Thunderbolt First Impressions/Reviews
- Thread starter Cyber Warrior
- Start date
* Aesthetics - Top notch. Very good looking phone with the soft black back and "chrome" accents. Kickstand looks great too
* Screen - Very nice. I'm sure next to a qHD or retina it doesn't look as good. But coming from the original droid, the colors are nicely saturated and looks really nice.
* Hardware - Nothing to complain about in terms of the phone itself. Screen is sensitive and buttons rock/depress well. The back cover is annoying to get off, but it's better than coming off too easily I guess.
* Phone - including bluetooth & speakerphone usage - Excellent. Pairs up to my car very nicely (Mazda) Speakers are great
* Overall User Interface (including HTC Sense) Very nice. Can't get facebook integration to work the way I want but overall very nice. Smooth and tons of features to make it work well. The Scene option is great for work/personal uses
* Widgets - Excellent stock widgets. From clocks to individual power settings is great. No 4G toggle though. Hopefully that will come later
* Signal quality (Compared to other devices) - Good, not great. I am consistantly getting LTE in my house but it doesnt go over 3 bars usually.
* GPS - it's a GPS, works fine for me
* Social Networking - annoying in my opinion. I am having a tough time configuring it to do what I want with Sense trying to do what it thinks I want. PM me if you have any suggestions on facebook integration.
* Email/Calendar - Great Widgets and looks great
* Battery Life - Most people say it will take a while to understand how well it will do. Not me. I've been sucking down data since 9am and cant get my battery over 50% while plugged into my laptop. Yeah its the first day, but my droid charged in 20min under moderate use. You will want a spare battery, external battery or chargers in every room of the house. Mildly annoying but there are so many options to help deal with this, it's not a dealbreaker
* Performance - Very snappy. Hate to use that term but it is. Very direct very percise and no complaints of not having a dual core. When they start running immersive, holigraphic, 3D gamming with ps3 graphics...then I'll look into dual core. But until then, I'll be satisfied with unlimited LTE and quick downloads (I downloaded about 25 apps from the web based marketplace in less than 30 seconds..unreal speeds here guys)
* Media (music, movies, DLNA) - Looks and sounds great. The FM radio was a nice surprise. I guess I knew it had a reciever but figured it had a complicated way of getting the feed. It's a normal FM radio and works well
* Keyboard's - Annoyed it doesn't have a real physical keyboard but the 4.3" size of the phone helps. Just depends if you like physical keyboards or not. The virtual one works just fine once you get used to the layout
* Camera (both still & video) - Awesome. Looks great on on the phone's screen and everywhere else
* How the Thunderbolt compares to your previous smartphone (if applicable) - The Thunderbolt was the next logical step from my original Droid. Camera, speed, screen, data speeds, overall features are absolutely excellent.
* Disappointments (if any) - Battery life. It will not be nearly as good as my Droid. Simple as that. But like other people are saying, the screen is a huge battery hog and I think LTE is probably part of the problem as well. The charger is on the wrong side. LED indicator is not RGB, rather just green and amber.
Overall I love the phone. I bought the phone for the LTE. And it delivers. It is an expensive phone but you can't buy cutting edge technology if it's not on the pricier side. True battery stats will eventually come out in the coming week or so which should be more help. Sense is overall an enjoyable experience minus a few quibbles. Get this phone if you want unlimited LTE on the cheap. I think there will still be an unlimited tier, just a bit more expensive.
There has to be an unlimited tier for these smartphones. If advertise video chat, cloud computing, netflix, flash based sites and all these other data intensive apps, you cant limit the customer. I know, I know, some people will say they don't care and they will, but it wont work. So moral of my store is, get in on the LTE while its cheap.
**Update after One Week**
Quality and the sorts is all very much the same. Excellent. Battery life is poor like I expected under moderate to heavy use. I firmly believe this is completely due to the screen size and power draw from it. When not using the screen or too many background operations, the phone will last a good 7-10hrs. I have long days (9am-2am is not out of the question most days). And if you do school and work like I do, you will want to look into the 2750mAh extended battery. Yes it makes the phone uglier, bigger and heavier, but it also makes it easier to hold and easier to use. Now on to LTE. This is magic and I don't believe it could be anything else. When I have a hard time pulling down more than 3.5mb/s at home(DSL) and then while sitting at a redlight I run a random speed test and pull down 32?!? It is unbelievable. No matter what you use to test, you will get impressive results. Like I've read in other reviews, the phone seems to follow speeds by signal strength: 1 bar > 1-5mb/s, 2 bars > 5-10mb/s, 3 bars > 10-15mb/s, and 4bars got me 32mb/s. That seems to be what I've run into as well. Building penetration seems to be reasonably good. I consistently get 2bars inside my house and have no problems with 5-10mb/s.
Recap: Love the device, size has grown on me, audio is great, video is great, screen is beautiful, kickstand is useful, Lte is where it is. Do not compare this to HSPA+ and Wimax. When TMobile has 42mb/s in more markets possibly. The speeds are absolutely insane and is embarrassing for others to try and compare. Plus you have Verizon 3G to fall back on, which while quite slow, is very reliable. I cannot confirm voice and data over 3G working well, due to me always connecting to 4G, but the normal voice over 3g and data over 4g works fine. Once again, if you like the 4.3" screen, which does take time getting used to, you can't go wrong with the phone. Battery usage needs to be monitored but is a non-issue for me with a 2750mAh battery. The kickstand is not a gimmick but very useful. I get kind of annoyed when people complain of no HDMI out. I don't even connect my laptop via HDMI out. It's like buying a fancy MP3 Player and wanting floppy disk expandable storage. DLNA works just as well with almost no hassle and cords. Love the phone and will keep this for a while..even without a dualcore. It's so smooth even without it
* Screen - Very nice. I'm sure next to a qHD or retina it doesn't look as good. But coming from the original droid, the colors are nicely saturated and looks really nice.
* Hardware - Nothing to complain about in terms of the phone itself. Screen is sensitive and buttons rock/depress well. The back cover is annoying to get off, but it's better than coming off too easily I guess.
* Phone - including bluetooth & speakerphone usage - Excellent. Pairs up to my car very nicely (Mazda) Speakers are great
* Overall User Interface (including HTC Sense) Very nice. Can't get facebook integration to work the way I want but overall very nice. Smooth and tons of features to make it work well. The Scene option is great for work/personal uses
* Widgets - Excellent stock widgets. From clocks to individual power settings is great. No 4G toggle though. Hopefully that will come later
* Signal quality (Compared to other devices) - Good, not great. I am consistantly getting LTE in my house but it doesnt go over 3 bars usually.
* GPS - it's a GPS, works fine for me
* Social Networking - annoying in my opinion. I am having a tough time configuring it to do what I want with Sense trying to do what it thinks I want. PM me if you have any suggestions on facebook integration.
* Email/Calendar - Great Widgets and looks great
* Battery Life - Most people say it will take a while to understand how well it will do. Not me. I've been sucking down data since 9am and cant get my battery over 50% while plugged into my laptop. Yeah its the first day, but my droid charged in 20min under moderate use. You will want a spare battery, external battery or chargers in every room of the house. Mildly annoying but there are so many options to help deal with this, it's not a dealbreaker
* Performance - Very snappy. Hate to use that term but it is. Very direct very percise and no complaints of not having a dual core. When they start running immersive, holigraphic, 3D gamming with ps3 graphics...then I'll look into dual core. But until then, I'll be satisfied with unlimited LTE and quick downloads (I downloaded about 25 apps from the web based marketplace in less than 30 seconds..unreal speeds here guys)
* Media (music, movies, DLNA) - Looks and sounds great. The FM radio was a nice surprise. I guess I knew it had a reciever but figured it had a complicated way of getting the feed. It's a normal FM radio and works well
* Keyboard's - Annoyed it doesn't have a real physical keyboard but the 4.3" size of the phone helps. Just depends if you like physical keyboards or not. The virtual one works just fine once you get used to the layout
* Camera (both still & video) - Awesome. Looks great on on the phone's screen and everywhere else
* How the Thunderbolt compares to your previous smartphone (if applicable) - The Thunderbolt was the next logical step from my original Droid. Camera, speed, screen, data speeds, overall features are absolutely excellent.
* Disappointments (if any) - Battery life. It will not be nearly as good as my Droid. Simple as that. But like other people are saying, the screen is a huge battery hog and I think LTE is probably part of the problem as well. The charger is on the wrong side. LED indicator is not RGB, rather just green and amber.
Overall I love the phone. I bought the phone for the LTE. And it delivers. It is an expensive phone but you can't buy cutting edge technology if it's not on the pricier side. True battery stats will eventually come out in the coming week or so which should be more help. Sense is overall an enjoyable experience minus a few quibbles. Get this phone if you want unlimited LTE on the cheap. I think there will still be an unlimited tier, just a bit more expensive.
There has to be an unlimited tier for these smartphones. If advertise video chat, cloud computing, netflix, flash based sites and all these other data intensive apps, you cant limit the customer. I know, I know, some people will say they don't care and they will, but it wont work. So moral of my store is, get in on the LTE while its cheap.
**Update after One Week**
Quality and the sorts is all very much the same. Excellent. Battery life is poor like I expected under moderate to heavy use. I firmly believe this is completely due to the screen size and power draw from it. When not using the screen or too many background operations, the phone will last a good 7-10hrs. I have long days (9am-2am is not out of the question most days). And if you do school and work like I do, you will want to look into the 2750mAh extended battery. Yes it makes the phone uglier, bigger and heavier, but it also makes it easier to hold and easier to use. Now on to LTE. This is magic and I don't believe it could be anything else. When I have a hard time pulling down more than 3.5mb/s at home(DSL) and then while sitting at a redlight I run a random speed test and pull down 32?!? It is unbelievable. No matter what you use to test, you will get impressive results. Like I've read in other reviews, the phone seems to follow speeds by signal strength: 1 bar > 1-5mb/s, 2 bars > 5-10mb/s, 3 bars > 10-15mb/s, and 4bars got me 32mb/s. That seems to be what I've run into as well. Building penetration seems to be reasonably good. I consistently get 2bars inside my house and have no problems with 5-10mb/s.
Recap: Love the device, size has grown on me, audio is great, video is great, screen is beautiful, kickstand is useful, Lte is where it is. Do not compare this to HSPA+ and Wimax. When TMobile has 42mb/s in more markets possibly. The speeds are absolutely insane and is embarrassing for others to try and compare. Plus you have Verizon 3G to fall back on, which while quite slow, is very reliable. I cannot confirm voice and data over 3G working well, due to me always connecting to 4G, but the normal voice over 3g and data over 4g works fine. Once again, if you like the 4.3" screen, which does take time getting used to, you can't go wrong with the phone. Battery usage needs to be monitored but is a non-issue for me with a 2750mAh battery. The kickstand is not a gimmick but very useful. I get kind of annoyed when people complain of no HDMI out. I don't even connect my laptop via HDMI out. It's like buying a fancy MP3 Player and wanting floppy disk expandable storage. DLNA works just as well with almost no hassle and cords. Love the phone and will keep this for a while..even without a dualcore. It's so smooth even without it
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Hmmmmmm. You paid $599 right? I am just wondering if I wait a week if I might be able to get it cheaper on Ebay. But I don't really want to wait. I have a perfectly fine tour right now, but i am so tired of not being able to do anything on the internet.
I find the same thing, with a little bit of a hiss in the background. Not a dealbreaker but I think my iphone had better sound.
First thing I did was dl speedtest from the market and I'm consistently getting 12 mbps down and 30! mbps up in downtown San Francisco
- Aesthetics - Beautiful. Nicer aesthetically than the EVO or Inspire. Better than the Fascinate and Droid X as well. I'll give it a 9. It would be a 10 if it had the red camera ring and speaker grille of the Incredible
- Screen - Beautiful. Colors are neither muted nor oversaturated. Just right.
- Hardware - Looks and feels solid. Kickstand holds well in portrait, and I'm using an THICK third party cable.
- Phone - including bluetooth & speakerphone usage - Easy syncing. Stereo Bluetooth headphones are able to play/pause and scrub/skip tracks. Buletooth headset audio is equal to or better than any other phone I've used
- Overall User Interface (including HTC Sense) - Simple and intuitive. The only brand of phone on which I do not use Launcher Pro Plus and Beautiful widgets. Beats TouchWiz (duh), Blur (double duh) and iOS. The only stock portion I have replaced is messaging, for which I use Handcent.
- Widgets - Sense widgets are the best on Android, bar none. As someone said earlier, HTC Sense and the included widgets are what Vanilla Android should be.
- Signal quality (Compared to other devices) - I haven't used it enough to give an opinion, although downloading a couple of apps while out today seemed faster than my previous phones. I will have a better idea of this when I get to work tomorrow.
- GPS - Seems to work well... Again, I haven't used it enough to give a good opinion
- Social Networking - I love how seamlessly Sense integrates your facebook and Google contacts. The FriendStream widget is pricesless for keeping track of statuses and Tweets.
- Email/Calendar - Easier setup of an Exchange account than with Motorola products.
- Battery Life - Incomplete, although it DID last 5 hours on half a charge and at least 3 of those hours were spent downloading, talking, texting, changing settings, etc. Seems to be comparable to the Inspire, which got me through the day most days. Battery life can only get better with time (rooting and debloating)
- Performance - Buckle Up. It's the law!!!
- Media (music, movies, DLNA) - Not tested
- Keyboard's - spacebar is a little small. That said, I haven't had any problems, and I've yet to calibrate it (Make sure you do!)
- Camera (both still & video) - Not tested
- How the Thunderbolt compares to your previous smartphone (if applicable) - Beats the OG Droid, Droid X and Fascinate HANDS DOWN. Beats the Incredible on performance as well as the new Sense.
- Disappointments (if any) - None so far
Why does this phone need 4G? I'm on 3G and its HOLY **** FAST. With my Eris I'd press a button, mill around a bit and then my page would almost be loaded. Now I blink and its there.
I sent my mom up to Verizon while I was at school cuz she's a doll, she got there 10 minutes after opening. There were 4 people in front of her for the Tbolt, a few came while she was waiting, and it just SWARMED when she finally got out.
I sent my mom up to Verizon while I was at school cuz she's a doll, she got there 10 minutes after opening. There were 4 people in front of her for the Tbolt, a few came while she was waiting, and it just SWARMED when she finally got out.
overall i am thrilled with my 'bolt. it is JUST the right size and heft. the screen is gorgeous, it's scorching fast (even on 3g) and it is LOUD. which is sweet. my only issue is this... i dunno if it's because my battery is down too like 2% (draining it before recharging the battery) but the app page kind of has this odd vibrational stutter. will see if it does it on full charge but wondered if anyone else noticed this? it's sooooo smooth otherwise.
I've experienced the same thing. At first I thought it might be the signal but I plugged in headphones and the scratchiness disappeared. I'll try it some more later tonight.
speaking of battery, my thunderbolt has been at below 2% for a LONG time. i jsut played a game of rock band thinking it'd rain it but it's still trucking. wifi is on as well.
Agree on screen.not in the same league as the x screen or iPhone screen but no a total pos.
Issues Adding Google Accounts
I'm so frustrated right now. Every time I try and add my gmail account it gives me a "can't establish a reliable connection to the server." error. Anyone else getting this? I can make phone calls and surf the web, but that's it.:'(
I'm so frustrated right now. Every time I try and add my gmail account it gives me a "can't establish a reliable connection to the server." error. Anyone else getting this? I can make phone calls and surf the web, but that's it.:'(
As much as I am excited about my Tbolt, I think I am more excited in the fact that you have one. I have been monitoring your posts for several months now.
Am I the only one that is surprised that the phone isn't really that heavy. coming from the Samsung Vibrant I thought this would be a brick in my hand.. really don't feel the weight and thats kudos to HTC making the back part feel great in your hand.
I had that problem this morning when i got mine. It took about 8 times to go thru and then suddenly it went thru.
All my apps slowly reappeared (from what i had on my eris) as the day went by too. Really interesting.
realitydigg
Well-known member
Mine discharged fast. I have now figured out how to reduce the screen brightness.... This battery indicater is a bit general - I see there are some replacements that show percentage...
realitydigg
Well-known member
It shuts off a lot of stuff at around 15%, so it may be behaving better, but not doing some stuff...
realitydigg
Well-known member
There is some bug with the speedtest android app that is causing it to double or triple the uploads, but mine is faster than my wifi at times!!!
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