Former Bionic owners

[kca2000]

I had a Bionic for 2 weeks. Then i returned it. I was constantly having problems holding any kind of data signal, Constant 4g drops. Saw the "No signal triangle" at least twice a day.

That aside, when it worked compared to the Gnex, I think the Gnex beats the bionic just about every way. Only thing i can say the bionic has is a heavier feel in the hand, feels more solid in construction, but i think the build quality is close between the 2.

Vibration is ok at best on both phones, i don't think either really excels in this category.

Battery life wise i am seeing a couple hours more out of the Gnex with the standard battery vs the bionic with the standard battery with average use. Add the extended to the Gnex and the margin grows even more, but the phone really does not.

Another huge plus is the Gnex feels awesome in hand. I found the bionic with its top end hump to be a little awkward when holding it. The minor hump at the bottom of the Gnex is barely noticeable and the phone is easy to handle even with a case.

Screens are both pentile, But you WILL notice it on the bionic with the right backround. I have not noticed it yet on the Gnex, The higher PPI really helps hide it. I didnt consider this an issue with the Bionic, but it was noticeable. Overall the Gnex AMOLED will blow you away, It really pops next to any other phone.

The final blow would be ICS, Its awesome and runs like butter on this phone. Plus with the constant updates from google, its only going to get better. Your making the right decision buy getting this phone.

 

[Newport Viper]

returned 2 Bionics in first 10 days becasue of BSOD... nuff said

Nexus = Flawless for me...

 

[anon(525422)]

Disclaimer: I only owned a Bionic for 10 days before I returned it, and that was my first Android device, so my opinion may not count for much.


Size/feel -- GN wins -- Not just the size of the screen but the shape, slimness, etc. It's more comfortable in my hand and doesn't feel like a brick in my pocket, which was definitely the case with the Bionic. [It actually feels (and is) even less chunky and weighty in my pocket than my iPhone 3GS + case despite the increased screen size, which is great.]

Build quality -- GN wins -- Feels like a good tradeoff of weight and solid build. Doesn't feel "plastic-y" to me, as others have complained. (Though the back cover attachment could definitely be improved; those prongs are gonna snap.) My Bionic flexed and creaked worryingly. It felt like a heavy plastic phone, whereas the GN feels like a light metal-built phone... if that makes sense.

Camera -- GN wins by default -- Not that I use it very often, but... The Bionic camera was a non-starter. Like, literally ... 10-15 seconds of attempted autofocus before finally giving up, settling for slightly-out-of-focus, then a shooting with a ridiculously slow shutter. Absolutely terrible. (Though allegedly being addressed with the Bionic update that's currently rolling out.) The GN can also take a while to autofocus, which isn't ideal, but the shutter speed is instant once you have the shot ready and I'm very happy with the quality (for my meager needs).

Notification LED -- Draw... maybe the GN -- Aesthetically I preferred the pinprick LED on the Bionic. The GN LED feels kinda big and fuzzy and klutzy compared with the sleekness of the rest of the phone, especially when it has to blend colors. That said, the GN LED since is substantially easier to see from across the room or out of the corner of your eye. You don't have to specifically look over at the phone to notice it, so I guess it actually carries out its function better and I'm beginning to appreciate that.

Radios -- Bionic wins? -- Eh. Not sure, didn't do extensive testing on either device and I don't make a whole lot of calls to notice lost or poor coverage on the fly. But this one may go to the Bionic -- it had no issues with reception in my apartment and was able to get consistent 4G in my office. (Downtown Manhattan, for the guy asking earlier). The GN hasn't been 100% in my apartment on calls, little crackly and flaky although it hasn't dropped a call. The GN seems to struggle in my office though: it cycles between 3G/4G and multiple different bars-worth of signal strength. The GN also manages substantially slower 4G rates from my office than the Bionic, about 50% of the speed if I remember the Bionic figures correctly. (GN: 5.7 down / 7.3 up is my best so far, just now. Bionic: about 16-18 down / 12 up was typical from the same location. Not sure if that's down the phone, having more 4G devices sapping bandwidth in the 2-3 months, or what.)

Screen -- GN, obviously -- I was way out of date on phones and knew nothing about pentile before I got the Bionic, yet it immediately disappointed me (despite having zero expectations) due to this pixellated-looking "texture" being so glaringly obvious. The GN is pentile too but the super-high resolution effectively nullifies any adverse visual effects -- you can barely tell it's pentile, and only if you know what you're looking for and if you study it very closely.

Audio -- GN wins -- The Bionic had a high-pitched hiss/hum/whine/buzz through headphones whenever audio was played, particularly noticeable at low volumes (and if you're sensitive to high pitches). Since I use my phone for music all the time, and generally in low-noise environments, it was a deal-breaker for me. The GN has no such issues and seems to have pretty solid audio quality, though I still haven't stuck all my music on it yet to test thoroughly. The GN does have an annoying high-pitched whine from the external speaker whenever the audio circuit is open, though; and annoyingly it sees to open the audio circuit all the time when navigating around the OS, even when in Silent mode. Again, if you're not very sensitive high-pitched sounds you probably wouldn't notice this much, though.

 

[CarryMe]

All in all I much prefer the Nexus but for the signal issue.

That is a pretty big "but for."

 

[meth68#AC]

I had 2 bionics over the course of 3 months, then went rezound for a week and now Nexus.

1) I had constant signal drops with my Bionic, not with my Nexus

2) Even where I had LTE i seem to get much faster speed with my Nexus. Best test is at my gf's house where I get a very good connection. On my bionic I would get a respectable 15/5 but with my nexus i get 30/15

3) Volume was louder on my Bionic, Volume+ seems to fix this, also adding your own tones does as well. For some reason the default tones on the Nexus are very low

4) Vibrate was better on my Bionic.

5) Camera isnt even close, the Bionic took a better picture if you could have people sit still for 5 seconds. The no shutter lag for me is much more important then the extra 3mp. I hated my Bionic camera's lag so much I just refused to use it.

So far I am a very happy Nexus owner.

 

[xcalibur1011]

Even though I don't have the phone yet, I think my only complaint will be the vibration function from reading everyone's feedback. but I keep my phone in a leather pouch on my belt.

Also when reading everyone's feedback I see some of you say the Bionic had bad battery,build quality etc.
My experience, the build quality was good no creaking squeaking, hated the bland design but I masked that with a carbon fiber skin. no drop calls, battery life sucked bad when I first got it, but since november it's been great I get a whole day. Before the update it would cut off on me for no reason and I would have to do a battery pull. As for 4G I live in NYC so there is no shortage of coverage, at work sometimes it goes between 3G and 4G but my job has WiFi.

 

[Ken7]

Anyone from NYC I would love to know how 3G and 4G are working for you, I'm looking forward to getting this phone after getting everyone's feedback

On Long Island (eastern Nassau & western Suffolk) the Nexus is better than my Charge was but not as good as my Bionic or Rezound in terms of 4G reception. My wife and I just ate at a CPK in the mall I've done my testing in. Same results today. As I walk toward the rear of the mall, my 4G drops to 3G which didn't happen with the Rezound or the Bionic which held 4G throughout.

I deliberately left my WiFi off today in the house to see what my time without a signal was. Today, as of this writing, it stands at 1% with no signal. I'm sure many of you get 0% with no signal, but that's what it is.

 

[Ken7]

That is a pretty big "but for."

Yeah, I know, but I'd still choose the Nexus over the Bionic. I've always said the ideal 4G phone would be the Nexus with the Rezound radio. Killer, absolutely killer.

 

[bplewis24]

2) Even where I had LTE i seem to get much faster speed with my Nexus. Best test is at my gf's house where I get a very good connection. On my bionic I would get a respectable 15/5 but with my nexus i get 30/15

Since LTE speeds were mentioned, I figured I would address this issue.

The LTE radio on the Nexus is a category 3 radio. The Bionic has a category 2 radio. Category 3 has a theoretical throughput of 100Mbps. The Bionic's radio has a maximum theoretical throughput of 50Mbps. In real world testing, with the same signal strength, the Nexus should wipe the floor with the Bionic every time.

I can confirm that with my Bionic I never received anything over 15-20 Mbps. But with my Nexus I can get 20+ often. With 3 bars I get typically 12-20Mbps. With 4 bars I can get upwards of 45Mbps! That's not too far from the peak maximum theoretical throughput of the actual bottleneck: Verizon's LTE network is only capable of 72Mbps.

Anyway, if you're one of the ones that is fortunate enough to have consistently strong signals (like me), this radio is excellent in speed.

Brandon

 

[SSHGuru]

I had the Bionic from the day it came out.

It's not a bad phone. However the GNEX blows it out of the water.

1) Screen on the GNEX is 10X better. The colors and blacks on the Nexus look fantastic. The whites which I was concerned about are BRIGHT once you take it off auto and put it at between 30 and 40% brightness. Unlike the Bionic I actually LOVE looking at the Nexus screen - especially the blacks which could not be any blacker.

2) Reception - I get better call reception in the house but worse internet reception. I think they will have a fix for this soon because it's very common. I don't think it's a hardware problem it's a software one.

3) Vibration - Unknown. The Bionic had terrific vibration. The GNex has it set fairly low but I would think they will allow us to set it higher. Also it's a different kind - it's a more pleasant buzz than the vibration of the Bionic. Jury still out.

4) Sound - I think they both get a tie here. There IS a software bug on the Nexus where video's play too soft. However when playing games and putting someone on speaker it's very loud and clear. I frequently have to turn down the sound when playing games.

5) Build - The Bionic was a disappointment. You expected the same build quality of the OG Droid and instead got plastic and creaky. I had to put electrical tape on the inside back to stop the creaking noise. I never felt the Bionic was built very well. The GNEX feels better than any phone I've ever held and it's VERY solid. Honestly I couldn't ask for more. I just ordered the extended battery which is supposed to be nearly the same size as the standard when put in.

6) The Look - The Gnex looks like a slick shiny black slab - ultra cool. The Bionic looks cheap. I compare the Nexus to the monolith in the movie 2001. Awesome. And when you turn it on where most of the screen is black the whole front looks like a screen - it's just terrific. I don't like the fact the power button is on the right and the volume buttons are on the left - I'm going to have to re-learn that.

7) ICS blows everything else away - can't even compare.

8) Camera - The Bionic was terrible. Even with third party programs you got a slow picture that was lacking in true color. The Nexus is fantastic and can take 10 pictures in the time you take one with the Bionic. I think the colors are great and if you learn how to hold the camera steady you can get some fantastic pics.

9) LED - The Bionic wins. I prefer a small notification light at the top right. The Nexus has a LARGE notification light on the bottom and it pulses. I keep the phone next to my bed at night and the first night my wife asked me what was pulsing light in the room - that's how bright it is. Since then I've disabled notifications but there is a bug and it keep re-enabling it. If I can make it not pulse and be much softer I'll use it again. It's not a huge deal either way to me.

10) Battery Life - I'm getting good battery life from the Gnex. The Bionic wasn't bad either. The big difference so far is that I'm trying to figure out how much I get so I haven't been charging it during the day like I have with all of my other phones. Generally without a charge I can get 12 hours + with 2 hours of screen time. If I plug it in when not using it I never have to worry (which I started doing today). I only ordered the extended because it's on sale for $25 and it's nearly the same size and doesn't add bulk like the Bionic's did.

 

[anon(525422)]

Even though I don't have the phone yet, I think my only complaint will be the vibration function from reading everyone's feedback.

Knew I forgot a point in my post earlier. The Nexus definitely has a more subtle vibrate. Personally I vastly prefer it: I found the Bionic vibration almost obnoxiously strong, since my phone spends more time on the desk beside me than in my pocket and it would sound like it was taking off. The GN might be too far the other way for some, but it has the haptic vibrate just right IMO.

Also, battery. My Bionic lasted 8 hrs tops on stock with minimal use. My GN isn't stellar but it's a massive improvement.

 

[nickacs]

I had a Bionic from launch day of that phone and had so many issues that I was able to get VZW to give me back my upgrade and refund my money on the Bionic so I could get the GNex. Got the GNex on launch day too and am thoroughly enjoying the switch.

If you don't mind me asking, how did you get VZW to refund you with your Bionic? Did you get your Bionic recently or back around launch date? I'm sooo contemplating getting rid of mine, but after 2 VZW store visits and 3 calls to VZW CS, I can't get a refund or a new phone exchange. I've had nothing but problems (BSOD, data connection, random reoots, etc) that most every other Bionic user has had and I'm totally fed up

 

[bplewis24]

Knew I forgot a point in my post earlier. The Nexus definitely has a more subtle vibrate. Personally I vastly prefer it: I found the Bionic vibration almost obnoxiously strong.

That's how I felt as well.

 

[SSHGuru]

Some store managers from what I hear will swap them out for the discounted price.

Some other people like me were lucky enough to keep the Bionic until the Nexus came out and swap it then for no money.

However the big difference is probably that I called VZ Customer Service the instant I heard about the RAZR and said that I was very disappointed that they would release a "flagship moto phone" and then 6 weeks later release a better one.

Since the RAZR was not out yet there was nothing to swap out. Then everything got delayed and I thought the Nexus would be out at the same time (I was wrong LOL) so I asked if I could choose and they said yes (same price...).

When I saw the problems with the RAZR I told them I wanted the Nexus but it didn't come out for a while. So I kept calling and keeping up with them.

I think the key was I was very pro-active about it so they had a record of all of my calls.

In the end they want to keep you as a Verizon customer because they make the money off the contract. I have a Family plan and have been using them for 12 years.

Certainly after how well they treated me I'll be a Verizon customer for a long time.

If you don't mind me asking, how did you get VZW to refund you with your Bionic? Did you get your Bionic recently or back around launch date? I'm sooo contemplating getting rid of mine, but after 2 VZW store visits and 3 calls to VZW CS, I can't get a refund or a new phone exchange. I've had nothing but problems (BSOD, data connection, random reoots, etc) that most every other Bionic user has had and I'm totally fed up

 

[bplewis24]

I also forgot to mention that the only thing I miss from the Bionic is the Zumocast app to be able to tap into my media server at home. Does anybody else know an app that functions the same way?

Brandon

 

[diesteldorf]

I agree. I did use zumocast and i thought i would miss it but i got all my music uploaded to google music and i am good to go.

Haven't read the whole thread but wanted to advise that Zumocast was modifed a month or so ago by XDA and now unofficially supports the Nexus---I was using it previously on my DX. It's a great (free) app.

 

[SSHGuru]

Never used Zumocast before so I don't miss it

 

[D1andOnlyOmen]

If you don't mind me asking, how did you get VZW to refund you with your Bionic? Did you get your Bionic recently or back around launch date? I'm sooo contemplating getting rid of mine, but after 2 VZW store visits and 3 calls to VZW CS, I can't get a refund or a new phone exchange. I've had nothing but problems (BSOD, data connection, random reoots, etc) that most every other Bionic user has had and I'm totally fed up

I sent a nice email to some executive office of VZW that there was a link to around here in one of the forums. Was a GNEX forum that wanted people to email about the "delay" of this phone, but I was more upset with my Bionic and really my complaint that I emailed them about was the service/treatment I received when I took the phone to 2 different VZW corp locations and called their tech support line.

 

[xcalibur1011]

Well I got the phone. I love it beautiful screen, good coverage........ but that damn vibration is beyond weak, I have to keep my phone on vibrate 90% of the day and with a weak vibration like that I won't know who is calling or texting. DAMN!!!

 

[kca2000]

Well I got the phone. I love it beautiful screen, good coverage........ but that damn vibration is beyond weak, I have to keep my phone on vibrate 90% of the day and with a weak vibration like that I won't know who is calling or texting. DAMN!!!

Yeah this was one of the few complaints i had as well. Not the best vibration motor.