Will the Motorola DROID BIONIC’s arrival be too late? In one gasp–yes–and that’s a highly probably yes. The main reason is that, since the time Motorola announced the smartphone for Verizon Wireless, so much has changed. Long story short, the DROID BIONIC will be arriving in a market already suffused with cutthroat competition.

It’s been half a year since Motorola announced the DROID BIONIC at the Consumer Electronics Show 2011 way back in January. Back then, we were all drooling over dual-cores and 4G–fantastic new technology at that time. Fast-forward to July–or even to the DROID BIONIC’s rumored launch month in August–and we find that dual-cores and 4G are no longer as drool-worthy as they were six months back.

The market currently has several dual-core 4G smartphones waiting for the DROID BIONIC’s attempt to outdo them: T-Mobile G2X (LG G2X), HTC Sensation 4G, and Motorola Atrix 4G. Some time in May, Motorola unleashed the Motorola DROID X2 on Verizon, and we found that really awesome because of its dual-core processor.

The Motorola DROID X2 is Verizon’s first dual-core smartphone, but it only has 3G power. The HTC Thunderbolt, although not dual-core, earns the fame for being the carrier’s first 4G smartphone. The Motorola DROID BIONIC, when it comes to Verizon, has the potential to outshine Verizon’s other stars and will become an instant star just like the HTC Thunderbolt was, essentially because the DROID BIONIC is both dual-core and 4G/LTE-capable. But, the excitement may only go as far as Verizon’s circle. That’s not a small thing, though, given Verizon’s shining reputation for 4G/LTE data service.

Another thing that may give the DROID BIONIC a strong fighting chance is Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Many smartphones are still struggling with Android 2.2 Froyo, although way back in January we had been dancing in celebration of the frozen treat. Now that Gingerbread’s out of the oven, smartphone users are clamoring for a bite of the gingery biscuit. Yet, only few handsets have been given the treat so far. If the DROID BIONIC comes with Gingerbread, it will have a better selling point over the others who may still be waiting for their Gingerbreads in August.

Motorola has earned the ire of so many potential consumers for making them wait for so long for the DROID BIONIC. Will Motorola surprise them with a much-better, more powerful, wait-worthy DROID BIONIC than we saw in leaks and rumors these past few months? That remains to be seen. If not, at least we deserve a competitive price–one that is easy on the pocket.

What in the Motorola DROID BIONIC are you looking forward to?