Should I Buy?

[zachnelson]

Hey there,

I've been following the Thunderbolt since way before release, and I'm extremely excited to possibly purchasing one in just under two weeks when I am eligible for the NE2 discount. However, I have some questions for the community, to better help myself understand some key information because I am new to android and smart phones in general.

1. Is android easy to navigate and figure out how to use?
2. Since I am not in a 4G area, should I just never install the 4G sim card, or should I install it but use an app to disable 4G?
3. For those of you that have had your Thunderbolt since launch, is the battery really as bad as draining 50% in 2 hours of standby?
4. Any guides to read about android or the thunderbolt?
5. Are there any really important things I should know about android or the thunderbolt?
6. Can I use my google apps account rather than a normal google account on the thunderbolt (market, gmail etc.)?

I'll have a lot more questions later I'm sure. Sorry if these may have been answered, I didn't search because I had little time to write this post.

Thanks!

 

[droid747]

Here are my answers to a few of your questions.

1. I find android very easy to navigate and figure out.
2. I am pretty sure you need to have the sim card in or the phone will not work.
3. My battery life is no where near that bad. I have had my phone off the charger for 25 hours and I am at 67% battery life left and I have sent text messages and did some speed tests and browsed some websites and this is all in 4G. So I think my battery life is decent.
4. There is plenty of guides and information in these forums.

 

[D850]

DON'T DO IT!! The thunderbolt has very poor battery life!! I just returned mine on wed. For the following reasons bad battery life 4-5 hours medium usage on 4g OR LESS!!, buggy had to do at least 6 restarts the 13 days i had it to get the mobile data working to get on the internet, and finally it would randomly restart itself it did that to me 4 times one of the times i was in the middle of a phone call and another time it turned itself off for no reason. I got a new Droid X nocontract on ebay for 250 and I am going to use the X until the Motorola Droid Bionic comes out it has a 1930mah battery more power efficient guts and a higher res screen and dual core. The damn thunderbolt only has a 1400mh battery pack!! The verzion stores solution when I complained about the piss poor battery life was and I quote "you can buy the extended battery and it will last longer" but the extended battery adds weight and about a little over a 1/4inch hump to the back of the phone! I left the thunderbolt alone on the counter not using it for 95% of the day one day and it was dead by 9pm the same day i used it for 30min the whole day texts and a couple short phone calls! The battery life on 4g and in general was a deal breaker for me. HTC has been famous for bad battery life and choosing the wrong size batteries for their phones. I loved HTC Sense UI but didnt want to get stuck with a phone that doesnt have all the kinks worked out yet.

And yes the screen brightness was at 35%, background data sync was off, blockbuster app disabled, bluetooth gps wifi were all off.

 

[FrankXS]

Hey there,

I've been following the Thunderbolt since way before release, and I'm extremely excited to possibly purchasing one in just under two weeks when I am eligible for the NE2 discount. However, I have some questions for the community, to better help myself understand some key information because I am new to android and smart phones in general.

1. Is android easy to navigate and figure out how to use? Yes. All basic functions are straight forward (i.e. make/receive calls, web browser, entering/retreiving contacts)
2. Since I am not in a 4G area, should I just never install the 4G sim card, or should I install it but use an app to disable 4G? Don't believe you have any choice here. I don't think the phone will work without the SIM. However, I see no benefit whatsoever to this anyway.
3. For those of you that have had your Thunderbolt since launch, is the battery really as bad as draining 50% in 2 hours of standby? No.
4. Any guides to read about android or the thunderbolt? All over the web. Try Google.
5. Are there any really important things I should know about android or the thunderbolt? It's defintely the most flexible OS today.
6. Can I use my google apps account rather than a normal google account on the thunderbolt (market, gmail etc.)? Yes.

I'll have a lot more questions later I'm sure. Sorry if these may have been answered, I didn't search because I had little time to write this post.

Thanks!

-Frank

10Char Policy

 

[Tonnected]

Thunderbolt is my first Android device as well. I find it very simple to use. Things are not always exactly where you may be used to but they are there and you will soon get over any hurdles. Almost all controls of all devices have settled into a standard look and feel - for instance the ubiquitous VCD style buttons for media players. You won't have any problems.

Battery life was poor at first but, after a couple days of breaking it in, it is working just fine. I can't go a week without recharging but I can certainly go all day. Caveat - I do use a car charger whenever I am in my car.

These forums are full of great information. Check the stickies at the top of the Thunderbolt forum as well as the general Android forums. You will find everything you need plus some great advice from your fellow users.

 

[willymakit]

Short and sweet ..........Get it. : )

 

[zachnelson]

Awesome guys thanks for your feedback! I've been compiling a list of all the apps I want to get. Should I add any to this?

Google Maps
Google Search
YouTube
Flash Player 10.2
Facebook for Android
Angry Birds
Angry Birds Rio
Angry Birds Seasons
Shazam
Dropbox
Google Sky Map
My Verizon
Barcode Scanner
Google Translate
Gmail
Adobe Reader
Dictionary.com
Speedtest.net Speed Test
ESPN ScoreCenter
Skype
Paper Toss
Google Earth
Bump
Adobe Photoshop Express
VEVO
Slice It!
Fruit Slice
Yelp
JuiceDefender beta
Fruit Ninja (paid)
Doodle Jump(paid)
Linpack for Android (benchmark)
Quadrant Standard Edition (benchmark)
Urban Dictionary
Converter Pro (paid)
Battery Graph
Androidify
GasBuddy
SpeedView
Wallet
Movies

 

[anon(2632)]

Awesome guys thanks for your feedback! I've been compiling a list of all the apps I want to get. Should I add any to this?

currently My Verizon & Skype don't work on the TB.

You forgot Android Central widget/app.

 

[Forgetful]

Get it. If you use your brain you can figure out any battery issues you are having.


My average usage is 20% remaining after 16/18 hours of up time with 4/4.5 hours of awake time.