So, should I buy a Thunderbolt?

[bokeh_cb]

Ok, heres the deal. I have been sitting on an upgrade since August. I currently have a Droid X and I have been waiting for the Galaxy Nexus to finally arrive. However, I have a baby on the way very soon and I have been seriously going over my budget concerns and I simply do not have ANY money to spend on a phone. But I really want some 4G goodness. The Thunderbolt will be available for FREE at Best Buy on black friday with a 2 year contract and free sounds really good.

I have researched the Thunderbolt issues and for some its the worst phone ever and some have had no major issues with it. I know that battery life can be dismal but I have no problem popping on the extended battery. I actually like the way the larger back makes the phone look and feel. Speaking of which, I think the TB is one of the best looking phones out right now with its black/grey scheme and metal/chrome accents. Its not just another black slab. The build quality seems really good and coming from a Droid X thats important to me.

My main question is...have most of the issues, other then battery life, been sorted by now with the Gingerbread update finally up and running? Is the TB a usable phone for the next two years? A reboot here and there wont bother me tooooooo much since my X does that quite a bit, however it would be nice to not have to deal with that. If it matters, I will be running ADW EX instead of Sense. With this help battery life or stability at all? Im not a big fan of Sense but Im just curious if there is any benifits gained from using another launcher.

Also, before anyone suggests other possible phones, the TB is really the only 'older' phone I would consider on Verizon. Just keeping my X and waiting for the price of some of these newer phones to come down in the next few months is not really an option. I just dont like the looks of the Bionic, the Rezound is Meh, the Razr is really nice but there is something about those clipped corners that just doesnt gel with me, and Im sick of the hype built up over the Nexus and Verizons utter lack of information on it. Plus, the Nexus just looks....a little plasticky for me. I can imagine it feeling alot like my wifes Fascinate and thats just not a good thing. A freaking Nexus phone should feel like the original Nexus did...like a hunk of metal. Just my opinion tho.

So, is the TB a viable phone for a father to be for the next two years? With the battery life solved with an extended battery does the darn thing just work?

BTW, long time lurker and first time poster here. 0/

 

[Sean-Troy]

No stay away from the thunderbolt

 

[kidnice15]

Well I just got a thunderbolt about a month ago for 150, the person had it for only a month so it was perfect condition, I am actually glad that I got the thunderbolt, I was using a iphone 4. I didn't like it anymore and wanted a fresh start with a 4G phone. The first thing I did when I got my phone was root it. Then I bought a extended battery. I actually can go a while with out charging my phone, the extended battery does help out alot. Granted I dont have the most knowledge when it comes to the TB. I am still learning about it. But for the month I have had it, I like it a lot more then my iphone 4.

 

[rvhighway]

Widdershins - The bottom line to everything that you wrote is the issue of priorities. You have them right. Anyone who might tell you to spend money on a phone, when you have the option to not do it, instead of applying your finances to something much more important (your baby) isn't giving you good advice. Congratulations on your baby!

As for the phone, I have the TBolt and am enitrely pleased with it. All those early problems never affected me in a big way early on, but they were there. Now, they are all gone after the updates.

Sure, it would be nice to have the biggest and best thing available right now. However, nothing out there will do anything I do with the phone any better than the TBolt can do it right now. I have internet access at 4G speeds, listen to some podcasts each day, stream video from various services, send text messages, get voice mails, and talk on the phone. It all gets done with my TBolt without a problem.

As for those growing pains that the TBolt went though on Verizon's emerging LTE network, I have no evidence of them any more. My TBolt does not reboot itself and my voicemail works just fine. The only thing remaining is the battery life issue, but that isn't a TBolt-only problem. It comes from the higher requirements of the 4G radio and many people's more intensive use of what 4G has to offer.

You can help deal with the power requirements through extended batteries, like the 2750 mAh big one or even the 1620 mHa Rezound battery. The 1620 is a direct fit to the TBolt's space without needing the bigger back. In either case, it will be an improvement over the standard 1400 mAh TBolt battery.

So, that's my take. IMO the TBolt will provide you good service at a price that can't be beat. You should be proud of setting your priorities properly and realizing that an investment in your baby means more than an investment in what is just a stupid telephone. Think about it, a phone is a thing that will be gone in a couple years - your baby will be with you until the day you die. Which one deserves your investment, both today and tomorrow?

Again, congratulations!

 

[Wookie13]

I have had my Thunderbolt since release day. Quite frankly, I don't suffer from much phone envy looking at the new releases. I have had some of the known T-Bolt issues with the phone rebooting randomly, and text messages getting sent to the wrong person, started to think I had the Android version of my BB Storm. For a while I wanted to get rid of the phone, and then one day it started working better. Then I took the chance and rooted it, and I have never been happier. Obviously not everyone is going to root the phone, but it couldn't have been easier, not to mention how smooth the phone is now. I think that at 8 months down the road, it is still one of the best phones on Verizon, and at the price of free, you are in a pretty good spot. Plus congratulations on your upcoming arrival.

 

[FrankXS]

You'll love it!

-Frank

 

[Jude526]

Congratulations on your baby ! And I have to agree with Frank........you will love the Thunderbolt. It is an amazing phone.......trust us.

 

[jfoofoo#AC]

I love my Thunderbolt, I have no issue with it after I rooted it. If you can get it for free, it's an excellent choice.

 

[dragonsamus]

I've had the phone since June. It's been great. I didn't have any of the MR1 issues since MR2 was rolling out when I finally picked up the Thunderbolt. Since gingerbread the phone has been great. I would recommend it. Good luck.

 

[thirsy1258]

I love my tbolt and haven't really had any issues with it. But at this point in the game I would wait. Why buy it unless its almost free with no contract. If your a student or don't have the money for the latest and greatest the tbolt will get u that awesome 4g speed. I love mine but I change phones like 1 time a year.

sent from my thunderbolt

 

[cdf3]

I've been waiting for the Nexus to come out since October. After waiting for ever it seems, I opted to grab a used Thunderbolt off eBay. This will allow me to get the Thunderbolt without being locked into a 2 year agreement. With Ice Cream sandwich coming out, and faster phones coming out, I didn't want to be locked into the Thunderbolt for 2 years from this point in time. It should be arriving in the mail any day now. I'm using a Droid Incredible rooted at the moment. It does what I need, but the screen is small in comparison to phones that are 4.3"+, and I would like to browse at 4G speeds. The Thunderbolt should serve it's purpose until I decide to upgrade and sign a new 2 year deal for something else.

 

[electriclineman]

I too have the thunderbolt, also have the extended battery which works great.. I got the TB the day it came out, sure st first there were issues, I got a replacement & for the most part worked great, still a few bugs but once the gingerbread update came out wow has it been working awesome, I am actually holding on to my TB for a while, I am not jumping to the nexus or anything else.. Just my good ole 100% stock thunderbolt that I love.. Maybe when & if a new quad core comes out then I might switch.. Also if your getting the TB for fee then most Def go for it... besides having a great, tough & reliable phone you also save a few hundy..... What's better than that?

 

[Jude526]

I've been waiting for the Nexus to come out since October. After waiting for ever it seems, I opted to grab a used Thunderbolt off eBay. This will allow me to get the Thunderbolt without being locked into a 2 year agreement. With Ice Cream sandwich coming out, and faster phones coming out, I didn't want to be locked into the Thunderbolt for 2 years from this point in time. It should be arriving in the mail any day now. I'm using a Droid Incredible rooted at the moment. It does what I need, but the screen is small in comparison to phones that are 4.3"+, and I would like to browse at 4G speeds. The Thunderbolt should serve it's purpose until I decide to upgrade and sign a new 2 year deal for something else.

Awesome!

Sent from my Thunderbolt using Tapatalk

 

[TBolt2011]

FREE

Yes.

Sorry to be so blunt, but I'd still be willing to pay $200 for this phone brand new, so that's an offer too good to pass up, imo.

 

[IntheStorm]

You will love the phone. Once rooted this is a great phone!

 

[ebender1965]

I have owned the TB for 1 month now. It is a great phone. I have not had any reboot issues, I have rooted, but am still running the stock Gingerbread RUU that came out in late October. When I purchased Verizon was running a deal for $150 you get the TB plus the extended battery and battery cover...

I get a full day 10-12 hrs out of the TB with moderate to heavy use using the extended battery and much longer with light use. It has been a great phone so far. You will be happy with the phone.

 

[StuartV]

I was seriously considering replacing my TB with either a Rezound or a Nexus, if one of them gets significantly better usage from a full battery charge.

Then, Sunday, I took advantage of the sale currently running on Verizon and got a stock Rezound battery for $20 to use in my TB. Full charge Sunday night and put it in the phone yesterday morning when I got up. And, for the first time ever, I was able to use my Thunderbolt all day without ever putting it on a charger (or using my Seidio extended battery)!

Suddenly this phone is a total keeper!

 

[jordanmarx]

I was very critical of the phone for a long time before rooting, I am on my third warranty thunderbolt, and Ironically enough, I will probably never need the warranty now that I have rooted1 I think the thunderbolt is a mediocre phone with original software and updates, but once rooted, the tbolt is great. It's quick, (its cheap, now that its been out for a while) and the volunteer software support you get from people on this forum and those that work hard to make all the awesome roms, cannot be bought at any price.

-Jordan

 

[steve_ma]

I'm with Jude and frank. Unrooted and have owned this since April. In your situation, I would get it without hesitation.

Sent from my ThunderBolt using TapaTalk

 

[bokeh_cb]

First of all, I want to thank everyone for the great responses. The overwhelming opinion seems to be that the phone is fully viable as is and will only get better if I decide to root it. Thats very good to know since you simply cant beat FREE and this is such a beautiful phone. I feel much more confident now walking into best buy and signing a new two year.

A couple of other quick questions tho. Is Swype available on the TB? I was playing with one the other day at Verizon and I did a market search but it didnt return any hits. The web seems to say that it is available but maybe not directly? Can anyone help with this?

Also, is Netflix up and running on this thing? And just how easy is it to see the notification light behind the speaker grill? I noticed at Verizon that it was flashing red and thought to myself "How cool is it that its behind the grill. Thats pretty trick". But then one review I read said its actually quite hard to see unless your in a dark room. Whats your take on this?

Once again, thanks to everyone who responded. Seems like there is indeed a big support group behind this phone. Im really looking forward now to trying to get mine when Best Buy opens at midnight on Black Friday. Im definitely not camping out or anything, but I hope if Im there when they open then I should be able to get one.