bionics

As anyone who has seen the kitsch 1970s show "The Six Million Dollar Man" knows, bionics don't come cheap. Such is the case for the Droid Bionic, the new flagship superphone from Motorola and its first handset released since Google announced its intent to acquire the handset maker.

The first dual-core LTE handset on the Verizon network will start out at $300 on contract, a $100 premium over other leading-edge devices. And Motorola has plenty to sell you after that to make your handset at home anywhere. The suite of accessories includes a $300 Lapdock, a $100 HD Station dock, and a $40 Vehicle Navigation Dock.

The Droid Bionic continues Motorola's practice of charging a premium price for dual-core devices that the company established with the Xoom tablet (do note that for a limited time, Verizon customers who purchase the Droid Bionic and the Lapdock together with a $50 5GB data plan or higher will get a $100 mail-in rebate). The question is whether its beefy specs can justify its beefy price. According to NPD's Mobile Phone Track, only 9 percent of the smartphones sold in the first half of 2011 were priced above $299.

The Droid Bionic is also the latest in Verizon's Droid line, which is the carrier sub-brand that has played host to a number of Motorola devices.

In late 2009, Motorola launched the original Droid that served as a springboard for Android's rise to the top of the smartphone OS heap. That Droid had a screen coming in at a bit under 4 inches, a 5-megapixel camera, and HD video capture--specs strikingly similar to another recent introduction: the AT&T Impulse 4G. … Read more

HTC's phone for ladies prompts us to try to decide on a phone for me, Google Wallet is finally here (kinda), and an app helps you stay under your data plan cap.

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Google Wallet opens for business http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-20108224-266/google-wallet-opens-for-business/?tag=mncol;txt

Android still hot but many eyeing Windows Phone 7 http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20109390-75/android-still-hot-but-many-eyeing-windows-phone-7/?tag=cnetRiver

Google shares how to prep for Ice Cream Sandwich http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20108800-93/google-shares-how-to-prep-for-ice-cream-sandwich/#ixzz1YbSDeWpe… Read more

In the future, we'll all have cyborg bodies with replaceable parts, right? The transition to immortality, though, may take some getting used to. Touch Bionics has a handy new tool to help us practice.

The Scottish maker of the i-Limb Pulse bionic hand is showing off its new Virtu-limb, a tool it describes as "a groundbreaking simulation and training product for myoelectric upper limb prostheses." … Read more

It all started with a dream. An enterprising Motorola Droid Bionic owner on the DroidForums message board wanted to be able to watch the Netflix videos streamed to his Bionic on the rear-seat entertainment (RSE) system in his 2003 Lexus GS 300. The user (who goes by the handle InspiredGS) went to work modding and, after a bit of careful hackery and a careful application of epoxy, his Droid Bionic Car Kit had been upgraded to allow the handset's display to be mirrored on the Lexus' screens.

What the modder basically did was add an HDMI connection to the … Read more

We haven't experienced this with our Motorola Droid Bionic just yet, but apparently many new Droid Bionic owners are hearing a high-pitched whine during audio playback through the headphones. The support forums on Motorola are filled with the same complaint, and apparently the sound clicks off when the audio player is closed out.

We're not sure if this is an isolated issue that only punishes early adopters, and Motorola hasn't given an official word about it one way or the other. We're hoping the company releases an update soon, if only to prevent a bunch of … Read more

We did a quick test of the Motorola Droid Bionic's video-recording capabilities to let you see what the phone's 1080p HD video looks like. This was taken around noon on a nice sunny day in San Francisco outside the CNET offices.

We have to say the quality looks pretty good for a smartphone. Color is good and it looks sharp for the most part. However, as you can see, our hands shook a little bit, and it showed. The stability isn't really that great, and there are the occasional artifacts. We'll look into getting more video … Read more

Verizon hasn't had a great history of long-lasting phones with its 4G handsets. We've heard many complaints about the dismal battery life of the HTC Thunderbolt and the Samsung Droid Charge, and LG Revolution didn't fare much better.

With the recently launched Motorola Droid Bionic, however, we have to say we're quite impressed with its battery life after the initial set of talk time tests. The Droid Bionic delivered an average of 7 hours and 55 minutes talk time with 4G enabled. When we turned LTE off to go 3G only, we managed to squeeze out a very impressive 10 hours and 21 minutes talk time. We should note here that LTE is only used for data and not voice, so the latter is mostly to rid the possibility of background processes.

Anecdotally, the Droid Bionic performed well in day-to-day usage. From a fully charged phone at the start of the day, we surfed the Web, navigated with Maps, watched a few Flash video clips, checked e-mail, and used it as we would normally. By the end of the day, we had only used about 15 to 20 percent of the battery. We did this with the 4G LTE speeds enabled.

We've yet to put it through more specific 4G tests, and we'll update you once we're done with them. So far, we're impressed that a dual-core smartphone with 4G speeds can offer such good battery life. For more on the phone, you can read our full review of the Motorola Droid Bionic.

(This post has been edited for clarity.)… Read more

Verizon Wireless may not be getting Samsung's flagship Galaxy S II Android phone. But does it really matter? Word on the street is that the carrier may end up with something better.

Late last month, Verizon disappointed many of its customers when it confirmed it would not get the much anticipated Samsung Galaxy S II. The carrier didn't offer much explanation for why it was taking a pass on Samsung's hottest selling smartphone. Meanwhile, Verizon competitors AT&T, T-Mobile USA, and Sprint Nextel will each be offering the device.

But Verizon smartphone subscribers shouldn't fret … Read more

Verizon Wireless meant business when it promised a big push for 4G LTE at CES 2011. The carrier unveiled four new devices: the HTC ThunderBolt, the Samsung Droid Charge, the LG Revolution, and the Motorola Droid Bionic. All four promise fast 4G speeds, and indeed, they deliver. However, they aren't all the same. Here's our roundup of all four Verizon 4G handsets. … Read more