Soon to be Tbolt owner

[cordoni]

Hey guys. I just purchased a Tbolt here on the marketplace, and am looking forward to getting it this coming week. I am currently a Samsung Fascinate owner, but can no longer tolerate the radio issues that Verizon/Samsung are causing with the new radios. It is to the point that I can't get any reception in my apartment anymore, data or voice. After trying everything, I am jumping ship to HTC.

I am looking forward to joining you all here.

A few questions.

How is 3g only battery life?
Is Sense as good as people make it out to be?
For those of you that are rooted, how is your battery life?

Look forward to learning more soon!

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

Hey guys. I just purchased a Tbolt here on the marketplace, and am looking forward to getting it this coming week. I am currently a Samsung Fascinate owner, but can no longer tolerate the radio issues that Verizon/Samsung are causing with the new radios. It is to the point that I can't get any reception in my apartment anymore, data or voice. After trying everything, I am jumping ship to HTC.

I am looking forward to joining you all here.

A few questions.

How is 3g only battery life?
Is Sense as good as people make it out to be?
For those of you that are rooted, how is your battery life?

Look forward to learning more soon!

Battery life on 3G isn't bad at all. The battery definitely much drains faster when using 4G. I have no problem getting over a full 24 hours on a single charge when using WIFI or 3G.

I like Sense for the most part. If you plan on rooting, there are ROMs you can run that remove Sense, but many of them are sense-based. It's a decent, well-built interface.

Rooting alone won't improve battery life, but some ROMs and, more specifically, kernels that can be installed once rooted do improve battery life.

A lot of folks, most those that had not gained root access of their device and installed the latest (MR1) VZW update, were having radio and phone reboot issues. Most of us that are rooted did not have these same issues, because we were able to run different ROMs and better radios. There is also a new update (MR2) that has already been leaked (and scheduled to be pushed ~June 15th), that fixes most of these problems. Those already running leak have reported improved performance thus far. This newest update may also improve some issues with GPS locking that many were experiencing as well.

 

[cordoni]

Battery life on 3G isn't bad at all. The battery definitely much drains faster when using 4G. I have no problem getting over a full 24 hours on a single charge when using WIFI or 3G.

I like Sense for the most part. If you plan on rooting, there are ROMs you can run that remove Sense, but many of them are sense-based. It's a decent, well-built interface.

Rooting alone won't improve battery life, but some ROMs and, more specifically, kernels that can be installed once rooted do improve battery life.

A lot of folks, most those that had not gained root access of their device and installed the latest (MR1) VZW update, were having radio and phone reboot issues. Most of us that are rooted did not have these same issues, because we were able to run different ROMs and better radios. There is also a new update (MR2) that has already been leaked (and scheduled to be pushed ~June 15th), that fixes most of these problems. Those already running leak have reported improved performance thus far. This newest update may also improve some issues with GPS locking that many were experiencing as well.

I have tried Sense on some friend's phones and seemed good. I may have to try out the ROM's that are Sense based that you mentioned.

Yeah on Rooting and bat. life. I got ComRom installed now, so I would likely go the ROM route, either that or use TiBU to freeze the bloat.

Which ROM do you recommend, BTW? And thanks for the info!

 

[bman123]

I'm using das bamf 1.7 remix and its fast. I overclocking to 1400mhz and it really looms but overclocking chess thru my battery. 3g battery life is really good on the bolt, I easily make it all day without re charging. Get the LTE on off app (free) it let's you switch between 3g and 4g so if you are in a non 4g area you can turn off 4g and get better battery life.

The phone is great, plays games really good. Sense is awesome, i love it. There are plenty of roms to pick from and the dev community is really good. Just watch how you set up your screen brightness, sync, Bluetooth, gps, and manage your data via LTE on off and I'm sure you will be happy with the phone I know I am...

 

[cordoni]

Thanks a lot. That was the rom I am leaning to since I gave had great success with andynaline's roms on the fascinate.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

 

[jhowle9475]

I was a thunderbolt owner and I really loved the phone but after three replacements I had a enough. The thunderbolt has a lot of great features but it also comes with lots of flaws and you should be aware of them. Right off the bat you will find out that lots of app don't work on the thunderbolt (Skype, My verizon and many more). Another issue you will find right away is that the device reboots a lot after software updates and they aren't put together very well. When the device restart, it cause the alarm to reset and it won't go off. Of the 3 that I had, the silver strip along top had a sharp edge and it cut my ear once. The plastic insert below the screen on all three was only attached on one side and popped out a lot. On my second device the screen cover wasnt attached on the bottom right corner and crap got between it and the screen a lot. of the time.

You will also see if you care to read through these forums the multitude of problems that other users are having with the device as a hole. It being a first generation 4G phone it is plain to see that it isn't doing very well at all. I don't know how many HTC phones you have ever had but one things that seems to plague them is that software updates tend to cause more problems then they fix. Call quality is okay them is okay and with this device people told me it sounded like i was standing beside a highway when i talked to them. I never believed them until i heard it for myself and it sound like a constant hiss.

Personally i'm not super excited about the line up of 4G phone being offered. All three of them have there share of problems and they all have been released way to early. I understand why verizon rushed them out like they did i mean someone had to pick up the bill for the switch to 4G right (or at least justify it). Anyhow, please don't think i am bad mouthing the phone because i'm not afterall i still own one until tomorrow when fedex comes to pick it up. Personnally i think that if you don't live in an area where 4G is yet then verizon has some phones like the droid X2 that are a far better buy. The 4G selection will much better this time next year.

 

[mightyfacundo]

Obviously jhowle had a very poor experience with his Bolt, but I can honestly say that i've had a GREAT experience. However, if you get a lemon of a phone like he got, return it and get one that works for you. Keep in mind though that they're getting ready to release another update that seems to remedy most of the software issues he experienced. Early reports on it are very encouraging.

As for your initial questions:

My 3g battery life is fine. Yes I have to charge the phone every night, but I easily make it through the day with moderate use.

I like Sense. It works for me so I don't have a problem with it.

Not rooted, so I can't help you there.

 

[jhowle9475]

i honestly hope the update fixes it. As far as I am concerned i have 9 more days to decided if i wanna keep the charge or my thunderbolt. Either way i gotta send one back. I have tinkered with revolution also and I'm far from impressed with any of them. Keep in mind that all t hree are 1st Gen devices. All three have just as many bad points as good. Even the tier 2 support folks have told me some things about these phones and one of those things is that the tbolt is not likely to be a long haul device and it is likely that they will phase it out quickly.

 

[NotJustAPhone]

If you're willing to root, using one of the kernels that undervolt helps with battery life.

 

[jhowle9475]

I have an old droid 1 and droid 2 global i tinker with. Being that there is a waranty on the thunderbolt i'm just not willing to root and rom the phone. I feel like i shouldn't have to because HTC should make the device solid enough to stand alone without the need to do those things and obviously they haven't

 

[jhowle9475]

The way i see it is if buying a phone envolved the desire to change it then why buy it. Verizon always works with me not only because i am a service member but also because i don't alter my phones.

 

[CMRobinson]

Great, more competition in the contests. J/K, this phone is great! It needs a little work, all smart phones do, but once you get it and settle on you will love it.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

Welcome to the family!

 

[cordoni]

My first post from my thunderbolt! Loving this.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[NotJustAPhone]

My first post from my thunderbolt! Loving this.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

So how are you liking the ThunderBolt so far?

 

[cordoni]

So how are you liking the ThunderBolt so far?

So far, it's great. I had a Fascinate before, and a BB before that, so that is my point of reference. Nothing needs to be said about the BB vs Tbolt.

Pros:
1. The Thunderbolt works great right out of the box. No rooting needed to make the device work as it should. My Fascinate had to be rooted and ROMed just to be up to standard usability.

2. The integration of Sense is incredible. Themes covering both the Status bar and widgets is great. Having all my widgets tied into the launcher is a great battery boom as well.

3. For all folks talk about SuperAmoled, I actually like the T-Bolt screen better. The color mix is more true to life, and the resolution appears clearer.

4. The default notifications built in are great.

5. Battery life is decent. Unrooted, with a half hour or so of Pandora and one phone call, I had 15% left after work. (3g no 4g)

6. 4g area 1.5 hours down the is 18mbs signal!

7. The phone has some weight and solidity to it. I never understood what people meant when they said "plasticy" feel of some phones. Now I do.

8. Sense bedside alarm clock is great. The numbers move around the screen to prevent burn in.

9. Voice and data signal are strong. I can now use my phone on network in my apartment again (Fascinate radio changes killed it for me previously)

10. Kickstand!

11. Speaker is load and clear, surprisingly so for a phone.

12. A notification light! I had forgotten how much I missed that from the BB.

Cons:
1. Audio is not as good sounding in headphones as Voodoo Sound kernals. Still good, but not mind blowingly good like Voodoo.

2. No Odin.

3. Rooting is riskier than Samsung devices (haven’t rooted yet)

Overall, absolutely loving this phone. I see why HTC has done so well.