Rumor: DROID BIONIC and Atrix Suffering from Power Management Issues

We had heard about power issues with the DROID BIONIC essentially on the day we returned from CES, but brushed them off as the units we used were clearly no where near finalized.  In fact, we were told that we might not see the device in the first half of 2011 because of these issues, but again, pushed our worries aside hoping that Moto would take action.  And then this week, those rumors became more visible over at Howard Forums through a couple of “trusted” members.

The first post by xbernaut that started this whole debacle…

If your really posting from a bionic I feel so sorry for you.that POS is so far from usable in any way shape or form.I bet that if it even makes it to shelves it will be through a bribe.the Etna and its twin for att both have a major unfixable flaw that will plaque it forever.too bad as I like it’s concept.its basically a ggalaxyS with motos XOOMs guts.almost exact!.I been using them as door stops since they are far from ready to be used daily.too bad I couldn’t hand them out as hockey pucks.

If it was given the proper dev time then I would feel differently.but knowing it’ll be rushed makes it a pass and wait for the droid X refresh or the Droid3.good luck with that sig of yours.

After pages worth of worried posts, we get another post, this time from CellZealot whom you may know from the various DROID and DROID X software leaks that we’ve all enjoyed…

The problem has to do with the PMU and causes a variety of issues including severe overheating even while at idle, power fluctuations affecting RF performance and cold boot issues.

These things were told to me by someone who is testing the devices. I have no hands on experience myself.

If you want to believe me that’s fine…if not…that’s fine too.

I have no intention of disclosing or discussing anything about my sources.

Satisfying people’s curiosity on internet forums is utterly worthless compared to their trust and my continued ability to have access to them.

If the reasons why aren’t plainly obvious to you then I needn’t bother explaining…sorry.

Seven hours later, CellZealot returns to clarify…

I asked if the PMU was a discreet component on the board like with the original Droid(actually a dual PMIC solution) which controls both the AP(Applications Processor) and BP(Baseband Processor), he said “Yes both”.

I responded that that was bad because it meant that this could be laid directly at the feet of Moto because they selected that component as opposed to it having been an integrated chipset problem.

He said “Yup!”.

And finally, a response to CellZealot from Winston25 who is apparently deep inside Motorola…

I expect that PMU issue will be solved, shortly. This week. Maybe even today. (and don’t ask me to say more)

kbman (CellZealot), I don’t know who your source is but I am impressed. That is some very deep level information.

Again, we avoided this story for weeks, but with an apparent confirmation that this problem will be fixed from someone we’re believing to be on the inside, we can all try to relax.  There is no way in hell that Motorola would let these two devices, which will carry them through 2011, contain a serious and “unfixable” power issue.  The Atrix is scheduled for a March release, so we have to assume they are confident enough in the product they have.  It’s their new flagship device.  While we love a good rumor, this is one that does nothing but unnecessary damage.

Anyone worried?