Motorola looked to appease the most impatient of Droid Bionic fans on June 23 by tweeting: "hang tight, Droid Bionic is coming and slated for summer release." that Motorola's message came after one Droid Bionic fan threatened via Twitter to buy a Samsung Droid Charge unless Motorola would disclose an approximate availability date.

Motorola did not respond Thursday to questions about a Droid Bionic release date.

Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Brenda Raney said via email, "We don't have an availability date but are on track for this summer." She said ads like the leaked Best Buy ad are not yet available to the public.

Unlike summer movies, most smartphone customers can only afford to pay for one new phone, so Droid Bionic's release date has become increasingly critical. And for many Android fans, the Bionic is becoming this summer's smartphone blockbuster.

Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at , or subscribe to . His e-mail address is .