Engadget Awards 2011 - Tbolt is worst gadget of the year =(

[jackmei2]

The winners of the 2011 Engadget Awards -- Editors' Choice (and enter to win an unlocked Galaxy Nexus!) -- Engadget

I don't know how much weight I'd give this article, but damn, worst gadget of the year??? the tbolt has it's problems, but I didn't think it was THAT bad...

 

[dpham00]

I love the 2 year contract comment, those who bought it near when it came out had the option for 1 year contracts, i paid $ 30 more for 1 year contract. To me, it was a no brainer.

 

[mfancy]

Yeah I'm not sure its the worst. Sure there were better, but I've had 0 problems with my phone since I got it on launch day.

 

[dd0yl3]

I don't think it is the worst, but it sure could have been better. It was a first generation device so it has to get a pass in some categories like radio problems but because of the battery size it shipped with it just gave it a bad taste in the public mouth. I still love it though and couldn't be happier with the support ftom the device community no thanks to HTC.

 

[frellingfrakker]

I love my Thunderbolt. I'm a gadget hound I would have to say it's the best gadget I bought in 2011.

 

[FrankXS]

I love my Thunderbolt. I'm a gadget hound I would have to say it's the best gadget I bought in 2011.

Me too. I think where all the bad-rep is coming from is that the TBolt was the FIRST EVER 4G phone on Verizon. There was a learning curve on how the radios work with 4G. Tons of misunderstanding. Tons of impatience. Tons of folks who didn't have the time nor the willingness to learn more about 4G and try to understand the "ramp-up", so to speak. A lot of these folks traded in or returned their TBolt before it had a chance. Now, a lot of these same folks, much wiser now about the "way of 4G", much more accepting of the differences between the old 3G technology and the new 4G technology, are buying other 4G phones and comparing them to their own first "4G experience", which might not have been great.

I'm seeing so many issues with, specifically, the GNex (but other 4G offerings too) that I am convinced that the Thunderbolt is the most stable 4G phone on Verizon right now. And can still compare feature for feature with the best of 'em.

Worst gadget my a$$. Definitely not. Just a case of, dare I say, ignorance.

-Frank (yes, I know that opinions are like... well... and we all have one!)

 

[mightyfacundo]

I'm seeing so many issues with, specifically, the GNex (but other 4G offerings too) that I am convinced that the Thunderbolt is the most stable 4G phone on Verizon right now. And can still compare feature for feature with the best of 'em.

Worst gadget my a$$. Definitely not. Just a case of, dare I say, ignorance.

I agree with everything else you said but especially this. The Bolt got a bad rep for battery life...... until they realized that 4G drained the battery faster in some cases. It got a bad rep for random reboots...... until it was clear that every phone has random reboots (I'm looking at you GN!). However, HTC worked out the kinks faster than the other companies and now has a solid handle on how to make their phones play nice with Verizon's LTE. Finally, I don't care what Engadget thinks about my phone.

 

[FrankXS]

I don't care what Engadget thinks about my phone.

Haha! Yep. I guess that's what I was trying to say. Hehe...

-Frank

 

[mman609]

Anyone who uses the internet as a source of information has to quickly learn to be selective. All reviews are not equally independent, all opinions are not the same, all polls don't necessarily reflect reality and not everyone knows what they are talking about. Engadget is a source of good information at times, but not always.

It also looks as though all Thunderbolts are not equal. Mine has been a great joy to me and I have not had any of the problems that others seem to have experienced. Even my battery longevity has been satisfactory for my uses, though I'm not expecting Verizon to light up 4G in my rural area until sometime in 2018!

I have ignored friends who tell me that their iPad has made their wine taste better and improved their love life and I'll ignore Engadget when they tell me my phone is useless.

 

[MojaveHigh]

That is just ridiculous! I love my Thunderbolt, it does everything I want and more. Yes, I would love 3X the battery life; on the other hand, I have learned to be more efficient, which is a good thing all around.

 

[dpham00]

I'm seeing so many issues with, specifically, the GNex (but other 4G offerings too) that I am convinced that the Thunderbolt is the most stable 4G phone on Verizon right now. And can still compare feature for feature with the best of 'em.

Worst gadget my a$$. Definitely not. Just a case of, dare I say, ignorance.

-Frank (yes, I know that opinions are like... well... and we all have one!)

Imo, the radio isn't as stable as the rezound. There have been times when my friend asked me why her thunderbolt had no data, my Rezound had no problems with data. Just today, I saw someone with a Thunderbolt, trying to send an email, but no data, had to go to a more open part of the building. My Rezound had solid 4GLTE signal at that time. I am not saying that the ThunderBolt is bad, just that, in my personal experience, the rezound has a better radio. Got the rezound in November for $ 50 on upgrade, and haven't looked back at my thunderbolt. Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, if I am in a strong 4GLTE area, then my experience might be like yours.

 

[recDNA]

That is just ridiculous! I love my Thunderbolt, it does everything I want and more. Yes, I would love 3X the battery life; on the other hand, I have learned to be more efficient, which is a good thing all around.

Since adding extended battery and rooting I agree tbolt is fine. The thing is we shouldn't have had to buy an extended battery in order to push email, weather, etc. Because so much was expected of this phone the disappointment in its initial performance is expectable. It's like picking the worst movies of the year. You don't pick pure schlock. You pick a movie that had was expected to be great (not good) and fell well short of the mark. Waterworld was not the worst movie of the year. It was the worst huge money spectacular of the year. The tbolt is the heaven's gate of 4g phones when it was expected to be Citizen Kane.

 

[jackmei2]

I'm sure HTC learned a lot from the tbolt and implemented it into the Rezound. the tbolt was quite rough around the edges at first but has come quite a long way, so I can see why they gave it the worst device. but at the state it's at now, where the tbolt has been refined through all the software updates, I don't think the phone is as bad as they say.

 

[flipbeats]

I think this should be pointed to the Blackberry and not the t-bolt.. people are bad at rating devices

 

[natehoy]

I think this should be pointed to the Blackberry and not the t-bolt.. people are bad at rating devices

Blackberries are very good at what they do. Trouble is, most of what they do is directed at the folks in your company who are more worried about security than features.

Android is better at security than IOS but still has a little way to go to reach blackberry security levels.

Still, Blackberry has put out their share of stinkers.

 

[Hotweelz]

I don't care what anyone says, my thunderbolt does what I need it to do and it does it well. I'm glad I just take what other people say with a grain of salt, otherwise I would have never ended up with this fantastic phone. Nuff' said.

 

[DC Damien]

The readers choose the Playbook as the worst. The editors choose the Tbolt. Errrrrrrrr.

 

[anon(3092520)]

I've had the TB since the day it came out and have been eligible for an upgrade for a month or so because I chose a one year contract. I don't see any reason to upgrade and with ICS coming, I can see this phone lasting me at least another year or more. I think the only reason I would upgrade is if another HTC phone comes along that has a stock battery the size of the Razr Maxx. Without one, I'll stick with my TB with the extended battery.

 

[wildman]

I wouldn't take it personal, the statement it usual off opinion only and besides just because they said it and judged it on their site doesn't make it anymore true, I had the Droid X before I got the TB and that device wasn't the most stable device.

Each to their own opinion but I am happy with my TB.

 

[Spacemaker24]

I just bought my TB last month so I didn't have to deal with any of the 4G growing pains. For me, this device is great. I have not rooted and I have an extended battery. I am very happy with my TB which is all that matters.

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