My Honest Take On The Charge Vs Thunderbolt Debate...Now That I Also Have A Charge

[INK]

I remind you Samsung has the world's most popular handset in android the galaxy s2. and aren't they going to be forced by Google to push updates faster?

 

[iLLusive]

Hmmm believed honesty up until you mentioned 1 year contract there is NO option for anyone for 1 year since like April. You sure you got a 1 year contract with VZ and not some random 3rd party that you have to jump through 6 month hoops for in additional to VZ terms? Just saying you gave some honest feedback on phone but you are posting you got 1 year contact on forum where we all know that doesn't exsist and hasn't for some time.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

Your opinion isn't valid, you use AOL email. Sorry

OK...I'm not trying to bash or flame anyone, and I'm sorry to stray off topic, but that comment just made me have to post this...

What your email address says about your computer skills - The Oatmeal

 

[AndroidXTC]

Hmmm believed honesty up until you mentioned 1 year contract there is NO option for anyone for 1 year since like April. You sure you got a 1 year contract with VZ and not some random 3rd party that you have to jump through 6 month hoops for in additional to VZ terms? Just saying you gave some honest feedback on phone but you are posting you got 1 year contact on forum where we all know that doesn't exsist and hasn't for some time.

Yep I have a one year contract with Verizon, the price of the phone was $80 more vs the 2year they were offering at the time. It was well worth the $80 to be able to upgrade early next year to the latest handset.

 

[Mortiel]

OK...I'm not trying to bash or flame anyone, and I'm sorry to stray off topic, but that comment just made me have to post this...

What your email address says about your computer skills - The Oatmeal

Win. This is EXACTLY what my 68 year old aunt does, whom still has an AOL email address. I had to twist her arm to get cable internet four years ago, as she was STILL using AOL dial-up.

 

[AndroidXTC]

Win. This is EXACTLY what my 68 year old aunt does, whom still has an AOL email address. I had to twist her arm to get cable internet four years ago, as she was STILL using AOL dial-up.

FYI LOL You can just have AOL accounts and not have dial up. Its free no different than hotmail etc.

 

[Mortiel]

FYI LOL You can just have AOL accounts and not have dial up. Its free no different than hotmail etc.

I know this... I was referencing what that gag article said about what your email says about you.

 

[Joelist]

Remember that there is more to Sense than eye candy. For example, it has native ActiveSync baked into it because HTC licensed it from MS (that is a big reason it handles Exchange compatible email so fast). It is also a VERY smooth UI to use, and the most polished Android implementation (even including stock Android).

I have opined before that maybe Google should have contracted with HTC to do the UI development work on Android.

Touchwiz on the other hand is laggy and extremely derivative. In fact it is one of the things Samsung is in court with Apple over. If they were wise they would dump Touchwiz completely and just use stock - it would position them in a unique place in the market.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

OK its really pretty simple as I see it and there is no real winner here. Lets start things off by build quality. Both phones look nice from a distance but the Thunderbolt looks more complex and expensive and the Charge looks more mass produced by a big electronics giant Hmmmm. I thought I would really like the real keys at the bottom vs the touch keys turns out I don't although the keys work nicely on the Charge it seems like having to push them in an unnecessary extra step in todays world. Power and volume buttons are much better on the Charge without a doubt. I do like the kickstand on the Thunderbolt it gives the handset a little extra feature that no one else has if you know what I mean.

Getting down to the nuts and bolts now on how they function is where the real difference is in my opinion. Now I have only used the Charge for one day but I can tell you this hands down the Charge just works better in almost every aspect. Not by a lot but its noticeable once you have used them both. First of all the Charge pushes 3rd party emails almost as fast as a Blackberry I'm still amazed my AOL mail arrives within 3 minutes every single time and Gmail is of course even faster. The video camera works much better on the Charge the sound is so loud and robust and clear that even after the Thunderbolts update it still makes the Thunderbolts level of volume poor. Battery life is slightly better on the Charge as well. The Charge's screen is amazing but the Thunderbolts isn't all that bad either.

Over all reception is about the same on both phones the signal bars are just about the same. Call quality on both phones just about the same. Touchwiz is laggy and just not as smooth as the HTCs sense. The Charge connects the hot spot faster and has a much better sub menu system for the hotspot it even tells you the devices names that are connected to it. Not to babble on and on my feelings are like this if you want a beautiful runway model in pretty pumps but sometimes forgets what planet she's on buy the Thunderbolt. If you want a pretty housewife that washes the floors and cooks you dinner and picks up the dog poo buy the Charge. So what am I really saying? They both work well but internally the Charge seems to work better, it's operating system seems to be more stable.

I just love it when people who switch phones feel the need to go back to the forum for the old phone and give their "honest review" of the two phones in an attempt to justify the switch, especially when the reviews are vague and/or don't support their conclusions.

So your main reason for switching was third party email support which you say is faster on the Charge. Fair enough I guess but there are third party email apps of you don't like HTC's. You mention functionality in every respect but give very few examples and I have to point out that Thunderbolt will probably get enhancements to provide a similar experience with the Hotspot app in a future update.

You mention that you think the Charge is faster (less laggy) after owning the phone for one day. While don't own a Charge, I have spent a good amount of time with store demos (after rebooting them of course) and own a Fascinate (which also has TouchWiz on it) and I have to question this as well. Sense is without a doubt the smoothest user interface I have ever seen or used on Android in my experience with the TBolt, Dinc, DInc2, Evo, and Eris. The only Android phone I have used that was actually faster response time than my Thunderbolt is the original Droid after the Froyo update (no Motoblur or third party launcher). The Fascinate felt super fast when it was new, but once I added a few apps to it (like 50 I think) it started to majorly lagg and while the Charge is a newer generation I have a hard time believing it will be any different.

You are in the significant minority if you feel the build quality on the Charge is anywhere near as good as the Thunderbolt. Even the TBolt's critics give it that ("it is a very well constructed phone"). The Charge, while not quite as plasticity as the Fascinate, is not even a close comparison here.

And last but not least, you may want to avoid these forums thus summer when we are all feasting on Geiger-bread and you have to drown your sorrows in Froyo because your Gingerbread wont arrive until at least Christmas if not later.

We all appreciate your taking the time to compare the two but you might want to give it more than a day and perhaps a little more in depth thought rather than just initial reactions next time.

 

[dpham00]

Yep I have a one year contract with Verizon, the price of the phone was $80 more vs the 2year they were offering at the time. It was well worth the $80 to be able to upgrade early next year to the latest handset.

i got my 1 year contract tb for $230, but i could've gotten it with 2 year contract for $200. i feel 1 year for $30 more is a good deal. i was in contract so could not use any of the third party vendors deals.

 

[worwig]

Sorry.
I used a Fascinate for four months. The hardware was a FAIL. I have described all of the many failures of the hardware a number of times, so won't repeat them here.
The email client on the HTC TB is so much better then the Samsung Touchwiz email, that alone makes the HTC a clear WIN for me.
I will avoid Samsung for many years because I got burned on that deal so badly.

 

[Dilpickle1]

Post again when it's christmas and it still doesn't have Gingerbread. #justsaying.

This.

Also, the ONLY thing that could pull me away from the Thunderbolt is a Windows Phone 7 device with LTE and a kickstand.

 

[RkyMtnHigh]

I agree with another post....Let us know when you get Gingerbread....at all. (The Evo has a kickstand too)

 

[Mortiel]

This.

Also, the ONLY thing that could pull me away from the Thunderbolt is a Windows Phone 7 device with LTE and a kickstand.

You mean like this WP7 phone that looks amazingly like a Thunderbolt?

 

[dpham00]

You mean like this WP7 phone that looks amazingly like a Thunderbolt?

Is that the trophy?

 

[VideoEngineerAJS]

Is that the trophy?

Hmm... if that's a true Windows phone, is anyone else confused as to why the internet icon looks a lot like the Chrome logo?

Conspiracy anyone... ?

 

[AndroidXTC]

Sorry.
I used a Fascinate for four months. The hardware was a FAIL. I have described all of the many failures of the hardware a number of times, so won't repeat them here.
The email client on the HTC TB is so much better then the Samsung Touchwiz email, that alone makes the HTC a clear WIN for me.
I will avoid Samsung for many years because I got burned on that deal so badly.

This isn't a Fascinate. Lets not forget Googles own branded handsets are Samsung. The Charge really blows the TB away when it comes to pushing e mail its so fast as fast as the TB pushes GMail.

 

[VideoEngineerAJS]

This isn't a Fascinate. Lets not forget Googles own branded handsets are Samsung. The Charge really blows the TB away when it comes to pushing e mail its so fast as fast as the TB pushes GMail.

Well I guess the Charge would have absolutely no benefit for me then since I simply have 2 Gmail accounts and my work email through Exchange, which as someone else said earlier, HTC does the best.

Now I guess if I used my Live email for something other than my XBox 360 stuff or if I had a Yahoo or AOL email account, then that might be different, but I don't.

 

[Chrisy]

Exactly how I feel.

 

[bjboucher]

This isn't a Fascinate. Lets not forget Googles own branded handsets are Samsung. The Charge really blows the TB away when it comes to pushing e mail its so fast as fast as the TB pushes GMail.

I really can't imagine any e-mail being that important that receiving an e-mail a minute or two faster would make the difference on a phone. I really hope I never am that tied to my e-mail!