Verizon Releases DROID BIONIC
Here we go again, another new phone. But this time it’s the world’s first 4G phone with a dual processor. Verizon Wireless and Motorola released the DROID BIONIC last week, having announced this phone about a year ago.
It’s finally here!
Right off, it looks similar to the LTE Droid X2 with its 4.3inch qHD screen, but inside it sports dual-core 1GHz processors and 1GB of RAM with a sleek form factor, making it the thinnest LTE smartphone from Verizon. Additionally, the phone has 32 GB of built-in memory, a 16GB microSD card pre-installed, and can support up to a 32 GB microSD card. It runs Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread, has an 8megapixel autofocus camera (with a flash and 1080p HD video capture), a front-facing camera for video chat, and an HDMI out (your own cable required).
Adobe Flash is pre-loaded on the phone, and it’s HTML capable. It’s “business-ready” with advanced security policies, resizable/scrollable email, calendar/task widgets, SD card encryption and Citrix GotoMeeting and Citrix Receiver for Android. It can also print to Wi-Fi enabled printers with the MOTOPRINT app.
If you’re a Verizon person, I suppose this is the phone to have until the next one comes out. It’s $299.99 with a two-year customer agreement, and you’ll also need to subscribe to a minimum Nationwide Talk plan of $39.99 for 450 minutes and a smartphone data package starting at $30 per month (which will get you 2 GB of data). Find it at your nearest Verizon Wireless Store, or online at verizonwireless.com.
Note: For a limited time, if you purchase a Lapdock ($299.97) with your DROID BIONIC, you’ll receive a $100 mail-in rebate when you subscribe to a $50, 5GB plan or higher.
Click Chick’s Mobile App of the Week: Talkatone
Calling your family and friends via Facebook and Google Voice is now possible with the Talkatone app for your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. Similar to Skype’s approach originally offered on computers, you can use Talkatone to make phone calls and send text and instant messages directly from your iOS device.
When you first run the app, it will ask you to sign into Facebook Connect or your Gmail account. You also can sign into both. I forfeited the Facebook part mostly because the app will post an annoying message on your friend’s wall each time you initiate a call.
Additionally, the friend you’re calling on Facebook must also have the app on their device. If you’re using Google Voice, you can use it as a VoIP phone since it uses your Google phone number to dial out.
Talkatone is the only app that allows you to use Google Voice over Wi-Fi and 3G, and is particularly useful for cellular dead zones or areas with an extremely weak signal. If you travel internationally frequently, this is definitely a must-have app. Download it for free from the iTunes App Store.
