Need an honest opinion

[Derek1267]

I'm due for an upgrade now, and I have a few questions about the Thunderbolt.

1. Without rooting, is the battery life still very horrid?
2. I've heard bits and pieces of the GPS not locking on, how big of an issue is that
3. I also see so many tiny gripes people have with feature xyz, would it be worth it to just wait for a better phone to come out?

If anyone can help me out I'd appreciate it greatly

-Derek

 

[FutureTBoltOwner]

1. Depends on who you ask, some people who are rooted will tell you they get the best battery life that way, others who aren't (like myself) will give you different answers, some will say they get horrid life, while others like me will say you can get decent life depending on your usage (personally for me with heavy usage I get about 8 hours to me which is fair because it gets me through a work day or whatnot home in time before it dies, with moderate use I get 10 hours easy, usually 12-14, and with light use I get 18+)

2. The GPS not locking on seems to be different for people, I see a lot of people who have the problem all the time, my phone has this problem on and off, but it's not so bad that it bugs me that much, and verizon and HTC already have a fix in the works, should see it any week now via an OTA

3. Thats all in your opinion, depends on what you need, I would recommend going to a local store and trying one out to see if theres anything you would personally gripe about or not like, can't tell you anything I hate about it because that's my personal opinion and may not apply to you, they're all going to be different.

 

[Bobman]

I'm due for an upgrade now, and I have a few questions about the Thunderbolt.

1. Without rooting, is the battery life still very horrid?
2. I've heard bits and pieces of the GPS not locking on, how big of an issue is that
3. I also see so many tiny gripes people have with feature xyz, would it be worth it to just wait for a better phone to come out?

If anyone can help me out I'd appreciate it greatly

-Derek

Just remember, most of the feedback on any device or product is going to be from those with issues or complaints. People that are perfectly happy with a product don't leave much feedback.

So, I say get it! I'm very happy with mine. You have to charge the battery every night, but I think that is normal for a smartphone. It gets me through the day just fine though. I don't have any GPS issues or other small gripes really. I love this phone. Only other phone I would consider currently is the Droid Incredible 2, but it is going to be a very similar device just with a slightly smaller screen and no LTE.

 

[bjboucher]

1. With the extended battery I can go 3 days without charging on moderate use. When I was on vacation and using the phone as my laptop (very heavy usage), I would get down to 30-40% battery so I would have to charge. In my opinion, the extended battery is well worth it!

2. My GPS works great. I've even gotten lock while inside several times.

3. Not sure what features you could need that this phone doesnt have. Its great.

 

[kalopsia]

HTC has apparently released a firmware update that optimizes the battery and fixes some of those issues you've heard about (3g to 4g switching, GPS, etc.). We're just waiting on Verizon to release it I'm told.

I've gotten great battery life, not rooted, so far. There's been a few times where my battery has dropped crazy fast without even using a single thing (completely idle as far as I could tell). But rebooting the phone and recharging it fixes that problem. I'm hopeful Verizon will release the firmware update to us soon. I'm hoping it will fix those random rogue days of crazy battery drain.

But all in all, great phone so far. 4G is crazy fast. My only other problem besides those rogue battery days, is the microphone cancellation works during video recording...which means no audio in videos. But that's supposed to be fix in the upcoming firmware update.

 

[Derek1267]

Thank you everyone for the quick responses. Now I'm gonna pull the trigger and get a TB here soon.

Thanks again =)

 

[itsdollar]

You will be very happy with your decision. Any issues/questions throw them on here before getting frustrated.

 

[Chrisy]

I definitely recommend the extended battery. I'm at 14 hours awake time, 4 hours screen on and 69%!

I have no GPS issues. I use Google Navigation, Poynt, Latitude and c:geo.

Let us know if you have questions once you get your phone!