Verizon Wireless today announced the Motorola DROID BIONIC, along with release details and pricing. The Android smartphone launches Thursday, September 8th, for a hefty $299.99 on contract.
The Motorola DROID BIONIC has a dual-core 1GHz TI OMAP processor, 1GB of RAM a 4.3-inch qHD display, the Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread OS and LTE.
Verizon includes the ability for the Bionic to act as a 4G LTE mobile hotspot, letting you share its 4G connection with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices.
It comes with 16 GB of internal storage and a 16 GB microSD card, which is expandable up to 32 GB for a total of 48 GB. The $300 price point pits it against the top-tier iPhone, which also has 32 GB of total storage.
A Lapdock costs another $299.97 while a HD docking station (with ports for speakers and displays) and a simpler (and cheaper) Webtop adapter connect the phone to a larger display.
Monthly plans for the Bionic start at $70 a month for 450 minutes of talk time and 2 GB of data. The mobile hotspot functionality can be turned on for $30 more a month and an additional 2 GB of data.
In just a week of heavy use of the Bionic, a USA Today reviewer ran through nearly 6 GB of data, so customers will have to be careful how much data they use with the fast 4G connection. It’s now easier to use a lot more data.
Verizon hopes to lock in LTE customers on a two year plan. But subscribers may soon go over their usage caps and need to pay overage fees.
With Verizon’s $10/GB overage fee, if you used 24GB a month (20GB over the 4GB monthly cap), you’d owe Verizon another $200/month (on top of the $100/month bill).
The Early Termination Fee on the Bionic is similar to their Droid 3 — $350.
