The official "I got my Thunderbolt thread!"

[Buzzy42]

I finally used my 4 year overdue (!) $100 New Every 2 upgrade from my Audiovox 8910 flip phone. Do I win "crappiest phone upgraded to a Thunderbolt"? Honestly didn't necessarily WANT a 4" screen but wanted a 2 year unlimited data plan, as long as Verizon doesn't pull any tricks and change the contract which they apparently can. (and have wanted a new phone)

There were about 6 VZW employees in the store, one guy was already in buying a TB, but not much else traffic in the store. A little surprised how quiet it was right at opening.

Was only given the $249 price even though my company has a discount plan with Verizon, so that was a bummer. Guess it doesn't include phones? (so my phone was $149 + tax on $600! ouch) Wasn't even sure what to ask for about the $199 price so many were seeing online. (I didn't see it online either)

Took about an hour for me, the girl kept disappearing with the phone for unspecified reasons and coming back. She made sure to configure everything (which was slightly annoying, I was hoping to just get it activated and get out of there so I could charge it). They offered to put on a screen protector (I bought the silicone case, screen protectors, and overpriced car charger); that took FOREVER and whoever did it totally botched it (6-7 bad bubbles that wouldn't come off) so I told her I wanted a new 3 pack and I'd do it myself. She went from super friendly to unhappy over that. (of all things?!) She got a new package and then just stood there continuing to enter stuff into her computer for like 5 minutes before saying "We're done here, you can go"-- really? I just stood there for an extra 5 minutes waiting for her to finish... nothing?

Oh well. Love the phone so far although I am concerned about the battery life, glad the semi-hidden switch to turn off the 4G was found as no obvious switch was a big disappointment for me. (my area is fully 4G and super fast, but I don't need that on all the time if it means I have to charge more than daily!) http://forum.androidcentral.com/htc-thunderbolt/68756-toggling-between-4g-3g-2.html

And I got my screen protectors on with absolutely no bubbles. Very proud of myself, although the first protector I tried had dust on it from when I first opened it! Not sure what happened there, maybe that's why the first one Verizon put on for me was such a mess... I almost feel like going back and complaining about that one. A little surprised the protector didn't go over the 4 buttons on the bottom, though.

So far so good. Keeping my fingers crossed about battery life, and keeping it plugged in while I'm at my desk today to make sure the battery fully charges. Never have had a smart phone before (although have used others' phones, including my dad's Evo, so I knew the basics but will probably have a lot of questions as I dig deeper)

Generally it feels faster/smoother than my dad's Evo; in subtle ways but noticable. Of course browsing is insanely fast on 4G. The screen also looks better to me, but that might be a brightness setting (or it might be the better screen..! Who knows)

And I was sure to get Angry Birds on it before anything.

Any opinions about getting the insurance on it? I hate buying extended warranties/etc but since this is my first smartphone I'm not sure what to expect. (especially since I got the 2 year contract)

 

[blackmannx#AC]

Happy to see all the folks posting.. been a long haul for this device and lots of excited users all over the net. Now to hit the other threads to try to help some folks learn how to take full advantage of their new toys.

 

[VideoEngineerAJS]

It was a little methodical to activate my phone, but I left my office and got back before a full hour was up. I left at around 8:37 to drive about a mile to the store, get the phone and drive back and I got back to my desk around 9:35.

The first 7 people in the parking lot had their names taken down and the guy set aside the phones with a post-it note, then we were given post-its with our number. They were able to take the first 5 people at one time and I was number 6 so again it did seem a little methodical, but everything went smoothly.

 

[NickF227]

Posted this in the other thread, but my mom went up to Verizon at opening cuz this was supposed to be my birthday present last month. 4 people ahead of her, bunch of people showed up behind her.

I instructed my mom to tell the person to activate it and get the hell out, apparently the guy didn't like that but he listened. ^_^

Love it!

 

[Edwill86]

I cant believe it..I have a thunderbolt sitting next to me on my desk...but since its been trying to activate for over 45min now I have resorted to watching more Tbolt review videos :/

 

[JManangan]

I'm playing with mine right now. Got it at best buy this morning when they opened. I'll post more when I get used to it more but I LOVE it! Winning!

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[dispatcher0531]

They didn't forewarn you guys? I was told right up front that for certain reasons it was taking up to an hour (took me just about 50 mins) to get the phone going to where they'd be comfortable letting me leave with a working device.

And I didn't really "demand" anything like you guys, since I was overjoyed about the free Accessory bundle she threw in.

I didnt demand anything....i left irritated and had to do the phone setup myself...and I paid for my case too!

 

[t3t5u0]

speedtest

walked out of the Verizon store and clocked 25mbps down and 29mbps up here in LA! Then I got 7mbps down and 48mbps up in another area near Pasadena... definitely not consistent, but very fast.

 

[prakash99]

I am THUNDERSTRUCK n officially lovin' it. I was the first person at the doors of my local VZW store this morning and by 9am, a small crowd of six or seven Boltaholics had gathered already. At first they had some hiccups activating the phone but later everything went smoothly. The best part is the my corporate discount kicked in and got the phone for $199.99 + an extended battery for $37 = AWESOME!!! Didn't get a case. I went to the mall and had Zagg IS installed.

Now the bad part: totally unrelated to the TB: I started having problems with my car battery, seems I need new battery as the charge does not seem to hold. I have had three jump starts today already. I keep jumper cables in my car and each time a good samaritan stopped to help me jump my car. Having spent my savings on the Bolt ...now I am not able to get the problem fixed or get a new battery till somebody buys my DInc off of craigslist. So far I have only had response from people going for the "paypal scam", people looking to trade it for ps3, people asking if it has slideout keypad or people who sent me their phone number but don't pick up when I call.

HAVING SAID THAT: I am loving the phone. I haven't had much time to play with it much but it is so similar to DInc, I don't think I have much problem. So far I have only synced my email and fb/twitter accounts and installed some widgets. I will be playing it all night long at my work (provided my car agrees to take me to work).

EDIT: I forgot to mention the VZW employees at the stores were absolutely amazing and courteous and friendly. Even when they were having problems they kept talking to me ... the girl who was helping me with my phone seemed to be a newbie as she had to keep asking for help from others but was always making sure that I was not being "left out". So with this, the number of bad experiences in a Verizon store in my five years with them has been: ZERO.

 

[ryan1972]

This phone is awesome! I have just begun to scratch the surface of what it can do.

 

[prakash99]

Got a free accessory bundle since the Girl who was so helpful to me was THRILLED that I cancelled my Best Buy pre-order to buy it from her instead!

Holy ****! I did the same thing .. cancelled my BB preorder yesterday (I had to wait 1 hour before BB reps stopped chitchatting with others and finally acknowledged my presence) to buy it from VZW. I should have told the girl too. I didn't. Maybe she would have thrown something in for me too.

 

[prakash99]

I am sorry to hear that quite a few had to spend very long time at the store ... I was in at 9:00 am and walked out at 9:40 with a big stupid grin on the face which I could not hide no matter what.

 

[FrankXS]

Frank -- What did you do to prepare your Gmail for sync?

1) Made sure it held all my conacts in "My Contacts". 2) Made sure it had all my Calendar info. 3) Cleaned up my email. 4) Made sure I had selected "allow IMAP" in my settings (even though it has ActiveSync/Exchange functionality, it still needs IMAP enabled in settings).

-Frank

 

[prakash99]

I just picked one up at the VZ on Amherst St. About 4 people ahead of me

I thought you were going to get it from BBY.

 

[shocka]

alright, i LOVE the 'bolt so far. and am sooooo psyched to be rid of my eris. but i'm still waiting to see if anyone else has experienced a kind of vibrating lag in the app drawer. not super severe but noticeable. wasn't sure if (a) this was normal or (b) if it was a result of my phone having been nearly completely drained battery-wise. any insight/similar experiences?

 

[swamp]

Got it!!! Finally.

Long pricing story, probably for another thread. In short $200 from VZW!

 

[Brooks P]

Got to the VZ store at 8:55, second in at 9:00, out at just before 9:30. Besides the TB I also bought a car charger and silicone cover. While I was being rung, up all my contacts in my OLD Motorola E815 were transferred over. A lot to learn about Android and the TB – well I have the 339 page PDF TB manual to help, and my Daughter has the EVO4 and I plan on tapping her knowledge.

I got mine in La Mesa and I was told that my TB was the first activated in the San Diego area (according to the clerk). A real downer is that in CA sales tax is based on full retail price ($599.99), so I had to pay $60.42 in sales tax rather than $17.67 based on what I actually paid ($149.99) for the phone.

 

[magisternautaque]

Got mine in my hands as we speak! Feels so good to finally have it!

I was 2nd in line for Jacksonville, FL (Orange Park Store). Had about 10 others in line waiting for 9am.

Hey AirlinerDude I was the big fat bearded long-haired dude who was there first.

I was sitting in my car posting on AC Forum that I was there first then another dude parked behind me. It was AirlinerDude and he was in his car reading AC Forum. Freaky!

He seemed like a fine fellow and we had a nice chat. Nice to bump into another AC Forum member by chance like that.

 

[ThomasT626]

Posting this from my Thunderbolt. Have to get used to the whole non keyboard thing coming from the Epic. Got mine at about 10:45. Didn't leave until about 11:30 due to activation taking so long. On the border of an LTE area and getting a taste of it every now and then. Great device overall.

 

[thinknate]

Got mine from the Verizon kiosk in Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago at 8:30 this morning. There were 4 people in line and only 1 guy working, but it didn't take too long.

So far, 4G seems good when connected, but it has come and gone. I installed Swype but it already lost the ability to suggest words (which makes it useless). And it's been plugged in via USB to my computer most of the day, and has only gone up to 72% battery. Also, my friend called me once and it didn't ring... then he asked, "Can you hear me now?"

Hopefully the issues get sorted out, and then I'll be a happy camper.