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The folks at Verizon are dropping the price of the DROID Bionic to $99. It is still a pretty good phone with a TI OMAP4 dual-core processor and a 4.3 inch qHD display, and Verizon and Motorola continue to support the device with software updates. Unfortunately, with this price drop comes a sacrifice – that nice 16GB microSD card that comes with the phone.
Don’t fret, however, as the device still has 16GB of storage inside, though you probably won’t see every bit of space available thanks to both Android and Webtop software. With the extra money saved you can just go and buy yourself a microSD card if you need that much more space, and I’m sure some of you have cards from your old phones. Find the device here at the source link ahead if you’re interested. [Verizon via Electronista]
meh. lets take out some originally advertised features so we can move all the dud ass units on our shelves for what the pile of crap phone should have sold for in the first place.
Must be a really nice SD card….
Off topic, can we get rid of the damn Radio Shack ads at the bottom of the screen?
I still dont understand how supply and demand works (or doesnt work) for smartphones.. $29-$99 on contract from amazon-verizon respectively. Why is it still close to $700 off contract?
I understand the whole subsidized price concept, where your beefy monthly contract is whats really paying for the phones value… but when the on contract price drops a ton due to a low demand, why does the off contract price not drop at even a slightly proportional degree, and remain insanely high? Someone please explain.
I could walk in to verizon, see a 1 year old, tech obsolete, no longer supported, replaced by manufacturer device..on contract price = free, BOGO, comes with a free lunch, etc.
vs.
brand new, top of the line specs, just released device. On contract = $299
Yet both phones, off contract price is nearly the same, $700. wtf?
Smartphones are overpriced beyond belief regardless. Someone please tell me how to justify charging $700 for this off contract, while a brand new psp vita would cost half that amount? Hardware/production/materials/research? It does not compute
You almost hit the nail on the head when it comes to the “subsidized price” concept. As far as the OEM’s are concerned, demand for the product hasn’t dropped. Think about how the HP Touchpad fiasco went down when they had the fire sale. People bought them up like hotcakes. It has nothing to do with the fact that the product was discontinued it was still an amazing product. The demand was there.
Devices that end up as BOGO (or Bionic like reduced prices) are bit different. The demand isn’t there anymore but they are willing to give them away because they profit by roping you into 2-year contracts with services you may not need or even want. I’d gladly buy an Android on-contract if I didn’t HAVE to have their internet plans. But thats how they “get you”, I guess you could say.
If they sell it to you off-contract for $99, they lose out on the 2-year contract (because you aren’t bound to them and if your old contract is ending in a month there’s no guarantee to them you will stay, they (possibly) lose out on those internet Fee’s AND you can probably re-sell the thing for a profit.
They are just greedy. I don’t like it either but its all about the money.
Ok, that was pretty good, it made sense to me. Its not about the price or profits from hardware, its about getting you into that contract (or taking away your economical choice to buy off contract) Its a shame, because we get roped into these long ass contracts and in the meantime, we could try out older devices but really cant because of the high costs. In any case, I wouldnt spend $600-700 on a new or old device. Thank you
Also, like I said above is that carriers are buying those phones at the manufacturers price. It takes them about 10-12 months before they make their money back on that phone. The contracts are necessary for them to make money, and I get that and don’t have much of a prob with it. The cost of the plans, data, and texting (especially texting), that’s another discussion.
What confuses me is how a smartphone can retail as much or more than a pc or laptop. I’m looking at an HP laptop that has a 15.6″ screen, a 1TB hard drive, DDR3 memory, and an i7 processor for $799. The same one with an i5 is $699.
Now try to get that laptop on contract with LTE. Didn’t think so. Next non-comparison comparison….
Please, LTE? Im sorry but thats no longer a selling point. Whether people admit it or not, theyre buying devices for things like power, processing speed, screen quality…LTE is far from the top of the list.
If I could trade half of my data speed for a better screen and longer battery life, I’d do it in a hearbeat.
I get that, but I can buy an air card for $20 bucks for that. Having the LTE radio on the inside or out isn’t what’s making the device cost the same as a device with superior hardware. Take Samsung, who makes both smartphones and laptops, how do they justify charging the same price or at the very least coming to the same manufacturing cost as these two devices?
I realize that the carriers are paying that much for the phones and then subsidizing them, which is why the contracts are necessary. But that’s what the non-comparison comparison is.
Haha true. Last year I got a brand new alienware laptop, which is a fully competent gaming-ready pc, for the price of a stinking smartphone. One I’ll get close to 5 years of use out of, has twice as much materials and specs, the other is obsolete in 2 months and replaced in 2 years. Go figure.
yes, can we please get rid of the massive radio shack bar at the bottom of the screen
@srh
Elementary my friend. The reason why the price of smartphones stay at the MSRP is because not many people will buy the phone outright. Consider the fact that the carriers will sell the phone at a subsidy to coax people into an expensive 2yr or 3yr contract. The only way to combat the phenomenon is to bypass the middleman (the carriers) and deal with the OEMS directly. Sure you might not get the price you want, but in the long haul, you will come out ahead in savings.
As far as I’m concerned they can do this to every top of the line smartphone because I have a 32GB card that I’m moving over anyways. No reason to pay for one.
This phone is amazing.. The specs are nearly identical to the Nexus & Razr (they have the same processors), plus it has a removable battery AND microSD card slot.. Neither phones mentioned above have both.
It’s a steal at $99 even on 2 year contract.
No, it is not amazing. It was unbearable. I had one and thought I could get used to the terrible screen, bad touch response, reboots, glitches, and various annoying bits of the big, thick, blocky, uncomfortable device when it first came out and I couldn’t do it. It drove me nuts. They’ve come out with a couple software updates to fix the laundry list of BS wrong with this device, but I’m still against anyone buying it.
Tech support even replaced my phone and the replacement had allt he same problems. It’s just a bad phone.I’m glad I sold mine on craigslist.I pulled out the money for a GNex, but really I just suggest saving up some extra cash if you can and getting any other phone.
I do hope someone has a good experience with this device, because I certainly didn’t and this was my first try back with motorola. They just ensured me not buying another phone from them for years or suggesting any of their devices.
You forgot the mysteriously disappearing apps… along with all the other BS… yeah, that phone was terrible. I returned mine and got a Rezound (the GNex was nowhere near coming out yet) and I’m much happier.
i love my bionic, i love my bionic, i love my bionic……… aw crap not this article! lol oh well. Hey a great 4g phone for a cheaper price. i dont think anyone should be hating on this article. they dropped the price? like we should be celebrating. regardless if you are gonna buy this or not. cheaper 4g phones are on the rize!