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Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI) drummed up the wrong kind of interest when it said it would delay its much-anticipated, dual-core-strapped Droid Bionic smartphone.
Apparently, the device is just about finished for a summer release. The “This Is My Next” blog received this Best Buy Mobile promotional spot, touting the Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android smartphone as an “all-powerful, unstoppable machine” backed by Verizon Wireless’ (NYSE:VZW) 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network.
Updated: The handset is also rumored to be powered by Google’s Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” platform (compared to Android 2.2 as it was originally designed), and a Texas Instruments OMAP dual-core processor (originally intended to be juiced by Nvidia’s Tegra 2 chip).
Like the Motorola Atrix 4G and Motorola Photon from Sprint, the Droid Bionic will also hook up to the Motorola Laptop Dock to let users access content from a larger display. This, too, was not an option for the Bionic as it was originally conceived.
Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha introduced the Droid Bionic at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show, promising its speediest-ever Android 2.2 handset.
The Droid Bionic eWEEK saw at CES sported a 4.3-inch qHD (quarter-high-definition) screen and an 8-megapixel camera, as well as HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) connectivity to let users hook up their video and games to large-screen HD televisions in full 1080p.
Jha said then the device would ship in the second quarter but the company backtracked in April, claiming: “Based on compelling feedback since the show, we are incorporating several enhancements to make this an even better consumer experience. This includes expanded features, functionality and an improved form factor.”
Some speculated the February launch of Motorola’s Atrix 4G on AT&T (NYSE:T) necessitated the feature changes.
Others noted that the Droid Bionic was very similar to the Verizon-carried HTC ThunderBolt, from the 4.3-inch displays to the 8-megapixel cameras and HDMI connectivity in 1080p.
The improved Droid Bionic in the promo looks a little more like the Droid X, but is more squared off than the rounded-edged device eWEEK saw earlier this year. The “Android Central” blog listed Aug. 4 as a potential launch date for the new phone.
In other Android phone news, SprintFeed reported a Sprint Nexus S 4G upgrade that will enable the NFC (near field communication) “secure element” chip required for Google’s Wallet mobile-payment service coming this summer in New York and San Francisco.
SprintFeed said Nexus S 4G owners will begin receiving the over-the-air upgrade, which will also boast a WiMax settings widget, TTY support, and improved WiFi connectivity and signal acquisition, this Monday, July 11.