Well, I was going to hang in there until I was up for a renewal in 2012 but I got a deal on a Bionic with a bunch of accessories so I decided to take the plunge.
I wanted to chime in with a few specific observations as I have gone from an X to an X2 and now to the Bionic.
Bionic Pros (compared to X2):
-LTE. This is obvious! The power drain is annoying but I knew that going into it. What I was not preapred for are the frequent 4G drops and the resulting battery depletion as the phone frantically switches between 3G and 4G.
-Improved 3G speeds. I don't know if it's a glitch in Speedtest but I am regularly seeing 3G speeds on the Bionic howevering around 1.6 or 1.8Mb or even a bit higher, whereas on my X2 , 1.3 to 1.4 was about the best I could do on a good day. Web pages generally render a good bit faster on the Bionic vs the X2, though I would attribute some of thise to the additional RAM and faster CPU. Youtube even does much better on the Bionic's 3G. With this in mind, I generally leave LTE off during the day at work unless I am really needing the speed boost, which helps out a bit on battery life.
-GPS satellite lock occurs a good bit faster on the DB than on the X2 (but not as fast as my old X)
-Additional internal storage. I was always short on space (the internal SD card) on my X2. The Bionic still does't give you the full 16GB advertised (naturally), but having 8.0Gb free out of the box on the internal SD card means i can finally dump all of my games on there (especially those Gameloft monsters) with room to spare.
-1GB RAM. Truly a blessing after battling with the X2's lack of free RAM
-The Bionic's pentile screen is a mixed bag compared to the X2. The DB's screen has a dimmer, more yellowish tent but it does MUCH better on fleshtones compared to my X2. It also has less ghosting when gaming. However, the X2's screen looks overall crisper, whiter, and the colors have more "pop". The X2's screen is also dimmer at lowest brightness (good for reading e-books in bed) but is also MUCH brighter at max brightness. The DB has a more narrow range of brightness adjustments. Overall, I'd say I still prefer the X2's screen for everything but photo viewing/editing.
-1080p video recording is nice to have, even though it chews up a microSDHC card in no time. I think the 720p videos on the DB are a touch smoother than the X2, even though the audio doesn't seem as crisp. I like the new Blue camera app in the D3 & DB and really wish it would get ported to the X2.
-The new quickdial widget (swipe down from top of the screen) reminds me of the good old Palm OS Treo and Centro days. I just wish I could customize the default numbers for it but it's still a cool touch.
-I have had a small but noticable number of games that ran on my X2 refuse to run on the DB (and I don't mean TegraZone exclusives). Overall, howver, the DB still has some reliability issues but it does seem a tad more stable than the X2 running 2.3.4, especially with a full load of browser tabs open at one time.
Droid Bionic Cons (compared to X2) :
-Earpiece speaker isn't as crisp or as clear as the X2
-Haptic feedback vibration isn't as crisp as X2
-Audio output is really noisy. I cannot bear to listen to my MP3s on the DB. It is supposedly a bit better with the latest leaked update which I may try over the long weekend.
-I REALLY miss my X2 physical buttons!
-The DB's build quality is good EXCEPT for the battery cover. It squeaks, it wiggles, and generally makes the backside of the device feel like a low-end phone despite the lovely finish on the front of the DB.
-Camera, especially in 6Mp widescreen mode, is even slower and more sluggish than the X2's camera! I think the DB is a superior camera for outdoor shots but the X2, after the 2.3.4 update, seems to handle dimly-lit indoor shots better. The DB definitely does better on video recording, as I mentioned above.
-The DB desperately needs the Photon's physical camera button!
-Even with screen animations turned off, there's too much eye candy and animations/transition effects going on with the DB's implementation of Blur.
-Volume buttons are too low on the DB and too easy to hit by accident.
-I miss the X2's center-mounted, more pronounced power button. The DB's button seems a tad fragile and hard to find. And again, I miss being able to wake my device up by pressing the physical home button.
-Did I mention I miss my Tegra2-exclusive and enhanced games!
-DB's touchscreen is less sensitive and requires more of a "push" sometimes (and doesn't feel quite as rigid as the X2's glass). I loved the super-sharp accuracy of the X2's screen. I could really type proficiently on it! However, the lag when turning haptic feedback on lessened the X2 experience for me.
-The DB is slightly wider than the X and X2 and is even less comfortable to use one-handed. Also, with the optional extended battery and cover installed, this thing is really thick. I could see people with smaller hands having major issues BUT that's a small price to pay for a removable battery AND expandable storage AND a dedicated microHDMI port in one LTE device!
If I had to buy any new VZW phone today, it'd come down to a toss-up between the Bionic and the Rezound. The Droid 3 X2, and Charge would be my runners-up. I wouldn't touch a RAZR due to its sealed battery. I really wish the RAZR had ended up as an LTE version of the X formfactor, removable battery and all.
Also, I have not used Webtop mode nor do I have any interest in it so I cannot comment on that.
Overall I would cautiously recommend the Bionic to current X or X2 users IF you need a hardware and network speed boost. Otherwise, it sucks to see a year+ investment in Droid X series cases/batteries/peripherals go down the tubes. I jumped on the DB because I have always been a Moto guy and I wanted to grab what may be the final LTE handset with expandable memory and a replacable battery.
I wanted to chime in with a few specific observations as I have gone from an X to an X2 and now to the Bionic.
Bionic Pros (compared to X2):
-LTE. This is obvious! The power drain is annoying but I knew that going into it. What I was not preapred for are the frequent 4G drops and the resulting battery depletion as the phone frantically switches between 3G and 4G.
-Improved 3G speeds. I don't know if it's a glitch in Speedtest but I am regularly seeing 3G speeds on the Bionic howevering around 1.6 or 1.8Mb or even a bit higher, whereas on my X2 , 1.3 to 1.4 was about the best I could do on a good day. Web pages generally render a good bit faster on the Bionic vs the X2, though I would attribute some of thise to the additional RAM and faster CPU. Youtube even does much better on the Bionic's 3G. With this in mind, I generally leave LTE off during the day at work unless I am really needing the speed boost, which helps out a bit on battery life.
-GPS satellite lock occurs a good bit faster on the DB than on the X2 (but not as fast as my old X)
-Additional internal storage. I was always short on space (the internal SD card) on my X2. The Bionic still does't give you the full 16GB advertised (naturally), but having 8.0Gb free out of the box on the internal SD card means i can finally dump all of my games on there (especially those Gameloft monsters) with room to spare.
-1GB RAM. Truly a blessing after battling with the X2's lack of free RAM
-The Bionic's pentile screen is a mixed bag compared to the X2. The DB's screen has a dimmer, more yellowish tent but it does MUCH better on fleshtones compared to my X2. It also has less ghosting when gaming. However, the X2's screen looks overall crisper, whiter, and the colors have more "pop". The X2's screen is also dimmer at lowest brightness (good for reading e-books in bed) but is also MUCH brighter at max brightness. The DB has a more narrow range of brightness adjustments. Overall, I'd say I still prefer the X2's screen for everything but photo viewing/editing.
-1080p video recording is nice to have, even though it chews up a microSDHC card in no time. I think the 720p videos on the DB are a touch smoother than the X2, even though the audio doesn't seem as crisp. I like the new Blue camera app in the D3 & DB and really wish it would get ported to the X2.
-The new quickdial widget (swipe down from top of the screen) reminds me of the good old Palm OS Treo and Centro days. I just wish I could customize the default numbers for it but it's still a cool touch.
-I have had a small but noticable number of games that ran on my X2 refuse to run on the DB (and I don't mean TegraZone exclusives). Overall, howver, the DB still has some reliability issues but it does seem a tad more stable than the X2 running 2.3.4, especially with a full load of browser tabs open at one time.
Droid Bionic Cons (compared to X2) :
-Earpiece speaker isn't as crisp or as clear as the X2
-Haptic feedback vibration isn't as crisp as X2
-Audio output is really noisy. I cannot bear to listen to my MP3s on the DB. It is supposedly a bit better with the latest leaked update which I may try over the long weekend.
-I REALLY miss my X2 physical buttons!
-The DB's build quality is good EXCEPT for the battery cover. It squeaks, it wiggles, and generally makes the backside of the device feel like a low-end phone despite the lovely finish on the front of the DB.
-Camera, especially in 6Mp widescreen mode, is even slower and more sluggish than the X2's camera! I think the DB is a superior camera for outdoor shots but the X2, after the 2.3.4 update, seems to handle dimly-lit indoor shots better. The DB definitely does better on video recording, as I mentioned above.
-The DB desperately needs the Photon's physical camera button!
-Even with screen animations turned off, there's too much eye candy and animations/transition effects going on with the DB's implementation of Blur.
-Volume buttons are too low on the DB and too easy to hit by accident.
-I miss the X2's center-mounted, more pronounced power button. The DB's button seems a tad fragile and hard to find. And again, I miss being able to wake my device up by pressing the physical home button.
-Did I mention I miss my Tegra2-exclusive and enhanced games!
-DB's touchscreen is less sensitive and requires more of a "push" sometimes (and doesn't feel quite as rigid as the X2's glass). I loved the super-sharp accuracy of the X2's screen. I could really type proficiently on it! However, the lag when turning haptic feedback on lessened the X2 experience for me.
-The DB is slightly wider than the X and X2 and is even less comfortable to use one-handed. Also, with the optional extended battery and cover installed, this thing is really thick. I could see people with smaller hands having major issues BUT that's a small price to pay for a removable battery AND expandable storage AND a dedicated microHDMI port in one LTE device!
If I had to buy any new VZW phone today, it'd come down to a toss-up between the Bionic and the Rezound. The Droid 3 X2, and Charge would be my runners-up. I wouldn't touch a RAZR due to its sealed battery. I really wish the RAZR had ended up as an LTE version of the X formfactor, removable battery and all.
Also, I have not used Webtop mode nor do I have any interest in it so I cannot comment on that.
Overall I would cautiously recommend the Bionic to current X or X2 users IF you need a hardware and network speed boost. Otherwise, it sucks to see a year+ investment in Droid X series cases/batteries/peripherals go down the tubes. I jumped on the DB because I have always been a Moto guy and I wanted to grab what may be the final LTE handset with expandable memory and a replacable battery.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram