TB top phone... to avoid?!

**coolbreeze** · 08-02-2011, 03:07 PM

This is on the front page of yahoo today. Seems kind of harsh to lump the Thunderbolt in with this group of phones. Especially considering it is currently the most powerful phone on Verizon and most of the issues have been fixed.

**bjboucher** · 08-02-2011, 03:21 PM

Maybe they should re-review since MR2. I've never had those issues anyway but I think most of them were fixed for the majority with MR2 update. I've loved this phone since the day I got it. That review is a bit harsh.

**BattleSwine** · 08-02-2011, 03:22 PM

Sounds pre-MR2 to me... and very one sided

**coolbreeze** · 08-02-2011, 03:31 PM

Originally Posted by BattleSwine

Sounds pre-MR2 to me... and very one sided

Agreed it is very one sided. Maybe it is pre-MR2. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't running on the main carousel of stories today on the yahoo home page.

**Malibu02** · 08-02-2011, 04:07 PM

My TB has been fine since day 1.
I dont put much faith in some of these blogs. Seems like whenever a new phone is being advertised there is a rash of blogs bashing the previous models.
Maybe I'm a skeptic but I ponder whether it is just marketing by creative means. I'm sure the bloggers donate their time to these lengthy articles with no thought of getting paid.
Us phone junkies always want the best of the best which is what they try to exploit and they are good at it.
$.02

**1Brite1** · 08-02-2011, 04:14 PM

I am one of the "lucky" that have had problems from day one. I have been on both MR1 and MR2. I have had new phones/sims sent. Mostly connection/no connection/phone freezes. They are sending a new iPhone in replace and said that when the new 4G phones come out and even then, about 2 months after they have been out, I can get one of those when they get more of the kinks of the LTE network/antenna issues fixed. I guess I will find out how much I like the iPhone tomorrow.

**Eclipse2K** · 08-02-2011, 04:45 PM

I could care less what any publication says. My Thunderbolt had issues when MR1 hit but it happened so late that the unreleased MR2 was available and fixed all of my concerns. The Thunderbolt must be doing something right to still be considered the flagship phone this late in the game.

Have fun with that iPhone though. Not bad phones but I'm an Android guy. Plus, that screen is far too small for me to use.

Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt using Tapatalk.

**fatboy97** · 08-02-2011, 04:49 PM

Just shows you that ANYONE can write a Blog.... and most are just trash!!!

**TMFoughty** · 08-02-2011, 06:45 PM

I've been a TB user from the first month, and I agree with it. I can't get throughout the day without charging it, or switching batteries. What good is a phone with all these options when I can't use them because they drain the battery.

Sent from my Thunderbolt.

**rookie83** · 08-02-2011, 06:52 PM

Who the hell even YAHOOOOOOS any more any way since google and android came out! I cant even remember my yahoo id and password LOL

**FLANDRDUSER** · 08-02-2011, 06:56 PM

I have had my TB since the first week of release and it has been a great phone, I have very little trouble out of my battery because I keep the screen brightness down unless I use it outside, that is not often and then I use juice defender and it works great. I can go from usually around 8 am to 4 pm and never have to charge it. I am a business traveler and I use it for e-mails and the like all the time. I do have it rooted but still mostly stock with no updates to the firmware until now. I am gonna do it tonight... we will see what happens.

**streetstrip01** · 08-02-2011, 07:52 PM

Never really had any problems with mine that I didn't cause in the first place.

No reboots, have extended battery, etc

**worwig** · 08-02-2011, 10:13 PM

OK, it is just a worthless blog.
And while I had no real issues with mine, you have to admit the VZW/HTC farted around for WAY to many weeks (months?) coming out with the update. They deserve a black eye over that.

**Charmed Juan** · 08-03-2011, 12:36 PM

What's so bad about changing batteries at mid day?
Takes less than 3 minutes, that includes the restart.

**onegimp** · 08-03-2011, 12:56 PM

Originally Posted by San Juan

What's so bad about changing batteries at mid day?
Takes less than 3 minutes, that includes the restart.

Because it is a stupid thing that should not have to be done. In this day of technology battery life should improve not get worst. A person should not have to carry around an extra battery and a fist full of chargers just in case.

**bjboucher** · 08-03-2011, 01:10 PM

Originally Posted by onegimp

Because it is a stupid thing that should not have to be done. In this day of technology battery life should improve not get worst. A person should not have to carry around an extra battery and a fist full of chargers just in case.

So get the extended battery and all your issues are gone. Its the battery the phone should have come with from the beginning....easy fix.

**onegimp** · 08-03-2011, 01:41 PM

Originally Posted by bjboucher

So get the extended battery and all your issues are gone. Its the battery the phone should have come with from the beginning....easy fix.

Got that within a week of buying the phone. Still shouldn't have had to get it in the first place along with a bucket of chargers. I should not have to plan my day around charging this phone.

**Bond32** · 08-03-2011, 01:48 PM

Beating a dead horse here, but that article is crap. The tbolt is absolutly the fastest possibly phone available on any carrier at the moment, thats both speed with the innerds of the phone and the 4GLTE network. No other network can come even close to 38 mbps. Battery life does suck, but there are plenty of options around that. For example, the easiest is to charge it midday. If you can't do that get another battery, and if that still isn't enough the extended battery will last you almost a guaranteed full day.

There will always be a trade off somewhere, and in the thunderbolt's case it's battery life. When people buy the phone I assume they are informed about its speed and battery usage, yet still people purchase it and complain, then put up ill-informed blogs.

They are putting the tbolt in a list with phones that are slightly better than feature phones, and a dell streak that still runs pre-2.0 android (I think).

**rage151** · 08-03-2011, 07:48 PM

If the TB is going to get any negative press, the EVO should always get the same...if not worse.

The author of that article obviously doesn't know mobile phones...

**paintdrinkingpete** · 08-03-2011, 08:17 PM

To start, I am VERY happy with my Thunderbolt...and have been since day 1.

I read this though, and to be honest, it's pretty much right on the money. Granted, the MR2 update fixed the reboot issue for most of the folks that we're experiencing that, but it was still a real problem that frankly, took HTC/Verizon way too long to fix. (And I didn't even have a problem). The problem may be "fixed" now, but the bad press that the reboot issues created can be hard to recover from.

4G is super fast, but it really does just suck the battery right out of it.

Now, if I were writing a blog post about the five Android phones to avoid, I definitely would NOT put the Thunderbolt on it...in fact I'd be more likely to put it on the top 5 I'd recommend...I'm just saying that I don't necessarily disagree with the points that were presented.

The , however, it just the rant of someone who has obviously had abnormally negative experience. With every other phone on the list, he based his reasoning for it being there on pretty much specs alone, and then ranks the TB #1 based on his personal experience. If you're gonna do a list like that, either use every phone for a while and base your ratings on the experience, or rate the phones on specs alone, but don't mix and match just to "create" an arena to complain about your current phone. To even lump the TB with some of these other devices is like comparing apples and oranges. Oh, and the "fauxG" thing? Yeah, we get it, you came up with a clever name...for a network that actually DOES live up to it's advertised speeds? Sorry, the "fauxG" thing made sense for the Inspire review, but it really doesn't fit for Verizon's LTE.

**bjboucher** · 08-03-2011, 08:22 PM

Originally Posted by onegimp

Got that within a week of buying the phone. Still shouldn't have had to get it in the first place along with a bucket of chargers. I should not have to plan my day around charging this phone.

You have some issues with your phone or something if you can't get a full day out of your phone on an extended battery. Unless it just runs non-stop and in that case no phone would last all day.

**zero neck** · 08-03-2011, 08:23 PM

Put simply, its mainly growing pains for new tech. Tbolt is an awesome phone, but you may need to do some tinkering to get it right.

**onegimp** · 08-04-2011, 08:54 AM

Originally Posted by bjboucher

You have some issues with your phone or something if you can't get a full day out of your phone on an extended battery. Unless it just runs non-stop and in that case no phone would last all day.

I can get a full day out of the extended battery. The point is that I shouldn't have had to buy one in the first place to get through a day on one charge.

**Rob_B** · 08-04-2011, 03:48 PM

I believe the Thunderbolt has potential, it just never measured up to HTC and VZW hype. Up until mr2 I had a usable phone. Then came the unknown data drops, for me and countless others, which left us with delayed SMS & MMS messages and no internet connection. I even dropped phone usage (found they either showed as missed call or pending voicemails). To recover I use plenty of my extended battery reserve (went from 100%-69% trying to reconnect). I am in Rochester NY, one of the initial 4G rollout cities and up until mr2 I enjoyed 4G data without this 4G-3G-1X-no connection I have now. I'm stock and believe HTC & VZW owe me a fully functional 4G phone without having to root. I paid for more than I'm getting now :-( . I can't even get them to suggest anything beyond their goto "factory reset" , remove LTE OnOff, and not even a hint the onus is on them to fix a flawed update.