Learning Curve Issues?

[Blue Tide]

My wife is looking to upgrade phones and I was thinking about getting the Thunderbolt on a 1 yr plan for her. My question is if anyone here can tell me about the learning curve/basic operation/daily use of this device.

For me it's not an issue...I have a droid 2 and have had a smart phone for a number of years. I can walk my wife through some issues, but she currently has an enV2 (which is by far the most advanced phone she's had). She isn't completely non-savvy with tech devices, but I'm wondering if this is too much machine for her. She wants a smart phone, social media outlet & functional daily apps.

So is this device easy and good for even the first time user or is she probably best suited for a good, decent 3G droid with less features and tweaks needed?

 

[Forgetful]

It'll be fine. It's not more complicated than almost any other android currently offered. Sense 2.0 is also very straightforward. Sure it'll take a few hours to get used to but honestly it's fun getting to know the device.

It took my gf no time at all to adjust to her Dinc, and the Dinc isn't less complicated than the Bolt.

 

[fatboy97]

First, 1 yr contracts are almost gone if not totally gone by now... they recently removed them from the website a couple days ago.

Second, the Tbolt is not an easy device, since it does not have a good battery life. Don't get me wrong... it's a great device, super fast... but if she plans on carrying it around all day without looking at it and not plugging it in over night and maybe even once in the middle of the day... those are my concerns... I plug at work most of the day at work, and over night.

She will need to learn about the Market and what apps are available for her to customize it and to do things that it does not do out of the box... but that should be easy for you.

All that said... it's much better than an iPhone IMHO... and after my step daughter upgrade from a BB to an iPhone... she recently said: "The iPhone is more about hype than doing things"... I had to help her setup her email.

 

[tekhna]

I love the TBolt but if she's not willing to put the time into learning, just get her an iphone. They're idiot proof.

 

[FrankXS]

Bottom line... don't buy anything that is not 4G. 4G/LTE will be as prevalent as 3G very soon. You don't want to get roped into a 3G phone for a long time. Period. Imagine if, now, you had a 1x-only phone. Same difference. No good.

The TBolt can be as easy or as hard as you make it. You can simply use the basic functions (piece of cake!) or you can geek yourself into a frenzy (more like a bowl of spaghetti).

-Frank

 

[INK]

I love the TBolt but if she's not willing to put the time into learning, just get her an iphone. They're idiot proof.

No offense of course

 

[Blue Tide]

No offense of course

I know, right? Is that the "welcome to the forum" from the neighborhood grumpy old man?

Thanks to others for the input thus far.

 

[cegabq]

I feel like I'm middle of the road; I've had an OG Motorola Droid (coming from a WinMobile6/Q9c & got my Thunderbolt just this past Monday.

I've decided that I probably can't root on my own & would need my geeky son's help if I decide I want to root. For now, I'm content to explore how the T'bolt works with just stock, but I do like to tinker within that framework.

I brought my boss over to Android form B'berry & helped him set up his google accounts & migrate from both is B'berry & his Palm PDA. He needed lots of nurturing & showing him some of the ropes, tricks, tips etc. But he's hooked now. He's gone from the Incredible to the Thunderbolt.

So, if she has someone to hold her hand & be patient & want to bring her the joy of Google & Android, then from my perspective, she'll be fine.