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Charge vs. Bionic

I had considered paying retail for the Bionic as I used my upgrade in June for the Charge. I've posted numerous times my issues with the Charge, mainly not having the latest OS, no front facing camera for Skype, no 4G in a solid 4G area and the annoying "dead air" call issue (which is now corrected. I had no intention of buying the Bionic today but since I went by a Verizon store I couldn't resist taking a look at it.

I have to say I was less than impressed. First of all, I didn't really like the look of the Bionic with the squared corners compared to the Charge. The Charge just looks sleeker and more modern. Secondly, the display didn't appear as good as the Charge. they had the one in the store turned up to the brightest setting, of course, and my Charge on the auto setting looked crisper. I pulled up the phone settings to see the signal strength as I believe some of the problems with not getting 4G or reverting to 3G and even 1X many times is due to a poor antenna on the Charge. The store is in a solid 4G area and the Bionic had a -77db strength and so did the Charge. Both the Bionic and Charge fluctuated between -77 and -80 as I moved them both around. I can't address the battery life or overall speed advantage the Bionic might have with the dual core processor.

While in the store there was a customer in there with their new Bionic asking why the phone keeps going back and forth between 4G and 3G and wanting a replacement phone. The place was packed. Sound familiar?

Overall I still like the look and feel of the Charge along with the fantastic screen. If we could just get Gingerbread on this phone it would probably be something I would be glad to keep through the remaining 22 months of my contract.

Comments

Wildman

I don't get it from the review the device isn't to your liking but you still plan on paying almost 700.00 retail for a device you didn't really have positive things to say about.

in my opinion you shouldn't pay that much for something that you have already determined you don't like because that just going to lead to a device returning game because you bought it full retail price.

Sounds like a situation not to touch but its your call.

DC5_K20Z1

Hang in there bro, we should be getting Gingerbread soon. p3droid leaked what is said to be the official gingerbread build ep1w, and the bloated version seems to run smooth, much snappier and the quadrant scores were pretty good. The only negative of it, is that it still retaints that ugly brown and orange color scheme. I've been hearing it should be released sometime this month possibly and from a few VZW employees that it should be soon as well. I think once it is released it will improve the speed of our phones a bit and also help with data drops and better 4g/3g switching.

Davidoo

Wildman, I don't think you read my post thoroughly. I said I "had considered paying retail for the Bionic" not that I was going to buy it. This thing has been hyped for so long and once I finally saw it I just wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be and I do like some things about the Charge over the Bionic. I may eventually buy the Bionic if it appears Verizon and Samsung keep dragging their feet on GB and I see the Bionic doesn't have its own set of problems (I'm watching the Bionic forum to see if I start seeing some of the same issues as the Charge as that might prove it is a Verizon Network issue and any other 4G phone wouldn't be any better than the Charge). Also, the Bionic is not "almost $700" as you posted. It is $589.99 retail. Still a lot of money, no argument there.

Wildman

I was meaning to type 600.00 not 700.00, slip od finger.. The Bionic just reminds me of a Droid 2 without a Keyboard I perferred the original design more.. But thats just me..

Davidoo

I agree with your analysis Wildman. At this point I'm just going to sit tight and hope for the software update soon that may open up the full potential of this phone.

cganoe

Davidoo wrote:
I pulled up the phone settings to see the signal strength as I believe some of the problems with not getting 4G or reverting to 3G and even 1X many times is due to a poor antenna on the Charge. The store is in a solid 4G area and the Bionic had a -77db strength and so did the Charge. Both the Bionic and Charge fluctuated between -77 and -80 as I moved them both around.

If the signal was the same, then it's obviously NOT an antenna issue. The issue to me appears to be one where the radio is switching modes (including awakening from a non-data state into a data one). It is unclear to me if the lag is a software or hardware problem, but the rumors on the update seem to suggest the new software will fix it, so I assume it is software/firmware.

If you decide to switch, I certainly would not "pay retail" for the Bionic. I'd go to the Verizon store (assuming you got it there) and demand they give you a different phone, and certainly push for a Bionic. The Charge in its current state is seriously broken, a 1-2 minute lag on both data availability and even longer for GPS lock is not acceptable on a current top of the line phone, there are thousands of users with the same problems, and I would not accept another Charge in its current state.

Personally, I'm going to wait for the update. Hardware-wise, the Charge is a great phone, and if they work out these few bugs, I think it stands up nicely to the competition, including the Bionic. I also think Samsung will have to get this update out soon if they want to remain competitive for high-end phones on Verizon.

HoustonHeart

3g 4g switchign seems to be inherit in 2.2 builds. With the latest builds on the beta 2.3.4 (not leaked eve ntho the 1w leak is stable) switching is flawless and reception and data handling fixed. Let's hope it is finalized and starts going out to everyone soon.

DC5_K20Z1

Charge for the win overthe Bionic! I'm not a big fan of the screen for the Bionic, the build and looks of it are not my favorite...Ivstill prefer the Charge's build. Hopefully this Gingerbread update provides some much needed snappiness and makes the phone run a bit smoother!

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