The DROID RAZR got the ball rolling, but it seems that Verizon’s price cutting spree is continuing to older models as well. The Motorola DROID BIONIC, Moto’s first LTE phone, is now just $99 without the formerly included MicroSD card. The price change is effective immediately on Verizon’s website, though of course you’ll have to sign a new or renewed 2-year contract to get the deal. The phone still has 16GB of internal storage, and should you wish to add your own via the recently vacated card slot, 16GB cards can be had for about $30-40 USD.
The Bionic sits a generation behind Verizon’s $200 and $300 offerings at the moment: it’s succeeded by the DROID RAZR and DROID RAZR MAXX in Moto’s own stable, and the Galaxy Nexus, HTC Rezound and LG Spectrum elsewhere. Based on that competition it’s hard to recommend the BIONIC even at the lower price: its 1Ghz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM are fine, but the model has been plagued with hardware and software problems. This is especially true for the 1735mAh battery, which seems to rapidly discharge on LTE, even though the device itself is quite large.
For $100 more, you could get a DROID RAZR (also sans memory card) or a DROID 4, if QWERTY is your thing. Recent rumors indicate that a white version of the Galaxy Nexus will show up at the same price point, with a smaller 16GB storage capacity. And with Mobile World Congress right around the corner, a prudent gadget hound would wait to see if any new mid-range LTE devices pop up. Still, if you’re inclined for dual-core LTE for just a C-note – unless you prefer HTC. The Thunderbolt is the same price.
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Drop the nexus to 200 please!
This phone is amazing.. The specs are nearly identical to the Nexus & Razr (they have the same processors), plus it has a removable battery AND microSD card slot.. Neither phones mentioned above have both.
It’s a steal at $99 even on 2 year contract.
I’m really enjoying this phone. It’s solid now. It feels great in my hand. It will eventually get ICS, and oh what a sweet day that will be. I also appreciate being able to switch batteries if necessary.
I have a bionic and have had absolutely no problems with it.
Even if I were buying a new phone right now I’d still get a Bionic over either of the RAZR’s. I got my Bionic on release day and it’s been rock solid. I just picked one of these up last night for my teenager
i went from
evo with sprint to bionic with verizon, much better phone, MUCH BETTER SERVICE…. i was so evo gung ho, i had to find out the hard way about sprint. i like the feel and look of bionic.