Official: DROID BIONIC release date is scheduled for the summer, coming with enhancements

posted by Alex I. / Apr 20, 2011, 9:14 AM

Official: DROID BIONIC release date is scheduled for the summer, coming with enhancements

A few days ago we exclusively informed you there is a great likelihood that the handset which we met as the Motorola DROID BIONIC at CES 2011 won't be the phone that's going to see commercial release with the DROID BIONIC brand.

As you may remember, our tipsters claimed that the model that was showed-off during CES 2011 (codenamed "Etna") will never see the light of day. However, that's not to say that Verizon won't launch a phone named "DROID BIONIC", as it is alleged that Big Red is firmly determined to use this brand, only that it will be a different device altogether - please, shift your attention to the Motorola "Targa" (codename).

Confirmation now comes from Motorola (quoted by WSJ) stating the launch of the Motorola DROID BIONIC will happen in the summer. A spokeswoman gives the following reason for this postponement:

"Based on compelling feedback since [Consumer Electronics Show in January], we are incorporating several enhancements to make this an even better consumer experience."

Just what we told you, isn't it? What we saw at CES (the Etna) will not be released, replaced by the enhanced model (codenamed "Targa"), taking its name - the Motorola DROID BIONIC.

source: WSJ

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39 Comments

1. celljrod

Posts: 82; Member since: Apr 07, 2011

The only way pushing the Droid Bionic back this far is if they are also planning on pushing back the release of the Targa. I like the Bionic, but if the Targa will be released within a couple of months of it, my money's waiting for the Targa.

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 9:34 AM 1

2. celljrod

Posts: 82; Member since: Apr 07, 2011

It only makes sense that is

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 9:35 AM 1

4. MalakiMills

Posts: 257; Member since: Jun 15, 2010

No, what they are saying is that the phone the codenamed "etna", the original bionic, is indeed cancelled. However, they will be keeping the name "Bionic" and using it on the motorola Targa.

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 9:45 AM 1

3. Tottenham

Posts: 86; Member since: Jan 05, 2011

Although this article does not make it very clear, after conversing with a PA staff member it is my understanding that the original Bionic (the so-called "Etna") IS dead, and the Targa will be launched as the Bionic. So there won't be a "Bionic" and a "Targa".

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 9:42 AM 1

5. celljrod

Posts: 82; Member since: Apr 07, 2011

If the "Etna" is dead, why is it still on Motorola's own web page? Link http://www.motorola.com/consumers/US-EN/DROID-BIONIC-US-EN.do?vgnextoid=6fc4227138bec210VgnVCM100000 81bbb00aRCRD

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 9:45 AM 1

6. celljrod

Posts: 82; Member since: Apr 07, 2011

Take out the space and the link works

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 9:46 AM 1

23. Tottenham

Posts: 86; Member since: Jan 05, 2011

I'm not reporting the news, merely re-stating what I was told by PA.

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 11:59 AM 1

26. Dr.Phil

Posts: 2361; Member since: Feb 14, 2011

Wow...and you believed them...thats the sad part.

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 2:24 PM 1

27. caly unregistered

he is actually right, I heard the same thing

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 3:01 PM 1

7. snowgator

Posts: 3621; Member since: Jan 19, 2011

As Phone Arena breaks it's arm patting itself on the back...... I am near confused with this Verizon phone release stuff, and this coming Summer/Fall device and tech is the whole reason I started trolling tech sites in the first place, to make good decisions for the next couple years. Let see if I am following the bouncing ball correctly- 1) Droid Bionic, which is supposed to be the new Droid flagship with all the toys and fun crap, is now a completely new device, most likely available for summer, but we are not sure as the device that it is now (tegra) wasn't slated to be sold until fall. 2) The Samsung Droid Charge is kinda hoping to hold over people who wanted the first Bionic, but are not willing to wait for the second Bionic, despite the fact it is from a completely different company and is closer to the Galaxy series then the Moto Droid series. 3) Droid X2, not LTE and may (according to Phone Scoop) or may not (according to Phone Arena) be dual core is not a "flagship", and seems less like the X then the Bionic (new one, of course, not old one.) 4) The actual Motorola Droid will have it's third succesor out, but is not LTE or Dual core, and is no longer in the conversontion as the flagship device, even though it started the Droid revolution for Verizon as the first flagship device, before the first Bionic was slated to replace it, now that the Samsung Galaxy- oops, Droid charge, sorry- is bumping it, waiting for the NEW Bionic which will bump them all. Miss anything?

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 9:47 AM 1

8. evan5000

Posts: 5; Member since: Apr 20, 2011

Let me see if I can help you, as I do my fair of trolling on these sites as well. 1. The phone that was shown off in January, with an internal name of Etna but known by the end-users (us) as BIONIC, appears to have been cancelled. However, Motorola is ramping up development of Targa, which is basically the same phone (both are Tegra 2 4.3'' LTE phones) with the major change being that Targa has a higher megapixel camera (from 5 to 13mp I believe.) In effect, this allows Verizon and Motorola to save face, saying they never cancelled anything but instead made "enhancements" to the original phone, Etna, which is BS. 2.I partially answered this with the first point, but there won't be Bionic's 1 and 2, there will be just one phone that comes out in the near future (about a year if I had to guess). I don't know as much about the Charge as I don't trust Samsung to update their devices, but otherwise it's another single core 4.3'' LTE phone alongside the Thunderbolt. 3. Droid X2 is now looking like it will be dual-core, though Motorola may choose a different chipset than Tegra for it (perhaps Snapdragon, similar to HTC). Aside from that, the X2 won't be LTE, but most of the other features will be similar to the Bionic. 4. I follow these sites fairly closely and aside from a release sometime in the latter half of this year, I've heard very little about the Droid 3. Personally speaking, it wouldn't surprise me if they bumped the screen to 4'' and gave it dual-core and/or LTE as a high-end option for those that still want a keyboard. Just my two cents.

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 10:01 AM 2

9. celljrod

Posts: 82; Member since: Apr 07, 2011

What you say is possible if the leaked photos were not the Targa. The Targa and Etna are 2 TOTALLY different phones

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 10:03 AM 1

11. evan5000

Posts: 5; Member since: Apr 20, 2011

I realize the Targa looks more like the Droid X, but I have faith in marketing, and they can pass it off as making the phone "slimmer" or some crap like that. How many people besides die-hard phone enthusiasts are going to cry wolf if the aesthetics have mildly changed?

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 10:05 AM 1

13. celljrod

Posts: 82; Member since: Apr 07, 2011

Good point though about the general public not knowing the difference

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 10:10 AM 1

10. evan5000

Posts: 5; Member since: Apr 20, 2011

New to the site, so I can't figure out how to edit my previous post. Just wanted to clarify, when I said "about a year" in the second point, I meant they won't come out for an update to the Bionic for about a year, once the first is released.

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 10:04 AM 1

12. celljrod

Posts: 82; Member since: Apr 07, 2011

The Targa, when leaked, wasn't billed as an update to the Bionic, but rather as a seperate flagship device

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 10:09 AM 1

14. Sniggly

Posts: 7305; Member since: Dec 05, 2009

Right, but with the Droid X2 coming out already, as well as the Droid 3, coupled with development issues on the Etna, it seems to have made sense for Moto to cancel the Etna, as it's the weakest link out of the three. Underwhelming sales of the Atrix probably also have something to do with it, as the BIONIC and Atrix are very similar to each other. With the Etna thrown in among all the other upcoming Moto Droid phones, as well as offerings by HTC, Verizon's lineup would've been too saturated.

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 10:40 AM 1

18. celljrod

Posts: 82; Member since: Apr 07, 2011

Also a very good point, and I can see that happening, but it still doesn't explain why the "Etna" is still showing on Motorola's website

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 10:59 AM 1

20. Sniggly

Posts: 7305; Member since: Dec 05, 2009

You know what? Not sure about that one. Maybe it isn't completely dead yet, and they'll eventually release it after all. But with the supposed problems they've been having with test units, they can't afford right now to keep promoting it as the impending BIONIC.

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 11:08 AM 1

19. snowgator

Posts: 3621; Member since: Jan 19, 2011

So really the breakdown is: Bionic- is a stand alone, new, LTE/dual core now based on the Tegra, and will resemble the "X" in design. X2- will (most likely) have dual core, but not LTE and will be slimmer and actually a different design. If true, this will give Verizon reps and customers a dual core option in areas without LTE as a selling point. Not a bad marketing plan, actually. Samsung charge- Single core, LTE, kinda shooting for whatever market didn't hop on the T-Bolt, but wants a little cheaper then a dual core/LTE device will cost. Droid 3- kinda still up in the air, but if true to reports, actually a little bit of a mid-range offering with neither LTE or Dual core, but aiming for those who need a physical qwerty and will not buy a device without it (still a fairly large consumer group.) Thanks Evan for update, and all other posts. I am gonna go get a drink, and wait for the next post from Verizon that changes all this again. :-)

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 11:02 AM 1

21. Sniggly

Posts: 7305; Member since: Dec 05, 2009

The supposed screenshots of the X2 show it as being very similar to the original X as well, actually. I agree that offering an updated flagship 3G model as LTE continues to roll out is a smart decision. Droid 3 also keeps its niche, and the Targa looks like just the phone to be the next big flagship for Verizon. I just hope we can get something like that here at AT&T. The Charge, though, just seems like a waste of money.

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 11:12 AM 1

36. ILikeBubbles

Posts: 525; Member since: Jan 17, 2011

what offerings by htc? as far as i've seen the only phone they've came out with or will be coming out for a while is the Thunderbolt... what i'm REALLY hoping for is an Eris2 even though that's really unlikely but in upcoming phones what else by htc is really coming? i think we're all past the wildfire...

posted on Apr 23, 2011, 11:17 AM 0

38. Sean unregistered

Your information is faulty. The Droid Bionic is not canceled. It has been delayed due to responses from CES 2011. The device is being revamped with a new form factor and and other enhancements. It's release will be this summer. Motorola is being stupidly silent in communicating to it's customers as to an exact release date. Possibly they don't know but any communication is better than none.

posted on May 13, 2011, 5:36 PM 0

15. tragichero

Posts: 163; Member since: Jan 07, 2011

so what im getting from this is that the boinic is now going to have a 13 megapixel camera, a slimmer design, and will be released in the summer (around the same time reported at ces). this sounds like great news! way to go PA and other people trying to make this sound like a bad thing... everyone who has actually been waiting on the bionic should be stoked!

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 10:46 AM 1

16. tragichero

Posts: 163; Member since: Jan 07, 2011

i think there is more memory on the new version of the bionic too!

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 10:48 AM 2

17. tragichero

Posts: 163; Member since: Jan 07, 2011

maybe gingerbread.... probably an update though...

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 10:49 AM 1

22. diligaf unregistered

I started following these forums recently also, had my mind set on the Bionic, then the 3D, and sensation were announced with sense 3.0 and the Bionic just didn't seem so Bionic anymore, I think this is simple, super phones were being announce while people were complaining about the Bionics 512 ram, wimpy FFC, the only thing it really had going for it is the new display and everyone has or will have that already. I wish VZW would get a real powerhouse like the 3D or Sensation.

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 11:40 AM 1

24. snowgator

Posts: 3621; Member since: Jan 19, 2011

While I think the Motorola offerings on Verizon are good offerings, I totally agree a Sensation or EVO 3D style offering from HTC on it's lineup would just put most other carriers line up to shame. Throw in iPhone options, and HP (?), plus a couple of new Blackberry devices, and Verizon would really start to pull away from AT&T.

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 12:15 PM 1

25. bigfoot unregistered

What is wrong with motorola. They should write a book on how to screw up a good mobile phone franchise. This is the second time they have done this. First the razor now the droid. It boggles the mind, just put out a couple dual core lte cdma android phones. How tough is that, maybe that is difficult.

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 2:21 PM 0

28. Sniggly

Posts: 7305; Member since: Dec 05, 2009

Your post displays just how ignorant you are. You're talking about taking processing and memory technology that, only a few years ago, required a good sized laptop and a big battery just to run for a few hours, and shrinking it all down to the size of your hand, while BOOSTING battery life instead of losing it. The electronics and software involved in making it all work well, let alone perfectly, require experts in every field involved. The Etna design did not pass muster, therefore Motorola is saving everyone a lot of time and trouble by not releasing it as the Bionic. Why is that such a problem for you, especially if they're ramping up production of the Targa to replace the Etna?

posted on Apr 20, 2011, 3:12 PM 1

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