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Motorola delays Droid Bionic launch until summer to make 'several enhancements'
There's not a lot of details on this one, but the Wall Street Journal has just confirmed with Motorola that the launch of the Droid Bionic will be delayed until summer, and that it might not be available for purchase until sometime in the third quarter (or late summer, in other words). As for the reason for the delay, a Motorola spokesperson would only say that the company is "incorporating several enhancements to make this an even better consumer experience," based on feedback its received since the phone was announced way back at CES in January.
Droid Charge shows its colors in Verizon training docs, Droid Bionic gets killed off?
Samsung gave us the basic specs on day one, but Verizon's sparing no detail this week, as it trains employees how to effectively sell the LTE-packed Droid Charge to those of us who live and die by how many devices we can connect to our hotspot (10) and size of our bundled microSD card (32GB). Droid-Life brings us those revelations, while Phone Arena has a rumor somewhat upsetting if true -- that site's anonymous tipsters claim that the Droid Bionic is no more. They say that the Atrix-alike's Tegra 2 processor wasn't playing nice with Verizon's LTE baseband chips and had overheating issues too, and rather than expend more effort to fix the incompatibilities, Motorola simply gave it the boot. However, Phone Arena's quick to mention that the "Droid Bionic" name may live on, as Moto will allegedly be grooming the top-shelf Targa to replace it. We're reaching out to Verizon right now, and expect we'll have an official "we do not comment on rumors and speculation" before long. Update: Motorola tells the Wall Street Journal that the Droid Bionic has been delayed.
HTC Sensation versus the rest of the dual-core world: smartphone spec sheet smackdown
We got to feeling a bit curious about how exactly HTC's latest Android superphone, the Sensation 4G, stacks up against its fellow dual-core competition, so we did what every geek does in such situations, we compiled a chart. Included in this list are the finest and brightest Android handsets from each of the major manufacturers that have gone dual-core so far: the Galaxy S II, the Atrix 4G, the Optimus 2X / G2X, and HTC's own EVO 3D. As it turns out, there are quite a few commonalities among these phones (besides the benchmark-crushing performance). They all boast screens of either 4 or 4.3 inches in size, the minimum amount of RAM among them is 512MB, the smallest battery is 1500mAh, and yes, they all have front-facing video cameras. Basically, it's the future of smartphones, reduced to a stat sheet. As such, it must also come with the warning that specs aren't everything, and user experience will most often depend on the software available on each device and on the preferences of the human holding it. With that proviso fully digested, join us after the break for the data.
Droid Bionic and HTC Merge hit Best Buy website, accessories galore
Prices and release dates for the HTC Merge and Droid Bionic are still eluding us at the moment, but we have at least found a place where you can load up with add-ons. Best Buy's mobile accessories site is listing both phones, complete with pictures, and while there's no information provided about the handsets themselves, this certainly would seem to point to a release in the very near future. Oh, and if you had any doubts these handsets would be compatible with the many and myriad Bluetooth headsets on offer at BBY, you need worry no more. [Thanks, Matt]
Motorola Droid Bionic in FCC? (update: or Xoom?)
It's common knowledge that the Droid Bionic is the ever-so-slightly-lower-end CDMA cousin to the mighty Atrix 4G, lacking a little RAM and compatibility with the interesting Laptop Dock. Otherwise, though, you've still got that lovely 1GHz Tegra 2 action and dual-band 802.11n, which is actually how we came to suspect that this device that just passed the FCC today is indeed the Bionic. Dual-band WiFi support is still exceptionally rare -- the Atrix 4G has it, of course -- so when you add that in with a CDMA cellular radio, that gives us plenty of evidence to work with. No word on a release date yet for this thing, but let's hope it doesn't trail the Atrix by long, right? Update: Wireless Goodness makes some interesting points that suggest this could actually be the Xoom, not the Droid Bionic; most notably, the documentation makes reference to a non-removable battery, which would leave the Bionic out of the picture. That would also make sense considering the Xoom's imminent availability, versus the Bionic's rough Q2 target.
Droid Bionic appears on Amazon with $150 price tag, quickly disappears again
Something's seriously going on over at Amazon's Wireless store where the Droid Bionic, a Verizon sibling to AT&T's Atrix 4G, has today been spotted listed for sale with a $149.99 price. That matches the levy Amazon asked for the Atrix last week (before promptly yanking the page) and seems to confirm that the $150 price point is receiving some sincere consideration for these 4G-equipped handsets. The Bionic's page has now also disappeared into the ether, but the memory of its delectable promise remains. [Thanks, techcruncher]
Motorola Atrix 4G and Xoom tablet launching at the end of February, Droid Bionic and LTE Xoom in Q2
Motorola had one of the best CES showings of any company in recent memory, and now we've got some rough ship dates for all that new gear: CEO Sanjay Jha just announced on the company's earnings call that the Atrix 4G for AT&T and 3G Xoom for Verizon will arrive at "the end of February," while the LTE-enabled Droid Bionic and LTE Xoom will arrive at "the end of the second quarter" as previously promised. That sounds good to us -- and with that earlier Best Buy leak suggesting the Xoom will hit on February 17, we're hoping that Moto's taking a long view of when the end of February actually begins. Even better, a late February Xoom release supports those rumors that Honeycomb will be generally released in March, which is when the real Android tablet invasion will begin. It's all happening, folks. Update: Oh boy. Jha followed up his Xoom comments in the Q&A portion by hinting that the Xoom might slip to March, but that he's very confident they'll make their timeline. Fingers crossed.
Editorial: bugs on unreleased phones don't matter (update: Motorola says phones will 'ship as scheduled')
There's a story going around today about an alleged problem in the power management unit affecting Motorola's first two dual-core smartphones -- AT&T's Atrix 4G and Verizon's Droid Bionic -- that leads to a hodgepodge of issues: overheating, weird RF fluctuation, the list goes on. Sounds like a tragedy in the making, doesn't it? Worst yet, the PMU problem is said to be a "major unfixable flaw that will plaque [sic] it forever." Bummer! But let's back up and consider the facts here. First, as best we can tell, the sources are two posters in a HowardForums thread, one of which doesn't even have the information firsthand -- he was allegedly given the news "by someone who is testing the devices." Furthermore, there's really no such thing as an "unfixable" bug; you might need to peel away several layers of software and hardware to fix an issue depending on how fundamental the flaw turns out to be, but engineers have proven time and time again that "unfixable" isn't really in their vocabulary (white paint aside, of course).
Best of CES 2011
Maybe, just maybe, you've noticed that Engadget relocated this past week to the City of Sin for CES 2011. Oh yes, we set up camp in a double-wide trailer, liveblogged our hearts out, combed the show floor, and worked our rear ends off to bring you more gadget news than you ever thought possible. It's true, we've written over 720 posts (40 or so about tablets alone!), shot more than 180 videos, and brought you over 350 photo galleries in the last seven days. That's a ton of technology news and products, but naturally, only certain ones have been able to rise above the rest and stick out in our scary collective hive-mind. With that said, we've complied our annual best of list for you, so hit the break and feast your eyes on what are bound to be some of the best products of the new year.
Live from Verizon's CES 2011 4G LTE press conference
We've here at Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE presser at CES, and we're told our worlds will be changed forever in five minutes. Or something to that effect.
Skype video calling coming to Android, demoed on the Droid Bionic (updated: official!)
You know that front facing camera on Motorola's LTE Droid Bionic? Well, it looks like you will be able to use it to make Skype video calls very soon. We were hanging around the Motorola booth early this morning and while playing around with the new 4.3-inch phone we noticed a "Skype demo" application. One click on the application revealed that the video calling capability, which just became available for the iPhone, will be heading to Android soon. There wasn't a working app, but the video demo clearly showed how easy it will be to log into Skype, pull up your contact list, and make a video call over Verizon's next generation network. We've got a few pictures below and a short video is on the way. Now we just need Skype to make this official at its press conference in just a few hours... %Gallery-113003% Update: Verizon just announced that Skype video calling will be coming to all the LTE smartphones -- aka Android handsets. Details in the liveblog...
Motorola Droid Bionic hands-on
If this is the direction high-power smartphones are going, we like what we're seeing. Though the software's still a bit raw (there's no Android Market, for example), the Droid Bionics on display here at Motorola's CES event this evening look and feel pretty blazingly fast. A spokesman we chatted with said that Motorola is actually doing some manner of software optimization (and yes, it'll launch with 2.2) to take advantage of the two cores out of the box, so it's a promising start -- as Jha says, it's "2GHz of processing power." We hope that's true in practice! Physically, the phone feels smooth in the same way a Droid 2 does, though a bit lighter -- good news considering the LTE hardware and big display, but not entirely surprising when you take into account the lack of a sliding QWERTY keyboard. The patterned battery cover looks textured, but it's actually quite smooth with a slight soft touch treatment. The screen looks great -- in particular, the viewing angle looked superb, though all phone displays have a tendency to look a little better in this sexy lighting since they can't wash out as easily. Follow the break for video! %Gallery-112829%
Motorola Droid Bionic announced for Verizon
Things are getting real with Motorola -- it's just announced the LTE-equipped Droid Bionic which, like the Xoom tablet introduced alongside it, will be headed to Verizon. The phone packs a dual-core processor with each core humming along at 1GHz, a 4.3-inch QHD screen, 1GB 512MB of RAM, a front-facing VGA camera, an 8-megapixel on the rear, HDMI out, and a Mirror Mode that will let you do simultaneous streaming of video to the TV and on the device. Head on past the break for the complete press release, and hit up the link below for the product page. Update: The press release states 512MB of RAM, while Motorola's product page lists 1GB, one of which is probably right. %Gallery-112795% %Gallery-112804%
