I just want to get some feedback from those who had a Bionic and switched to the Nexus.Battery life, vibration, build quality etc.
Former Bionic owners
- Thread starter xcalibur1011
- Start date
I had the bionic since launch and I'm super happy with the switch.
I can't comment on battery life because I have the extended battery in the nexus because it was only $25. So it would be an unfair comparison.
The vibration is a little weaker than the bionic. But its still noticeable when I have it in my pocket.
I think the build quality is just as good. The nexus is thin but it feels durable. I don't think the plastic cheapens it at all. The bionics plastic back always bothered me.
The radio strength does seem weaker on the nexus.
Personally I thought the bionic camera sucked. So I welcome the new camera on the nexus. But to be honest, I don't use the camera that often. The thing thats important to me is the UI. And vanilla android beats (for me) anything that moto put on top. I never used zumocast or anything on the moto side anyways.
Any pictures you looking for comparison? Let me know. I still have both devices before I sell my bionic tomorrow.
I can't comment on battery life because I have the extended battery in the nexus because it was only $25. So it would be an unfair comparison.
The vibration is a little weaker than the bionic. But its still noticeable when I have it in my pocket.
I think the build quality is just as good. The nexus is thin but it feels durable. I don't think the plastic cheapens it at all. The bionics plastic back always bothered me.
The radio strength does seem weaker on the nexus.
Personally I thought the bionic camera sucked. So I welcome the new camera on the nexus. But to be honest, I don't use the camera that often. The thing thats important to me is the UI. And vanilla android beats (for me) anything that moto put on top. I never used zumocast or anything on the moto side anyways.
Any pictures you looking for comparison? Let me know. I still have both devices before I sell my bionic tomorrow.
So far I love the G Nexus! Feels much better in the hand. Vibration is strong, build quality is great, battery life is almost on par with the bionic.
If you dont mind charging your device at some point throughout the day, you should be happy with the Nexus.
.
If you dont mind charging your device at some point throughout the day, you should be happy with the Nexus.
.
Coming from the change is alright. The main reason I switched was cause this 1. ICS 2. Bigger screen that's HD 3. Nexus. I like the Bionic better as a phone
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
I had the Bionic since launch, up until the GN launched. That said, I love everything about the GN. Besides the radio issue. The battery could be better, but its definitely not horrible and I'm not going to complain about.
One thing I really like is how fast the camera is on the GN. I can snap a bunch of pics in no time at all. The Bionic camera seemed to take forever.
One thing I really like is how fast the camera is on the GN. I can snap a bunch of pics in no time at all. The Bionic camera seemed to take forever.
I find the Nexus feels more solidly built than my Bionic. My Bionic back always creaked & groaned.
The battery life (standard battery to standard battery) has definitely been better for me on the Nexus. I bought an extended battery, but more for the sale price than for a real need. I've been getting at least 12 hours with moderate use.
The camera seems better to me than on the Bionic, but I can't shoot in 16:9 on the Nexus which I like and was able to do on the Bionic.
The signal was stronger on the Bionic and the Bionic held on to 4G better than the Nexus. Hopefully a software upgrade will help, but no guarantees.
The vibration may be a bit stronger on the Bionic, but it's very close.
All in all I much prefer the Nexus but for the signal issue.
The battery life (standard battery to standard battery) has definitely been better for me on the Nexus. I bought an extended battery, but more for the sale price than for a real need. I've been getting at least 12 hours with moderate use.
The camera seems better to me than on the Bionic, but I can't shoot in 16:9 on the Nexus which I like and was able to do on the Bionic.
The signal was stronger on the Bionic and the Bionic held on to 4G better than the Nexus. Hopefully a software upgrade will help, but no guarantees.
The vibration may be a bit stronger on the Bionic, but it's very close.
All in all I much prefer the Nexus but for the signal issue.
radgatt
Well-known member
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.
Well i popped the charge card out and ordered it, I'll give it until January 10th to impress me. (I figure that is how long I have until someone takes up my offer on Craigslist).
After playing with my gnex 3 days straight I popped the bionic out of the drawer to get ready to sell it and I just thought.. Ewww how did I like that phone so much??
Lol the nexus takes some getting used to and it might not be for everyone.. But honestly I could never go back to the bionic now.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Lol the nexus takes some getting used to and it might not be for everyone.. But honestly I could never go back to the bionic now.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
What I miss on the bionic: Headpiece Sound Quality, Speaker Sound quality, better reception (maybe real or perceived. For some reason i preferred the feel of that flat gorilla glass screen. Seemed smoother to swipe across, but I may be crazy. I dont miss: Blur or Gingerbread, bloatwear, and the screen.I REALLY don't miss the camera. The nexus is hard to take a really clear pic sometimes, but I can try three or four shots in the time i could take one with the Bionic.
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. As far as comparison:
1) Definitely like ICS over GB
2) Stock experience is much better than Moto skin
3) GNex screen is nice, really like the size. But there are times here and there that I almost thing the colors and clarity of the Bionic screen were a little better, regardless of what a lot of people complained about with that phone.
4) Miss having the desktop dock I had for the Bionic on my nightstand. Hopefully it won't be long until the OEM one from Samsung with the 3-pin connectors will be available.
5) IMO the camera on the Gnex is better than the Bionic. I think the outside pics I've taken with the GNex so far are more clear than the few I took with the Bionic. Indoor pics have been about the same from what I can tell. The GNex being so much quick on the shutter is terrific and I don't have a problem taking a sec to make sure it's in focus to capture quality pics and still be quicker than the time it took to snap a pic with the Bionic.
6) Even though I set up Zumocast on the Bionic, I also started using Google Music once it became available and don't really have many other files on my laptop I would need to access from mobile so never really used Zumocast after I set it up. Never could get the one movie I loaded onto my computer to stream over Zumocast with the Bionic, so really not missing that feature at all.
7) I had a 2nd standard battery with my Bionic (part of the Costco bundle) and would find there would be days that even with what I didn't feel as all that much use, I would be swapping them out in the evening. I tried Juice Defender on the Bionic and it never really seemed to do much, other than be the cause of problems on the Bionic so my battery life on that phone wasn't great. IMO the standard battery on the GNex so far is exceeding what I was expecting coming from the Bionic experience and I'm giving Juice Defender (just the free version for now) a try again on the Nexus and it seems to be giving me a little bit better life even on just the basic "balanced" option without any other tweaking.
8) I personally find the build quality of both devices to be similar, and I would say both are above average. Definitely loving the slimness and light weight feel of the GNex and it doesn't feel the least bit "cheap" to me like I've heard/seen commented about for other Samsung phones. Feels like a much better quality than the Charge that my brother-in-law has, IMO. I would agree with other comments on the back cover of the Bionic feeling cheaper and being "creaky"....certainly don't have that on the GNex, but of course I'm not removing it as much as on the Bionic so maybe that loosened it up some.
9) From my time with the GNex so far, I would say that the call quality is pretty much the same as the Bionic. Haven't had any problems with that speaker or any trouble hearing person on the other end.
10) Probably the one thing that I would have to complain about with the GNex so far would be the ring/notification volume. Never had any trouble hearing the Bionic and generally had the ring/notification volume at about 3/4 or a little more. Mostly have to have the GNex on full volume all the time and if it's in my jeans pocket I might miss hearing it....even now with cold weather here and wearing my Columbia coat which has a handy zip pocket on the left chest I tend to carry my phone there rather than my jeans pocket and I feel like I don't hear it sometimes being that much closer to my ear.
Overall though, I couldn't be more happy with the GNex. Even the little issues I've come across I know will be fixed soon enough, and really much sooner than having to wait around on Moto to get the software updated.
1) Definitely like ICS over GB
2) Stock experience is much better than Moto skin
3) GNex screen is nice, really like the size. But there are times here and there that I almost thing the colors and clarity of the Bionic screen were a little better, regardless of what a lot of people complained about with that phone.
4) Miss having the desktop dock I had for the Bionic on my nightstand. Hopefully it won't be long until the OEM one from Samsung with the 3-pin connectors will be available.
5) IMO the camera on the Gnex is better than the Bionic. I think the outside pics I've taken with the GNex so far are more clear than the few I took with the Bionic. Indoor pics have been about the same from what I can tell. The GNex being so much quick on the shutter is terrific and I don't have a problem taking a sec to make sure it's in focus to capture quality pics and still be quicker than the time it took to snap a pic with the Bionic.
6) Even though I set up Zumocast on the Bionic, I also started using Google Music once it became available and don't really have many other files on my laptop I would need to access from mobile so never really used Zumocast after I set it up. Never could get the one movie I loaded onto my computer to stream over Zumocast with the Bionic, so really not missing that feature at all.
7) I had a 2nd standard battery with my Bionic (part of the Costco bundle) and would find there would be days that even with what I didn't feel as all that much use, I would be swapping them out in the evening. I tried Juice Defender on the Bionic and it never really seemed to do much, other than be the cause of problems on the Bionic so my battery life on that phone wasn't great. IMO the standard battery on the GNex so far is exceeding what I was expecting coming from the Bionic experience and I'm giving Juice Defender (just the free version for now) a try again on the Nexus and it seems to be giving me a little bit better life even on just the basic "balanced" option without any other tweaking.
8) I personally find the build quality of both devices to be similar, and I would say both are above average. Definitely loving the slimness and light weight feel of the GNex and it doesn't feel the least bit "cheap" to me like I've heard/seen commented about for other Samsung phones. Feels like a much better quality than the Charge that my brother-in-law has, IMO. I would agree with other comments on the back cover of the Bionic feeling cheaper and being "creaky"....certainly don't have that on the GNex, but of course I'm not removing it as much as on the Bionic so maybe that loosened it up some.
9) From my time with the GNex so far, I would say that the call quality is pretty much the same as the Bionic. Haven't had any problems with that speaker or any trouble hearing person on the other end.
10) Probably the one thing that I would have to complain about with the GNex so far would be the ring/notification volume. Never had any trouble hearing the Bionic and generally had the ring/notification volume at about 3/4 or a little more. Mostly have to have the GNex on full volume all the time and if it's in my jeans pocket I might miss hearing it....even now with cold weather here and wearing my Columbia coat which has a handy zip pocket on the left chest I tend to carry my phone there rather than my jeans pocket and I feel like I don't hear it sometimes being that much closer to my ear.
Overall though, I couldn't be more happy with the GNex. Even the little issues I've come across I know will be fixed soon enough, and really much sooner than having to wait around on Moto to get the software updated.
My friend told me to wait till the spring for the GS3,I slapped the SH........... I slapped him and said "I will never play the waiting game again. like I said I will hold on to the nexus until January 10th to see how it is.
Battery life: About the same, IMO. Both are solid for me. I don't leave 4G on all day, and only turn it on when I need it. I'm on wifi a lot. By the time I leave work, I typically still have 70% battery left. I experienced some type of battery/bug issue today that I haven't quite figured out yet, but other than today it's been very good for me.
Vibration: Not sure, haven't paid too much attention.
Build Quality: Two different types of phones. Motorola's build quality is 2nd to none, IMO. But they almost always go for industrial-strength designs that are low on The Sexy and high on The Reliable. The Nexus scares me in that I feel if I drop it, I may have to replace the phone. The Bionic and OG Droid didn't feel that way. Having said that, the ergonomics of the Nexus feel awesome. The shape of the phone and the thin-ness are great. The only thing I don't like about it is that the sides of the phone are somewhat tapered from front to back, which sometimes gives me trouble when picking it up. The sides of Moto phones are almost always completely flat and rigid, which makes them easier to grip. But the Bionic feels soooo much heavier, I could never see myself going back.
OS & UI: Stock ICS is so much more elegant than skinned, Motoblurred Gingerbread that is isn't funny. Even the little things like the pop up text field when you press on the search bar seems very refined and fluid.
LED Notification Light: I tend to prefer the very small light of the Bionic, because the size of it makes it appear more piercing, while the Nexus' seems more pulsating. But the larger, pulsating LED is growing on me somewhat.
Screen: Watch an HD Youtube video in portrait mode and wait until it goes full-screen on the Nexus. Game over.
Brandon
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
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Very smooth. I live in the very north bronx, get good 4G in my apartment. At work it's shady and switches from 3g to 4g a lot, so to save battery I often switch to 3g only while I'm there (no big deal). It's weird because my job site is closer toward the city a little so I would think 4g would be even better there but its worse, must just be a bit of a dead zone right there. Whenever I head into the city I get pretty great 4g everywhere.
It's like that with my Bionic at work and I work and in Manhattan or what you folks from the other boroughs call "THE CITY" lol, But at home Washington Heights I get 4G always.
Destroys my Bionic. I don't even know how to compare them other than the gnex destroys it in every way.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Oh, I forgot one of my main points of emphasis for comparison was comparing screen brightness, and specifically outdoor screen brightness on both phones.
One of the reasons I wanted the Bionic was because the RGBW Pentile matrix was supposed to increase brightness greatly while still having good battery life. The Nexus is RGBG matrix which should still have good brightness, but not at the level of the RGBW because of the lack of the white subpixel. This is important for me because I golf a lot here in California and use my phone as my scorecard and GPS rangefinder. My OG D1 would sometimes be tough to see in direct sunlight, but the Bionic was relatively easy to see.
So when I first got the phone it was bright, sunny day outside, and I took both phones out to test. The Bionic is brighter in direct sunlight at every brightness mode: 30%, Auto, the middle setting, and 100% brightness. But at 100% brightness and the auto-setting, they are the closest in brightness, and I had no trouble seeing the phone. I would say the Bionic was about 10% brighter though. I also played a round of golf on Saturday and experienced no issues. The phone works very good for outdoor viewing.
Brandon
One of the reasons I wanted the Bionic was because the RGBW Pentile matrix was supposed to increase brightness greatly while still having good battery life. The Nexus is RGBG matrix which should still have good brightness, but not at the level of the RGBW because of the lack of the white subpixel. This is important for me because I golf a lot here in California and use my phone as my scorecard and GPS rangefinder. My OG D1 would sometimes be tough to see in direct sunlight, but the Bionic was relatively easy to see.
So when I first got the phone it was bright, sunny day outside, and I took both phones out to test. The Bionic is brighter in direct sunlight at every brightness mode: 30%, Auto, the middle setting, and 100% brightness. But at 100% brightness and the auto-setting, they are the closest in brightness, and I had no trouble seeing the phone. I would say the Bionic was about 10% brighter though. I also played a round of golf on Saturday and experienced no issues. The phone works very good for outdoor viewing.
Brandon
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