Decided NOT to pull the trigger

[Ryobi]

Why don't you guys pick up the iphone on Verizon? I had the OG Droid, then the DINC, then I had the iphone 4 for about a month, and now the TB. I'm considering returning the TB and keeping the iphone for the following reasons:

1. Battery life on the iphone is excellent
2. I prefer the screen on the iphone despite it's smaller size
3. Voice quality in my experience is better on the iphone (seems to be white noise or mild "static" on the TB always and I live in a 4G area with excellent coverage, suburbs of Detroit)
4. I actually like the smaller size of the iphone and it seems to have better build quality (no gaps around the screen unlike the bottum of the screen on the TB).
5. Skype video and Netflix over 3G (explain to me again why a phone with 4G can't do this?!?!?!) and factime over wifi.

I prefer the TB to the iphone for some reasons though:
1. Better Maps app
2. 4G - blazing fast where I live and travel to
3. Voice to text/commands integration -- makes it far easier to use while driving than the iphone
4. A little bit faster browsing the web on wifi, and much faster on 4G
5. HTC's browser that resizes text to fit in one column so you can just scroll up and down instead of side to side to read text like on the iphone
6. Bigger screen although I consider 4" to be the sweet spot.


I'll probably keep the TB since it only cost me $230 for a 1 year contract and return the iphone becuase I paid full retail for it, but more than likely I will pick up and ip5 if it has a 4" screen.

I have the iPhone 4 w/vzw. It's a solid phone. Like the size, the battery life, the display, the on screen keyboard and the call quality. I sold my X because 4.3" screen is too big. My only complaint w/ the iPhone is I wish the screen was slightly larger. Plus, I'm close to being done w/ android.

 

[TuxDotKing]

I would suggest going with Motorola's upcoming Droid Bionic, Motorola tends to have the best battery life of Android phones, and since you don't seem too interested in rooting, the locked bootloader shouldn't bother you. To get a picture of what you can expect the Bionic's battery life to be like, I'd drop by the Atrix forums, since they're basically the same device (LTE usage might cut that life down a bit though).

Some reviews of the Atrix's battery life:

On the battery side, the Atrix 4G packs an impressive 1930mAh battery inside, and even though Android is data intensive, we found ourselves squeezing more than 24 hours out of the device on a single charge with fairly heavy use. You can probably get more time out of the device if you avoid calls when possible and keep your brightness settings in check, but we were pleasantly surprised by the performance we saw.

Motorola Atrix 4G review -- Engadget

We’ve only been using the Motorola ATRIX for around a day now, but we can definitely report that the battery life on here seems to be pretty great. It’s easily on par or even a level better than other Android phones we’ve used and tested. We don’t do too, too much calling, but downloading, installing and using apps, email, browsing, Twitter, Facebook, and more hasn’t knocked us off the proverbial battery pedestal one bit.

Motorola ATRIX 4G review | BGR

and a detailed one from:

Motorola touts a nine-hour talk-time battery life for the Atrix, but we're not quite ready to sign on to that claim. What we do know is that the phone lasted all day on one charge, and does not have that annoying 'three hours and done' spec of some high-powered Android phones, such as the HTC Evo and the Samsung Epic.

One of the issues with rating battery life, though, is that it really depends on how you use the phone. Over several days, we tested a power user scenario, watching frequent video snippets on YouTube and running music on the phone, placing a few calls (some over a Bluetooth connection to a car), and playing games. On that day, the phone lasted more like six hours of total usage time.
On the second day, we used the phone only occasionally for music and placing calls, but not videos. The Atrix lasted about eight hours in that scenario. Presumably, if all you do is check contacts, visit a website, and place a few calls, the phone might last 9-10 hours on a charge.
We did like the fact that, upon getting home for the day, we just had to pop the phone into its dock to start charging again.

Motorola told us the battery life is better in part because of the dual-core processor, which tends to manage memory and apps better by sharing duties.
Smartphone makers are mum about how this actually works – they are not about to reveal any secrets about how their hardware works with the Android OS. In our tests, the Atrix was a long-lasting phone that's easier to charge with the docking station.

Motorola Atrix review from TechRadar UK

For the Droid Bionic, I'd expect it to last about the same on 3G, and maybe an hour or two less on LTE. And like some pointed out, there is an extended battery offered for the Thunderbolt, so that's something to look into; personally, I don't like the way it makes the phone look though. I think though that it all depends on whether you're using 4G or 3G though, if you only use 3G the Thunderbolt should be fine.

 

[hyatari]

Not seeing battery issues here. Actually better than I expected for a 1400mah batt. I'm not in a 4G area yet tho so I can't speak about that but if you are having a lot of drain over night in standby it could be a crappy signal in your house that is to blame.

 

[AndroidXTC]

Loved the device, played with it at the BigRed store yesterday for 20 minutes. I am ready to ditch my Storm 1. Love the reviews. I am completely put off by the battery issues. I am not a high tech user, do not want to be having to worry a bouts widgets and apps and other stuff running in the background that I will never use and can't delete.

If this device can't survive on one battery charge from morning to evening then I am going to sit on the sideline. My Storm does what I need it to do and I am going to wait until HTC and the other device makers can solve this battery mess.

Color me very disappointed. I was salivating for this device. Best of luck to all you guys. I truly appreciate all your advice and will keep tuned to this website in hopes of a solution.

David

I have no battery issues at all. I ditched my Storm2 ages ago. I never looked back. In fact my last phone was an EVO great phone also just a terrible carrier.

 

[Ryobi]

I loved the X, wanted to love the TB. The main reason I ditched the X is blur. I really like sense, that's why I wanted the TB. And you're correct, I'm not interested in rooting

 

[TuxDotKing]

I loved the X, wanted to love the TB. The main reason I ditched the X is blur. I really like sense, that's why I wanted the TB. And you're correct, I'm not interested in rooting

Many 'in-the-know' people in the Android community have said the new version of Blur on the Bionic will be much better, but your mileage may vary.

I think your best unrooted, out of the box battery life will definitely be from a Motorola phone, but I haven't read too much that discounts the Thunderbolt's life quite yet (though tbh, I just started reading into it today). Sorry if you've already been asked, but do you live in a 4G area?

 

[Ryobi]

Yes, I am in a 4G area

 

[jbomb11]

There is a 2750mAH extended battery being sold at verizon stores as well as online. This is about double the regular battery and you will have no problems keeping that thing charged all day. I'm not going to go for it because I am a software developer and sit at a desk all day for work and can just have it on the charger. But this seems like a good option for those of you that don't have that luxury.

I am using that extended battery and it still has terrible battery life.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[TuxDotKing]

Yes, I am in a 4G area

Then I think I'd wait for the Bionic.

 

[realitydigg]

I honestly believe you. The problem as I see it is that you need a Bolt owner to even state such a thing. Battery life should be a non issue especially given a device like the Bolt.

I am completely disturbed by the fact that the largest thread by far is the one about the battery! Almost 400 posts in less than 48 hours of Bolt availability. Completely crazy if you ask me.

I should not have to worry about widgets, apps, background software all sucking the battery dry and having to turn stuff off and repeat ad infinitum each time the device is restarted.

I think there is some confusion around battery life. Most people don;t know what to do, have a bug (The blockbuster thing), or are just so afraid they keep waking the phone up to check the power and stare at the guage to watch it go down. My phone came off the charger at noon and is at 87% now at 5:40p I have tuned up what syncs etc. and - unlike a lot of people updated the blockbuster app and stopped it from updating (there is a bug here responsible - i think - for most of the crazy battery drain). Having said all of this I can get the battery to drain by turning everything on and playing games, etc. etc. I think if i know i would be out and about i could manage my power, if i am near a usb or power I can ignore the need to manage power. I came from a storm 1 which out of the box was optimized for power, email, etc. This phone just requires you to do that yourself, but the benefits are worthwhile. Also, like people are saying new versions of software should continue to improve the power usage over time.

 

[Koato]

Loved the device, played with it at the BigRed store yesterday for 20 minutes. I am ready to ditch my Storm 1. Love the reviews. I am completely put off by the battery issues. I am not a high tech user, do not want to be having to worry a bouts widgets and apps and other stuff running in the background that I will never use and can't delete.

If this device can't survive on one battery charge from morning to evening then I am going to sit on the sideline. My Storm does what I need it to do and I am going to wait until HTC and the other device makers can solve this battery mess.

Color me very disappointed. I was salivating for this device. Best of luck to all you guys. I truly appreciate all your advice and will keep tuned to this website in hopes of a solution.

David

I'm going to tell you that was probably the best move, battery tech needs to catch up... until then it isnt worth it. I brought mine back today.. and I am very relieved.

 

[imprezu]

See ya..

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[budlight-budlight]

im still on a storm 1 and have been following this for months and now reading the real issues battery,data connectivity etc... im in the damn sticks barely get 3g here be awile for 4g..think ill start looking at the incredible 2 with 1 year contract...im sure there will be battery issues there also but maybe stock updates after this debacle

 

[shaddix]

There's no other option but the tb !

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[akira751]

im still on a storm 1 and have been following this for months and now reading the real issues battery,data connectivity etc... im in the damn sticks barely get 3g here be awile for 4g..think ill start looking at the incredible 2 with 1 year contract...im sure there will be battery issues there also but maybe stock updates after this debacle

Dump the Storm 1. Its a whole different ball game. My data is fine and my battery is ok and today I saw it below 30% and I used live wallpapers and widgets etc. I'll take any android phone over a Storm 1.

 

[sp44]

I'm going to tell you that was probably the best move, battery tech needs to catch up... until then it isnt worth it. I brought mine back today.. and I am very relieved.

I wouldn't be on this forum then. Why waste your time?

 

[terrain]

I have two viphones and under my usage I don't get a days worth. I have to AC tether at least once during the day. Once you use a 4.3 screen going to the tiny viphone screen is a nontarter for me.

I love my dx. I like my tb but add lte to the equation and its a must keep for me. I would prefer moto and will pick up a bionic when its released.

The battery that comes with the TB is obviously too small... the extended 2700 is way too large. Once we get a 1700 size battery the TB will be just fine.

 

[budlight-budlight]

i know its a whole different ballgame one way or another im gonna get rid of this bb for a droid still hesitant to get the 1st version of something after i dealt with this thing for 2 years plus..still pondering..already planned on drilling a hole in my desk for cord in landscape mode..chit is still tumbling in my head..still think incredible 2 would work great similar guts probably suit my needs just fine! but we'll see the more i read here the more my mind will get made up

 

[Tbolt_offspring]

the extended battery has added a new life to my TB
I been reading 99% for the past 1 hour.

 

[nate44]

i know its a whole different ballgame one way or another im gonna get rid of this bb for a droid still hesitant to get the 1st version of something after i dealt with this thing for 2 years plus..still pondering..already planned on drilling a hole in my desk for cord in landscape mode..chit is still tumbling in my head..still think incredible 2 would work great similar guts probably suit my needs just fine! but we'll see the more i read here the more my mind will get made up

Damn. You're hardcore!