Hasta La Gadget!

It’s common knowledge that the Droid Bionic is the ever-so-slightly-lower-end CDMA cousin to the mighty Atrix 4G, lacking a little RAM and compatibility with the interesting Laptop Dock. Otherwise, though, you’ve still got that lovely 1GHz Tegra 2 action and dual-band 802.11n, which is actually how we came to suspect that this device that just passed the FCC today is indeed the Bionic. Dual-band WiFi support is still exceptionally rare — the Atrix 4G has it, of course — so when you add that in with a CDMA cellular radio, that gives us plenty of evidence to work with. No word on a release date yet for this thing, but let’s hope it doesn’t trail the Atrix by long, right?

Update: Wireless Goodness makes some interesting points that suggest this could actually be the Xoom, not the Droid Bionic; most notably, the documentation makes reference to a non-removable battery, which would leave the Bionic out of the picture. That would also make sense considering the Xoom’s imminent availability, versus the Bionic’s rough Q2 target.

Motorola Droid Bionic in FCC? (update: or Xoom?) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Something’s seriously going on over at Amazon’s Wireless store where the Droid Bionic, a Verizon sibling to AT&T’s Atrix 4G, has today been spotted listed for sale with a $149.99 price. That matches the levy Amazon asked for the Atrix last week (before promptly yanking the page) and seems to confirm that the $150 price point is receiving some sincere consideration for these 4G-equipped handsets. The Bionic’s page has now also disappeared into the ether, but the memory of its delectable promise remains.

[Thanks, techcruncher]

Droid Bionic appears on Amazon with $150 price tag, quickly disappears again originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 13:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First, the Mavericks Civilian Space Foundation tested a Nexus One’s ability to deal with the stress of a rocket launch. Then, Google floated seven Nexi to the edge of space to see if the phones could cope with the void. Now, Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) is looking to launch a satellite into orbit and use a ‘droid — much smaller than the Astromech variety — to control said satellite. SSTL, who is helping build Galileo (and is acutely aware of its cost, no doubt), views smartphones as a way to democratize access to space because they are far less expensive than purpose-built control systems. The company hasn’t said which handset will be used in the satellite, but they chose Android because it allows engineers to easily modify the phone to do their bidding — from controlling pulse plasma thrusters to handling the advanced guidance and navigation systems of the foot long satellite. Additionally, the open source OS means that they “could get people to develop apps” for the satellite. We’ve seen plenty of Android apps, but we’re really hoping this venture is successful so we get to see apps… in space.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

SSTL using Android handsets to control satellites, conquer the final frontier originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 06:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One day, you’ll have a little tablet or phone, and carry it everywhere. It’ll be your only computer. When you need to use a “real” PC, you’ll dock it. Motorola’s Atrix is a little glimpse at that day. More »

LAS VEGAS — After all the ruckus at CES 2011 over Motorola’s Honeycomb-dedicated XOOM tablet died down, I got a chance to get my hands on the latest in the company’s Droid series of smartphones, the Bionic.

Like its Droid X predecessor, the Bionic is definitely not small. The 4.3-inch screen is one of the largest on the smartphone market right now, and if you’re wearing tight jeans and hoofing it around the Vegas strip all day like I’ve been doing, a fat-bodied Bionic in your pocket might bring on a bit of chafing.

But the screen’s aesthetic appeal makes up for any inconvenience its size may bring. Shooting pictures with the back-facing 8-megapixel camera was made easier by the extra screen area for planning and viewing shots.

Whereas Apple’s iPhones are all about the smooth-backed covers, the Bionic goes the way of rubberized grip-style case. The phone’s backside has ample tooth to it, another line of defense against clumsy phone-droppers like myself. But the gripping doesn’t make the Bionic feel bulky or weighed down. It’s a nice touch, even if it may add to the aforementioned pocket-chafing.

We weren’t allowed to pop open the hood to see the phone’s 1-GHz dual-core processor insides, but by the looks of flipping through the Android 2.2 menu screens, the Bionic’s guts seemed to be doing their job well. No visible stuttering was to be seen in the few apps I ran, and load time was minimal. It was, however, a brand new phone with its 16 GB of on-board storage still relatively empty. I’d like to see how it runs after an app-hungry tween has had her hands on it.

All in all, I dug what I saw of the Bionic. It may be a bit large for my taste, but for the crowd that’s into the big and powerful (and prefers a Motorola handset over a Samsung offering) the Bionic is surely worth a second look.

Photos: Jon Snyder/Wired.com