@wdprice3

Quote :

"any new word on the bionic release? I guess a better question - is this the phone to get for a while? or do you think something much better is coming soon? It seems that the "best" devices seem to follow a 1-2 year cycle."

Maybe. Some expected the Bionic to be released 8/3 (today) but it looks more like a mid-September release.... as of now the Bionic is the next major phone to hit Verizon that is UNLESS the Galaxy S II turns out to be 4G which has been rumored and may have been leaked by VZW, but not made official. If the Galaxy S II turns out to be 3G only, that will be a deal breaker for most and the Bionic will be the clear forerunner for Verizon's flagship for a couple months

rumor, or is it?
http://www.droid-life.com/2011/07/27/verizon-support-claims-galaxy-s-ii-will-have-4g-lte/

http://www.droid-life.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/droid-bionic-specs.jpg

I'm still not sure if I'd just rather have the Droid 3 for it's GSM support and keyboard. Not sold that the 0.3" of extra screen, 512MB extra RAM & more internal storage is totally worth it, although it has webtop capabilities, huh.

[Edited on August 3, 2011 at 6:04 PM. Reason : .]

8/3/2011 5:38:49 PM

i had no idea what webtop was until you said something. now i must have it.

8/3/2011 7:16:01 PM

GB finally coming to the Thunderbolt in the next month or two?
http://www.droid-life.com/2011/08/03/htc-rep-thunderbolt-gingerbread-update-coming-in-q3/

Quote :

"…We will certainly pass along your concerns to the developers at HTC. We are working hard to address the issues you have mentioned with future updates for the device. We are excited to announce that the HTC Thunderbolt will receive the Gingerbread (Android 2.3) update in Q3 2011. Stay tuned for details as we get closer to the update availability…"

possible leaked road map for Verizon
http://www.droid-life.com/2011/08/03/leaked-verizon-roadmap-reveals-potential-launch-dates-for-stratosphere-vigor-bionic-and-more/

Quote :

"DROID Bionic: (9/8 launch) – You already know everything about this device, don’t you? Samsung Stratosphere: (9/8 launch) – 4G LTE device running Android 2.3 HTC Vigor: (10/6 launch) – Will replace the HTC Thunderbolt LG Revolution 2: (10/20 launch) – Will replace the original Revolution Samsung Galaxy Tab P8 (November launch) – Could be the 8.9? Galaxy Tab? Samsung Illusion: (9/29 launch) – 3G smartphone running Android 2.3 Samsung Plato: (January launch) – whatever it is, it was pushed to 2012 HTC Bliss: (9/29 launch) – Lower end Android 2.3 device; the chick phone? Motorola XOOM 4G LTE: (9/8 launch) – Assuming this is the date that the 4G LTE upgrade starts. Also when the 4G LTE version will be in stores."

HTC Bootloader unlocking update
http://on.fb.me/pRe2ON

Quote :

"**UPDATE 8/3/2011** Since our last update, many of you have asked how the bootloader unlocking process will actually work, and in particular why HTC's most recently released devices still have a locked bootloader. Rest assured we're making progress toward our goal to roll out the first software updates in August to support unlocking for the global HTC Sensation, followed soon by the HTC Sensation 4G on T-Mobile and the HTC EVO 3D on Sprint. Because unlocking the bootloader provides extensive control over the device and modifications may cause operation, security and experience issues, new devices will continue to ship locked but will support user-initiated unlocking using a new Web-based tool. So how will this work? The Web tool, which will launch this month, requires that you register an account with a valid e-mail address and accept legal disclaimers that unlocking may void all or parts of your warranty. Then plug in your phone to a computer with the Android SDK loaded to retrieve a device identifier token, which you can then enter into the Web tool to receive a unique unlock key via e-mail. Finally, apply the key to your device and unlocking will be initiated on your phone. We're excited to bring bootloader unlocking to developers and enthusiasts, and we feel this new Web tool will meet your needs and continue to provide customers with the best experience. Thanks to the community for supporting these efforts! "

[Edited on August 3, 2011 at 7:34 PM. Reason : ]

8/3/2011 7:32:18 PM

Stratosphere = SGII?

That would be awesome if I could go into the store that day and play with that and the Bionic to see which one i prefer

8/3/2011 7:35:21 PM

Yeah... the htc vigor is supposed to be an animal, too. I may wait til October and evaluate all three. Im eligible the 11th, but would have to wait until 9/8 for bionic/stratosphere.... hmmm.

8/3/2011 8:43:28 PM

Quote :

" I thought the next flagship was Samsung's?"

That was a rumor, yeah. Based off a tweet that was retracted by Samsung Romania. But Samsung has had good success with their exynos processor...

Its all rampant speculation, at this point... except for omap 4. 4460 is the sepcifically rumored, which is a significant step up from the bionic's... 4470 is another jump past that, but samples havent even shipped yet. but I'd love to see a nexus device confirmed for Verizon. It might be enough to make me stretch out and wait.

[Edited on August 3, 2011 at 9:15 PM. Reason : .]

8/3/2011 9:13:20 PM

update on the nexus: sprint did a transfer of liability of my line to a new plan (which i was going to do anyway regardless of the deal today), then I walked into BB and got the nexus.. in and out in about 30 mins. total cost $18 upgrade fee

pretty impressed with 2.3 so far

8/3/2011 9:34:05 PM

Heh if you call next month, you can get the 18.00 upgrade fee waived too.

8/3/2011 11:33:47 PM

i'm eligible today or tomorrow. does that mean i can get a Charge and return it within an allowable period to turn it back in for one of the others?

8/3/2011 11:43:34 PM

I think so. Idunno for sure, I've never returned a phone like that. But I've heard similar stories

8/4/2011 1:30:31 AM

Verizon's return period is only 14 days so none of those phones will be out by then. You also have to pay a $35 restocking fee.

8/4/2011 7:21:33 AM

I need a new phone badly. Mine is doing a lot of erratic behavior that messes with it's usability. Trying to hold out for Bionic, but I bet it's going to be impossible to find even when it does launch. What's the best way for me to be first in line?

8/4/2011 11:49:24 AM

you won't have a problem getting the bionic i can assure you

8/4/2011 11:51:33 AM

I have to say I'm really disappointed that Motorola and Samsung (or is it Verizon's fault?) that they can't manage to get these phones out and get some momentum before the Apple products come out. Not that it's a big deal since 2.5 Android phones are sold for every 1 Apple phone, but still.

[Edited on August 4, 2011 at 12:03 PM. Reason : .]

8/4/2011 12:03:18 PM

Thanks, Prospero.

8/4/2011 12:53:35 PM

Quote :

"you won't have a problem getting the bionic i can assure you"

I hope you're right. My Chocolate 3 likes to reboot when I close it and it randomly pushes buttons while no one is touching it.

I almost got a new phone last Fall and I noticed that after visiting the Verizon store and entering my phone number in their queue system VW started calling and sending offers that were much better than the normal $50 "New after two" credit. I'm hoping that my visit to the store this week will prompt that to happen again before Bionic comes out.

[Edited on August 4, 2011 at 2:28 PM. Reason : l]

8/4/2011 2:25:40 PM

skack order via vzw's website and have them ship it to you

8/4/2011 3:17:47 PM

I always order online. I'll go play with one in the store and if I like it I go to the website and order. Fuck a mail-in rebate when it's an instant rebate online.

8/5/2011 11:53:44 AM

Bionic pics http://www.droid-life.com/2011/08/04/new-droid-bionic-pics-surface-full-look-at-that-sexy-new-back/

8/5/2011 12:15:46 PM

I figured I'd post this here instead of starting a whole new thread:

I'm eligible for an upgrade to essentially any Verizon phone. I'm looking at the X2, Thunderbolt, and iPhone 4.

I was just wondering what the community's input would be on this matter of utmost importance - hopefully without spawning too much debate.

8/6/2011 8:57:20 AM

What do you have now? Can you stand to keep it a while longer?

Iphone 5, Bionic, and Galaxy S 2 are all coming out in the next few months.

8/6/2011 11:13:06 AM

By the best cell phone ever
Better one comes out 2 months later

I'm AstralAdvent and i approved this message.

8/6/2011 12:13:37 PM

I have the original Moto-Droid. "The brick", as I call it.

8/6/2011 12:37:14 PM

Wait a month. Everything youre looking at is being replaced.

8/6/2011 1:05:42 PM

But - would my upgrade privileges transcend to these newer items?

8/6/2011 3:15:48 PM

^ you don't have any upgrade privileges, you get a discount off the price, probably $30-$50 off of $200-$300 for the phone using the New Every Two discount

8/6/2011 3:18:05 PM

Who here has programmed apps for android. I want to learn. No I don't know any programming other than like... basic and Fortran.

Any good resources?

[Edited on August 6, 2011 at 11:09 PM. Reason : .]

8/6/2011 11:09:13 PM

i just wish they'd upgrade the software on the atrix. it's still the fastest device on the market after 6 months and 0 updates so far

8/7/2011 4:19:56 AM

So, I'm to believe that I will be paying a nominal amount regardless of which phone I choose to upgrade to? And also regardless of how long I've had my current phone?

Ergo, I should wait and pay for the Super New Deluxe Edition Pro Model phones, but I will probably be paying a little more than I would if I upgraded to the current models?

Essentially I'm just trying to figure out how this how "upgrade" situation works, and I'll be damned if I'm going to just simply call their customer service about it!

8/7/2011 11:05:07 AM

New phones generally come out in phases associated with new technology, once, sometimes twice a year. This year's new technology phones will be coming out soon. The prices will probably be around the same price as the existing flagship phones.

If you're on Verizon, I suggest waiting until the Samsung Galaxy 2S is released in a few weeks. It may be called Samsung Function or something else, not sure yet. It might also not be 4G, but the slim form factor makes up for that in my mind. There will also be some definite new 4G phones out around the same time, too.

8/7/2011 12:00:33 PM

4G is a must if I'm going to purchase a new phone and have it last 2 years.

8/7/2011 12:27:54 PM

^ "4G" is a marketing term. It's not actually 4G as it should be. Just a heads-up.

Also, thanks DoubleDown. I suppose I can handle the wait.

[Edited on August 7, 2011 at 12:55 PM. Reason : .]

8/7/2011 12:54:19 PM

Quote :

""4G" is a marketing term. It's not actually 4G as it should be. Just a heads-up."

i'm not sure what your point is...verizon's 4G is significantly faster than their 3G

8/7/2011 1:51:42 PM

No real "point" - I have no feelings one way or the other on the tech. Like I said, "just a heads-up", I.E. "just making sure you're aware".

http://gizmodo.com/5680755/the-dirty-secret-of-todays-4g-its-not-4g

http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-12-wireless-carriers-muddy-4g.html

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2374564,00.asp

8/7/2011 3:28:28 PM

^ the first link directs to ITU's declaration that LTE is 4G: http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2010/48.aspx

i'm not especially familiar with the other carriers' "4G" tech, but the difference between verizon's 3G and LTE 4G is pretty significant

besides, i couldn't care less whether they call it 4G or "raffi's super duper high-speed banana phone"...it's significantly faster than 3G and the tech isn't interchangeable, so getting a phone NOW with only 3G just seems silly to me

[Edited on August 7, 2011 at 4:04 PM. Reason : .]

8/7/2011 4:02:50 PM

It's not the "old" 4G standard of 100Mbps but the ITU later changed their wording to include any next gen or evolved 3G networks after the whole AT&T/Tmobile HSPA+ debacle.

8/7/2011 4:04:20 PM

^^ So you're saying that 3G will be obsolete soon, not just on a practical level, but on a technical level as well?

That is, 3G will put me at an extreme disadvantage in the next few technological cycles?

[Edited on August 7, 2011 at 4:44 PM. Reason : Just saw update on first link, touche.]

8/7/2011 4:43:29 PM

Quote :

"So you're saying that 3G will be obsolete soon, not just on a practical level, but on a technical level as well? That is, 3G will put me at an extreme disadvantage in the next few technological cycles?"

are you truly saying that you don't understand how paying the same price for less performance could be considered a poor investment? if i'm going to be locked into $23/month for 2 years, i'm going to ensure that i get the most out of my dollar...if you want to spend the same amount on lesser service, i don't know that common sense is going to do much to sway you

*shrug*

8/7/2011 6:32:11 PM

^ Essentially what I'm saying - if I haven't made it obvious by the ineptitude of my posts in this thread - is that I really don't know how Verizon works their upgrade policy.

All I know is I'm eligible near the end of the month, and the representative said "Yeah, you'll be able to upgrade to any phone you want". But he didn't mention anything about new phones coming out - and I probably wouldn't even have been aware of the drop dates for new models if I hadn't posted here

But of course, if I can get a more technologically capable phone for the same (or similar) price, I'm not going to sell myself short.

8/7/2011 6:53:17 PM

I'm not really sold on Verizon's 4G yet. So far all I see is a thicker / bulkier phone that eats through batteries 2x as fast. I don't use my phone as a hotspot or tether, so the downloading I do consists of facebook / twitter / google music.

I suppose if you tether or have the need for much higher speeds, 4G would be perfect - I'm just not there yet. And if I'm going to have to settle for the current-gen 4G phones that are bulky and poor battery life, I'd rather either wait for a better 4G model to come out or stick with 3G.

8/8/2011 1:41:54 AM

Quote :

"I really don't know how Verizon works their upgrade policy. All I know is I'm eligible near the end of the month, and the representative said "Yeah, you'll be able to upgrade to any phone you want"."

when you're eligible (for me, it was 5 months before the end of my 2-year contract if i bought a smartphone - which i was planning on doing, anyway - or 4 months if buying any other phone), you can pick any phone they have available in the store or online...my experience is that the in-store folks have always been pretty open about phones they're getting if they know the exact drop date...i'm with you, though, i'm not especially up on the cell phone scene, so if i didn't visit this thread every couple of days, i wouldn't know what's up-and-coming, either

Quote :

"I'm not really sold on Verizon's 4G yet. So far all I see is a thicker / bulkier phone that eats through batteries 2x as fast."

i imagine you could make this argument if you compare two phones specifically, but this isn't universally true...for example, the droid 2 is smaller (3.7" screen) and is heavier than the thunderbolt (4.3" screen)

i chose the droid 2 because i think it's considered one of the two best 3G phone offerings from verizon...the other being the incredible 2, which is lighter and smaller, but has battery life about the same as the thunderbolt (part of the HTC hate, i suppose, which isn't necessarily unwarranted)

the charge is only just heavier than the incredible 2 and has just less than TWICE the battery life of the incredible 2

i suppose my point is that with 4G off, the LTE phones are roughly equal to the 3G phones and have the added benefit of performing better when necessary...even if you have no use for the speed now, who knows what you'll want a year from now...or 6 months? 2 years is a long time...if i had to buy a phone now, there's no way i'd restrict myself intentionally

8/8/2011 9:31:52 AM

All I know is that this shitty Droid1 has made me want to switch to the iPhone more than a few times, and I don't even like Apple

8/8/2011 10:46:05 AM

I <3'd my OG Droid. Well until I dropped it and cracked it.

8/8/2011 11:01:49 AM

My Droid1 is going to die in a firey death as soon as I get a replacement. Maybe I'll use it for target practice. The amount of times it has crashed, rebooted, and froze during important times has all but doomed it

8/8/2011 11:22:11 AM

My Droid2 has been freezing, restarting, and locking at inopportune times too. I'm going to root it and hope that that fixes the issues. My upgrade is in November or so, but I don't think I'm in a stable enough job position to upgrade quite yet

8/8/2011 11:45:19 AM

^yeah, your next upgrade is 8/01/2012

8/8/2011 1:18:12 PM

pwnt

8/8/2011 1:29:30 PM

lol..I'm sitting on an upgrade. Will look at the Bionic when it comes out, but very likely won't upgrade. How long do I have to cash this thing in before they make me?

8/8/2011 1:36:27 PM

Don't think they'll "make" you but you're supposedly only able to use the extra NE2 discount for 6 months after becoming eligible. That's assuming you're on a qualified line.

8/8/2011 1:37:47 PM

That blows. I'm the primary line, so it's eligible. 6 months would be mid October.

8/8/2011 1:51:38 PM