After many months of waiting, Verizon has finally started selling the DROID Bionic. The handset is now available throughout the carrier retail network and will set you back by $299 on a 2-year contract.

The DROID Bionic has a 4.3-inch qHD display, TI OMAP4430 SoC with 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU and PowerVR SGX540 GPU, 1GB RAM, 32GB storage space (16GB internal + 16GB microSD card), expandable up to 48GB, 8 megapixel camera with auto-focus and LED flash, 1080p video recording, HDMI out and Android 2.3.4. It will be powered by a 1,735mAh battery.

 

The toughened Motorola Defy+ is starting to pop up on British etailer sites for pre-order. The Defy+ is the result of the original Defy going survival training and is IP67 certified (dust tight, can survive a dive in up to 1m of water for half an hour) and has grown its CPU (now 1GHz) and battery (1700mAh) muscles.

 

Right now, Clove lists the Motorola Defy+ for £246 including VAT (€281) this is a preliminary price, however, as the official price and availability date is yet to be confirmed. They expect the first stock to be available later this month.

 

Expansys also list the Defy+ but they did not hazard a guess how much Moto’s tough Android will cost or when it will be out.

 

For comparison, the non-plus Defy costs £234 right now. So, if you were thinking of buying it, you might want to hold off for a couple of weeks if Clove price estimates are not too far off, you would get more rugged phone for just £10 or so.

 

We would say we are surprised, but we are not. The September 8th date has been around for quite sometime, so while we are more than happy that we now have a solid date, its a bit underwhelming. Either way, Verizon first dual-core/LTE phone looks like it will be in the hands of the people next Thursday.

We first heard of the Bionic way back in January of this year, and the handset had been delayed due to battery issues, and eventually underwent a radical design change. The new design is much more slick than the original, even if it does look pretty similar to the Droid X. The delays and design changes has only hyped the phone up more, and more and more people are wondering just how good this phone will be when it debuts, especially as theiPhone 5 nears.

 

 

 

Update is currently Rolling-out to all users, Improvments of this Update:

• Download Manager App:

New App to manage all of your downloads from web browsing, email attachments and other apps.

 

• App and Power Management Details:

Under Manage Applications, a new Running tab displays a list of active applications, as well as the storage and memory being used by each.

 

• Multi-Touch Key-Chording:

New ability to enter numbers and symbols with keyboard shortcut combos, without having to change to the numeric keyboard mode.

 

• Improved Word Selection and Copy Functionality:

New capability to select a word via press-hold. A second press of the selected word copies the selected characters.

 

• New User Interface and Color Scheme:

New widgets, icons and screens with refreshed colors.

 

• Dock Icons:

Three swappable icons and the App Launcher icon are fixed to the Dock at the bottom of all home screen panels for easy and instant access. The Phone, App Launcher and Contacts icons are now within this customizable dock.

 

• App Groups:

New App Menu allows creation of custom app groups, in addition to 3 default groups: All Apps, Recent and Downloaded.

 

• Security:

Added Device and SD Card encryption. VPN enhancements integrate IPSec VPN clients into device security settings.

 

Web Browsing and Data Access

+ Improved battery life while using Wi-Fi.

+ Fixed issue that caused frequent data connection drops.

+ Mobile Hotspot status is displayed accurately.

 

Email and Messaging

+ Email application:

• Improved contact syncing from multiple accounts.

• Email pushes now work correctly when using Exchange ActiveSync.

• Exchange ActiveSync account setup will accurately present server option.

+ Correct contact name is displayed when receiving SMS messages.

+ Emoticons are displayed in messages.

+ Forward SMS message conversations accurately.

+ Notification LED will flash when new message is received.

 

Applications and Widgets

+ Access My Verizon without any force close errors.

+ Compass calibration within Google Maps syncs accurately with your location.

+ Geo-tagging features available for camera applications.

+ Clock widget updates time correctly.

+ Callback numbers now populate in Dialer app.

+ GPS apps and programs no longer cause unnecessary device resets.

+ Google Books is now preloaded.

+ V CAST Media Manager is now preloaded.

+ Blockbuster movie rentals license remains active after download.

 

Additional Improvements

+ Keypad backlight turns on in darker settings.

+ Improvements in screen display no longer causes display screen to turn black.

+ Fixed issue that caused factory resets when the device’s mobile number is changed.

+ Fixed issue that caused device reset and a black display screen after over the air upgrades.

 

 

 

Well, finally. Motorola DROID BIONIC is coming to Verizon US on September 8th. This comes from the official DROID BIONIC Twitter account, so its as legit as it gets. Its been almost 8 months since we first heard about the Motorola DROID BIONIC and after countless leaks, its finally closing to release.

 

 

The numerous leaks have been constantly adding or changing the specs of the phone but according to the latest rumors, DROID BIONIC will pack a 4.3-inch qHD display, a TI OMAP4430 SoC with dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 CPU and PowerVR SGX540 GPU, an 8 megapixel rear camera capable of recording 1080p video and a VGA front camera, an HDMI 1.4 compliant port, Android OS 2.3.4, Webtop capabilities and last but not least, some 4G LTE support.