Just got my Bionic!

**LearOne** · 10-23-2011, 07:39 PM

I received my Bionic on Friday and I am wondering if I should considering returning it and waiting for the RAZR. I'm not a big fan of Samsung, so I don't really want the Galaxy Nexus.

My experience so far with the Bionic has been pretty good. Though the signal could be better (a lot better), and the battery life I have tested with it so far has me questioning the Bionic too. I was able to take it from 100% to 0% in just over 2 hours of battery draining testing. The Thunderbolt held on until over 3 hours. This doesn't depict real life usage, however, I charged my phone to 100% last night, then took it off the charge and went to bed. I woke up with only 5% battery left (That's no 8 days as spec says).

From the RAZR specs, its suppose to last roughly 20% longer (And you have Smart Actions). Now I am not usually one to buy an extended battery, but having the option to do so is a nice feature to have with the Bionic. However, I am an ex-thunderbolt user and I never bought the extended battery or and extra battery (Though I admit, if the Thunderbolt's extended battery didn't turn into the hunchback, I would have bought one). There were only a few times where I had to stop using my Thunderbolt because it died or was about to die on me.

So here I am, 14 days to return. Stick with Bionic and maybe get an extended battery if I find that I need one. Or I can return the Bionic and get the RAZR, and hope that it doesn't need an extended battery.

What are your thoughts?

**doogald** · 10-23-2011, 08:29 PM

Originally Posted by LearOne

So here I am, 14 days to return. Stick with Bionic and maybe get an extended battery if I find that I need one. Or I can return the Bionic and get the RAZR, and hope that it doesn't need an extended battery.

What are your thoughts?

We will only know for sure when the Razr ships, but my hunch is that Motorola has not learned some dramatic trick that will give the Razr anything more than a few percentage point better battery than the Bionic. It could be that the Razr's AMOLED display uses less power, but I doubt that it is all that dramatic. I also imagine that the new battery saving software would be brought to the Bionic as well.

One thing about the Bionic - you can put in an extended battery, you can carry a charged standard battery replacement. You can do neither with the Razr (unless, of course, Moto has some sort of Mophi case for the Razr.) Then again, you can almost always find a charger at some point during your day - in your car, at your desk in the office, at home when you come home from work.

And Moto does sell this thing:

But, sure, go ahead and return it. Reading between the lines, you seem unsure of the Bionic, and for this much money on a two year contract, you should be 100% sure. Wait for the Razr (I think Nov 10 seems to be the biggest rumor date?). Then you can go with the best (or with the HTC Rezound; perhaps that will be better as well.) I think Verizon only allows you one return, though, so whatever you choose is yours.

As for the advertised standby time, I am sure that the phone will last nearly that long if you turn off WiFi and data and just let it be a phone. But who wants a smartphone to be just a phone?

**Noble.Four** · 10-23-2011, 08:34 PM

As somebody who just sold their Bionic, I'd say 100% return it while you can. It isn't a terrible phone, but this close to something a lot better, you should just wait. If for nothing else, the screen. The Bionic screen wasn't always bad. But when it was bad, it was bad. Don't give into impatience. I think Moto only released the Bionic so the public wouldn't go mad.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

**tdizzel** · 10-23-2011, 08:43 PM

or maybe you can make your own decisions instead of relying in the internet to do it for you. you either like the phone or you don't. what's so hard about that?
and if you're not capable of making your own decisions, then I suggest you get an iPhone.

**LearOne** · 10-23-2011, 09:13 PM

Originally Posted by tdizzel

or maybe you can make your own decisions instead of relying in the internet to do it for you. you either like the phone or you don't. what's so hard about that?
and if you're not capable of making your own decisions, then I suggest you get an iPhone.

Sorry, my wife has an iPhone 4s and I really just don't like it. I prefer to come on these forums to get advice about android devices and not iOS devices.

Thank you to everyone else for your advice.

**pdecell** · 10-23-2011, 09:29 PM

Wow only 5% battery left over night? Check out the threads here and on the Motorola Bionic forum for tips on how to improve battery life. If you are THAT uncertain about the Bionic then by all means return it. All I can tell you is that I got mine on 9/8 ; it was the best thing out there for me on 9/8 and I have no regrets about my choice.

All you really need to ask yourself is this phone (Bionic or Razr) going to be good for the next two years or so?

**Supraman35** · 10-23-2011, 09:55 PM

Return it while you still have a chance! Today alone I lost internet connection twice and just realized I had a BSOD about 5 minutes ago and had to pull the battery. So happy I spent $300 on the most unreliable phone on the nations most reliable network. Also, it seems my phone is getting worse as the days go by.

**LearOne** · 10-23-2011, 10:02 PM

Originally Posted by pdecell

Wow only 5% battery left over night? Check out the threads here and on the Motorola Bionic forum for tips on how to improve battery life. If you are THAT uncertain about the Bionic then by all means return it. All I can tell you is that I got mine on 9/8 ; it was the best thing out there for me on 9/8 and I have no regrets about my choice.

All you really need to ask yourself is this phone (Bionic or Razr) going to be good for the next two years or so?

Maybe my battery hasn't been worn in yet. I did take a look at what it said used the battery. About 50% Cell standby and 50% Phone idle (Screen and Android OS did have a little). I was surprised because it is set on Nighttime Saver mode.

I know that I will have to pay a restocking fee anyways, so I might as well test drive this Bionic out for a bit longer. Do you if you can return/exchange a phone in the store, when you bought it online? Or do you have to return it in the box via fedex? I guess another question I have is if you can exchange the phone for a preorder of another phone like the RAZR or Galaxy Nexus (Though, I don't really want the Nexus, unless they reveal amazing battery life)?

I guess it would be different if the Bionic was $150 or $200. But considering that the Bionic is $300, and the RAZR will be $300 (and out in the next couple weeks), it does feel like I am paying today's high end device price for yesterday's high end device.

**LearOne** · 10-23-2011, 10:08 PM

Originally Posted by Supraman35

Return it while you still have a chance! Today alone I lost internet connection twice and just realized I had a BSOD about 5 minutes ago and had to pull the battery. So happy I spent $300 on the most unreliable phone on the nations most reliable network. Also, it seems my phone is getting worse as the days go by.

I am very surprised by this. Through my 6 months on the Thunderbolt, the phone never froze on me. I did have some data connection issues, though.

With that said (and I know there are many posts about this), what if this issue finds it's way to the RAZR and you can't just pull the battery out? Maybe a key combo? Or what about when the battery gets weak after a year and you can't swap it out? Do you just call Verizon and you get a warranty replacement?

**BasPilot** · 10-23-2011, 11:15 PM

Originally Posted by Supraman35

Return it while you still have a chance! Today alone I lost internet connection twice and just realized I had a BSOD about 5 minutes ago and had to pull the battery. So happy I spent $300 on the most unreliable phone on the nations most reliable network. Also, it seems my phone is getting worse as the days go by.

I think this guy treats his phone like crap. My phone never has a black screen, never shuts itself off, never speaks to me in the night asking for me to just kill it and end its misery. Dude, this is a good phone. It is fast, powerful, and reliable in my experience. If you want this phone, keep it... if you want the razr, get it. Just gotta decide if the rumors are worth it because nothing is confirmed.

Remember, treat your phone right and it will treat you right.

**BasPilot** · 10-23-2011, 11:20 PM

Originally Posted by LearOne

I am very surprised by this. Through my 6 months on the Thunderbolt, the phone never froze on me. I did have some data connection issues, though.

With that said (and I know there are many posts about this), what if this issue finds it's way to the RAZR and you can't just pull the battery out? Maybe a key combo? Or what about when the battery gets weak after a year and you can't swap it out? Do you just call Verizon and you get a warranty replacement?

That is a hell of a good point. Batteries get bad. They go bad... they stop working as well.... is this a ploy by Motorola that if you buy this phone you will be forced to buy a whole new phone in a year and a half rather than a new battery! Aaaaaahhhhh.... I bet it is... bastards... first release a phone that I want so bad that I buy it, then release another one so you continue to make money, now I can't even change my bad battery in 18 months... I am jumping ship to an iPhone where every thought is thought for me.

**LearOne** · 10-24-2011, 09:02 AM

The battery was a lot better last night. Only lost 10%.

**dhendriksen** · 10-24-2011, 04:58 PM

Originally Posted by BasPilot

That is a hell of a good point. Batteries get bad. They go bad... they stop working as well.... is this a ploy by Motorola that if you buy this phone you will be forced to buy a whole new phone in a year and a half rather than a new battery! Aaaaaahhhhh.... I bet it is... bastards... first release a phone that I want so bad that I buy it, then release another one so you continue to make money, now I can't even change my bad battery in 18 months... I am jumping ship to an iPhone where every thought is thought for me.

Yeah, because it's really easy to swap out the battery on the iPhone...

**1812dave** · 10-24-2011, 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by DanH

Yeah, because it's really easy to swap out the battery on the iPhone...

LOL! I bought a replacement battery for an iPod. It took me over an hour (and lots of cursing) to swap batteries. I almost gave up! The battery pack was a tiny bit thicker than it should have been so I was nearly unable to get the case snapped back together. WHAT A HASSLE. I HATE Apple.

**doogald** · 10-24-2011, 07:03 PM

Originally Posted by DanH

Yeah, because it's really easy to swap out the battery on the iPhone...

Actually, it is. You bring it to the Genius Bar (or send it to them) with a check for $79 and they do it for you. A little pricey, but quite simple.

**1812dave** · 10-24-2011, 07:56 PM

Originally Posted by doogald

Actually, it is. You bring it to the Genius Bar (or send it to them) with a check for $79 and they do it for you. A little pricey, but quite simple.

Simple? Giving up your phone just to get a battery swapped, is "simple". get serious! that's a lousy way to treat consumers.

**viper8315** · 10-24-2011, 08:34 PM

All I have to do on my bionic is pop the back cover off, pull the old battery out, put the new one in, and put the cover back on. Now that's simple! :-P

**dhendriksen** · 10-25-2011, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by viper8315

All I have to do on my bionic is pop the back cover off, pull the old battery out, put the new one in, and put the cover back on. Now that's simple! :-P

Exactly.

I was just laughing at the guy that said it was so insane that Motorola made the battery non-removable, that he hated Motorola and was going to buy an iPhone.