Motorola Droid Bionic (Verizon Wireless)

Pros: It is faster than any phone I've ever had
Speakers are nice and loud
Battery life is pretty good
Verizon is a great service
Display is amazing! It's a LARGE 4.3 qHD display
Social media apps are AWESOME

Cons: Some Verizon "bloatware" on it

Summary: I'll start off by stating that I WAITED for this phone. I read its announcement at CES 2011 and waited for it. It took much much longer than I thought it would to be released, and when it finally was, I was there at a Verizon store that morning, but now that I've had it and used it for the better half of a month, I feel comfortable saying that this phone was definitely worth the wait. Before this phone, I've had all sorts of phones; iPhones, Androids, smartphones, dumbphones, Motorola, Sony, Samsung, LG, Nokia.... I can go on and on, but I bring this up just to say that I do have experience with many different handsets and OS's. But back to my Bionic.....

First, the physical aspect of the phone: It's thin and trim, but it has a good solid build to it. More plastic than some previous Droids, but it doesn't feel cheap in the least. It's got a good weight to it and feels snug and right in the hand. I've heard from a few people that the placement of the volume rocker and power button is awkward and takes some getting used to, but not for me. I'll admit that there were a few times in the beginning when setting this phone into its dock that I'd overreach and accidentally hit the power button, but only for the first few times. Another gripe about this phone I've heard was its screen. Some people say they see heavy pixelation in the screen; that because it's a Pentax screen, you can see the pixels and so on. I'll admit that even though this screen is not as crisp as the iPhone 4, it is still a gorgeous screen. I have perfect vision with no need for corrective lenses, and for me to see the pixelation, I have to have the screen at an uncomfortably close distance to my eyes. The colors are vibrant, the pictures are clear, and best of all, this screen is easy to see in natural sunlight.

The speed of this phone is out of this world. It is faster than any phone I've ever had. You can literally run program on top of program on top of program, and this bad boy DOES NOT bog down. I've got apps running in the background all the time while I'm surfing the internet and playing music, and this phone can take it with ease. The bigger screen really makes good use of some of the HD games in the marketplace. Reading my Kindle books on this is a breeze. Watching Netflix is a delight. I've never experienced any kind of lagging or choppiness.

The speakers are nice and loud. I love watching movies and listening to music on my Bionic. When I'm stuck in waiting rooms or bored and away from home, I watch a few of my favorite shows to kill the time.

I've added widgets to pretty much every page of my homescreen, and it did not bog my system down in the slightest. My boyfriend who is an absolute iPhone fanatic played with my phone last night and had a hard time getting used to the widgets. It's a completely different experience from iOS, I know. And it's not for everyone, but it's definitely for me.

Battery life is pretty good considering all the apps and 4G I have running all the time. I dock my Bionic every night and with moderate to heavy use, I can expect about a day's charge out of it. If you plan on being out all night, however, I do suggest you invest in a travel charger or extended battery. Me personally, I haven't needed one of those yet, but again, I'm able to charge mine every night.

The optional accessories are also a must with this phone. I bought both the standard and HD docking station as well as the car dock. The HD dock stays in my living room next to my 40" LCD and from that I can pipe through my Netflix or Webtop. The standard dock stays in my bedroom and makes for a good customizable alarm clock as well as stereo if you have a set of speakers to plug into the AUX input. When needed, my car dock serves as a perfect little GPS with all my contacts readily available as well as the awesome Google Navigation where you can just speak your address and get easy turn-by-turn directions.

This phone does have a few cons, albeit small ones, and not nearly serious enough for me to even begin to regret this purchase: The price is a tad steep. Considering the price of all the other available handsets on the market, this one was pretty steep, even for a new customer like me. The add-ons are also on the expensive side, and that makes it hard to consider purchase. Even though I love the docks I bought, I did not love the price I had to pay for them. I personally haven't noticed any of the reported bugs that have to come to light with this phone (knock on wood) so I can't speak to those.

Verizon is a great service. A little pricier than some, but coming from Sprint, T-Mobile, and most recently, AT&T, Verizon is the best for me. Their customer service seems friendlier, their coverage is superior, and they offer the best Android phones.

The Bionic isn't for everyone, though. It definitely takes some getting used to and is geared toward those who maybe like to tinker with their gadgets more or want a highly customizable experience. It's night and day from the iPhone, and most non-Droid phones, for that matter.

For me, this Bionic will be the last phone I buy for a while( but before you will buy this phone I suggest you have to check for best deal at https://sites.google.com/site/motoroladroidbionic4g ). I haven't been this satisfied with a cell phone in literally years. I've hopped from service to service, phone to phone, for years. But I'm quite confident that I won't be doing that with this one. There is just so much this phone has to offer. I haven't been able to stop playing with it yet.