First off this is my first post on the forums, so hopefully I make it a good one. I love everything I see going on here and it feels like a very solid community so I'm looking forward to being a part of it.
Now onto the meat of the matter. I was browsing the local mall and happened across a 3rd party Verizon dealer so I figured what the hell, might as well see if they have any info because it seems like 3rd parties are the only ones giving any lately. The kid behind the counter asked if there was anything he could help me with, to which I jokingly replied "I doubt it" but went ahead and gave him the standard "What can you tell me about the Thunderbolt?" Started off the same as most, saying well I really don't have much, all they've given us is the marketing stuff.....BUT. At this point I'm thinking But? what BUT as he walks over to the service counter and low and behold reveals a demo Thunderbolt! Needless to say I was pretty dumbfounded as it was the last thing I was expecting so I immediately started in with the 20 questions routine which led virtually nowhere as was expected. I ran all the information I had by him, mostly the stuff thats been coming to light these last couple days such as Phil's launch date revelation and the Best Buy pricing details to which he replied "Damn this is going to be an expensive phone then" so obviously he had no idea. As far as a launch date he himself expected it to be early to mid March but when I informed him of the BB adds being posted he was a bit surprised. An interesting side note though when talking about the 4G pricing details he said he didn't expect them to change which we've all heard before but he also mentioned that he was told that the 4G network was expected to have roughly the same coverage is the current 3G by the end of the year or early 2012 so another rumor to pass around I suppose as I was under the impression it wasn't supposed to be fully deployed until 2013.
Now as far as the demo phone was concerned, it's a very solid piece of equipment even it it is just an empty if not weighted shell. I can confirm everything that Reb422 stated in his post, if anything it was slightly bigger than I had expected although you have to understand I'm coming from an LG EnV Touch (I know, I know and thats all we'll say) so pretty much any smart phone is going to seem huge. I gave the phone a good visual look over, hell I even put it in my pocket because thats where its gonna live when its not in my hand. At this point the guy looked a little nervous but I reassured him I wasn't going to run off with a demo unit, just wanted to try it on so to speak and to my surprise it didn't feel at all cumbersome or overly bulky.
Overall I was very happy with the size, weight, feel and look of the phone but unfortunately I do have one complaint. The kickstand, oh the kickstand. It's a very novel idea but one I feel may be just that and in the end very possibly a source of many complaints and heartache. Now I can't speak for the working TB's on the floor at CES but the kick on the demo feels like a cheap afterthought. It doesn't at all feel as sturdy as the rest of the phone and is nothing more than a thin piece of molded plastic which I have no doubt I would have little trouble snapping off if I happened to catch it wrong putting it in my pocket or jacket. When you stand the phone in the horizontal it works as advertised but when you try to stand the phone vertical on even the slightest smooth surface it becomes a delicate balancing act as the weight of the phone makes it want to shift to one side and snap the kickstand closed and thus topple over. I also share some members concerns that the kickstand may hinder audio playback, but since the rear speaker is so large this may be a non issue. Again I have to say it was a very good experience despite it being a demo unit but I have my reservations, with my NE2 coming up on March 11 I may just wait out the launch to see a few reviews hit the web before I Ride the Lightning
Mayhem
Now onto the meat of the matter. I was browsing the local mall and happened across a 3rd party Verizon dealer so I figured what the hell, might as well see if they have any info because it seems like 3rd parties are the only ones giving any lately. The kid behind the counter asked if there was anything he could help me with, to which I jokingly replied "I doubt it" but went ahead and gave him the standard "What can you tell me about the Thunderbolt?" Started off the same as most, saying well I really don't have much, all they've given us is the marketing stuff.....BUT. At this point I'm thinking But? what BUT as he walks over to the service counter and low and behold reveals a demo Thunderbolt! Needless to say I was pretty dumbfounded as it was the last thing I was expecting so I immediately started in with the 20 questions routine which led virtually nowhere as was expected. I ran all the information I had by him, mostly the stuff thats been coming to light these last couple days such as Phil's launch date revelation and the Best Buy pricing details to which he replied "Damn this is going to be an expensive phone then" so obviously he had no idea. As far as a launch date he himself expected it to be early to mid March but when I informed him of the BB adds being posted he was a bit surprised. An interesting side note though when talking about the 4G pricing details he said he didn't expect them to change which we've all heard before but he also mentioned that he was told that the 4G network was expected to have roughly the same coverage is the current 3G by the end of the year or early 2012 so another rumor to pass around I suppose as I was under the impression it wasn't supposed to be fully deployed until 2013.
Now as far as the demo phone was concerned, it's a very solid piece of equipment even it it is just an empty if not weighted shell. I can confirm everything that Reb422 stated in his post, if anything it was slightly bigger than I had expected although you have to understand I'm coming from an LG EnV Touch (I know, I know and thats all we'll say) so pretty much any smart phone is going to seem huge. I gave the phone a good visual look over, hell I even put it in my pocket because thats where its gonna live when its not in my hand. At this point the guy looked a little nervous but I reassured him I wasn't going to run off with a demo unit, just wanted to try it on so to speak and to my surprise it didn't feel at all cumbersome or overly bulky.
Overall I was very happy with the size, weight, feel and look of the phone but unfortunately I do have one complaint. The kickstand, oh the kickstand. It's a very novel idea but one I feel may be just that and in the end very possibly a source of many complaints and heartache. Now I can't speak for the working TB's on the floor at CES but the kick on the demo feels like a cheap afterthought. It doesn't at all feel as sturdy as the rest of the phone and is nothing more than a thin piece of molded plastic which I have no doubt I would have little trouble snapping off if I happened to catch it wrong putting it in my pocket or jacket. When you stand the phone in the horizontal it works as advertised but when you try to stand the phone vertical on even the slightest smooth surface it becomes a delicate balancing act as the weight of the phone makes it want to shift to one side and snap the kickstand closed and thus topple over. I also share some members concerns that the kickstand may hinder audio playback, but since the rear speaker is so large this may be a non issue. Again I have to say it was a very good experience despite it being a demo unit but I have my reservations, with my NE2 coming up on March 11 I may just wait out the launch to see a few reviews hit the web before I Ride the Lightning
Mayhem
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram