose you likely believe all towels, wash cloths, toasters, t-shirts, jeans, hats, TVs, lamps, homes, doors, tires, bags, shoes...etc etc of products that each have a basic fundamental design are all wannbes of who ever came up with them first way way wayyyyyy back in the day.

Besides, the iPhone isnt even original in design, function capability and use. They copied Motorola, Seimans, Microsoft, Sony/Erricson and Nokia. Their only innovation...a marketing campaign that pinpointed the most gullible chunk of cultists consumerism has ever seen.

[OS2Guy]

11:38 PM on 09/08/2011

LOL! Yes Yes, Apple "copied" Motorola which is why everyone uses an iPhone today and Motorola is struggling to survive. Get a grip numbchuck, the Droid Bionic is DOA.

[LotusGeek]

02:07 AM on 09/09/2011

You say the iPhone zealots are, "...the most gullible chunk of cultists consumeris­m has ever seen. "

I believe the Harley-Davidson zealots have them beaten, hands-down. When you can get a large chunk of the population to **tattoo your logo** onto their bodies you have a pretty zealous consumer base.

[EricBishop]

09:55 PM on 09/08/2011

Close, but it's not exactly in the iPhone niche. This phone can actually make and receive phone calls and allow you to talk to someone over a cellular voice network.

[Hopalongpoppyseed]

08:49 PM on 09/08/2011

OK, what is the monthly bill, including all taxes, for the two year contract? No prevaricating please; just the facts.

[Andres64]

10:05 PM on 09/08/2011

My bill, w/unlimited data and 450 minutes is about $70

[Hopalongpoppyseed]

10:36 PM on 09/08/2011

Thanks Andres.

[Elbrando]

04:48 PM on 09/08/2011

I would rather have my own arms ripped off and replaced with cellphones than to EVER be with Verizon. My only wish for this phone is that they allow other carriers to use it.

[SoCalNick]

05:31 PM on 09/08/2011

Must be a local thing.. have been with them for many years.. not one single complaint or problem in any area. Same thing with everyone I know out here.

[The Dood]

05:57 PM on 09/08/2011

Been with them for years also...absolutely no complaints! Best coverage out there and have never had a problem with customer service...

[Highball]

10:35 PM on 09/08/2011

It's always local. Lots of people complain about ATT, and yet where I live and spend most of my time, coverage is great. A few people I know who have Verizon, they have trouble.

Obviously, the reverse is true in other places. It all comes down to which carrier and where you are.

[Andres64]

08:30 PM on 09/08/2011

I love Verizon. Had them for many years.

[SoCalNick]

04:33 PM on 09/08/2011

LOLOLOL I just Noticed all of the Ibots on this thread talkin smack!

Don't hate because the Phone does so much more.. And as SOOO Many Ibots say all the time.. If you can't afford one then don't buy one then. Not that that is the point but it seem that is what Ibots think it is all about.

Android outsells Iphone globally 100 to 1 at LEAST... there are 500K a DAY Activated and growing. Stop hating and just strut around with YOUR phone and leave everyone else alone.

Why are you here ANYWAY???

That is all

[Vincent Archuleta]

06:47 PM on 09/08/2011

You're a moderator? You sound like an Android groupie spouting off half-truths.

[JohnTheMac]

07:28 AM on 09/09/2011

well, no one said he DRINKS in moderation!

[skraeling]

07:17 PM on 09/08/2011

I agree...my only complaint is there is no one anywhere that can instruct the tech ignorant which most people over 45 are, in the easy and useful ways to make these work for us...Verizon in my area is great...I would like to get one of these but it would be just a waste of money and effort until I learned what it could do. I have to confess, I get irritated when people go to places and use them like cafes' theaters, etc....then, when they meet a live person, they have nothing to say....oh well.....sometimes age has its benefits...

[SoCalNick]

04:28 PM on 09/08/2011

This just may be enough to PRY my Droid X out of my hands. I need to see how the Battery life is.. I understand there are Issues with Dual Core Processors and Battery life. I hope they beat it like when they came out with the Sandy Bridge Mobil Quadcores for Laptops.

If so I AM IN!!

That is all

[NoLeHace]

05:13 PM on 09/08/2011

I was talking to a representative at Verizon and he stated he thought the battery life would be better than the Samsung Droid. Dam oldtimers desease, I can't remember the name. Got one for my son and he loves the samsung. I gave him the choice of that and the Iphone. But with a 4G it will suck the power.

[MikeXRyan]

04:21 PM on 09/08/2011

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

[OS2Guy]

11:42 PM on 09/08/2011

I have to agree here. I bet, within six month, Motorola announces the discontinuance of the Droid Bionic and quickly announce the upcoming release of the Droid Bionic VIII with improved battery life, higher screen resolution and 8 gig of hard drive space. Long live what is left of Motorola.