Thunderbolt - Best Buy Availability/Pricing/Ordering Discussion

[anon(141115)]

Yeah, can we get back on topic please?

 

[Mike_is_Mike]

No, BB only sells at a discount - you need to send ME the difference.

 

[stillnotsuperman]

BB exclusive period makes sense

Makes sense for BB to have exclusive to that so iPhone purchasers are not able to return their phones within 30 days to exchange for the Thunderbolt. Separating where they are purchased will ensure this.

 

[cleon527]

How often does Verizon do exclusive releases with retailers like BB? Would the exclusive only be for a limited amount of time? If so, anyone have any idea if corporate Verizon customers would be able to get the Thunderbolt while BB has the exclusive?

 

[Sebrina]

Exclusivity only means other 3rd party retailers will not get the Thunderbolt until whenever it's over. ALL Verizon stores will have the Thunderbolt the day it comes out. Verizon has never put out a phone and not carried it themselves at their stores that would be financial suicide. They have done exclusives in the past & they have ALWAYS stocked the phones in stores and online.

 

[Raptor007]

AT&T has fantastic coverage, i hate how everyone hops on the bandwagon and bashes them. What do you think is going to happen to Verizon when the iphone hits? I love Verizon but people need to let it go...if AT&T's network was that bad they wouldn't have 86+ million subscribers.

Actually AT&T has around 95 million subscribers and 20+ million of them are iphone owners who will follow that phone into a volcano just so they can say I have an iPhone.

The network does fail a great many users in many areas, not just in data, but voice quality, connections etc. I have tried AT&T several times over the years and it has FAILED every time despite "upgrades".

Verizon has planned for (or so they say) for the iPhone and I can have great confidence they have.

 

[Raptor007]

I have seen commercials for AT&T touting how the are the "only" network with dual 4G technologies, claiming HSPA+ and LTE as their 4G since they have zero LTE rolled out yet.

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

Too bad HSPA+ isn't considered 4G by basically anyone other than T-Mobile and AT&T.

 

[bmcclure937]

Too bad HSPA+ isn't considered 4G by basically anyone other than T-Mobile and AT&T.

Sorry... but do the technicalities really matter?!

TMobile HSPA+ is blazing fast (when you have service). The second part of that statement is why I am switching to Verizon... because I have terrible TMo coverage where I just moved.

But honestly, does it really matter if HSPA+ is 4G by technicalities? No... because it is still hanging with the "big boys" and is faster than LTE in many cases.

The N1 cannot even use HSPA+, so I was not even getting full HSPA+ speeds and was still impressed.

 

[mlpjunior]

Sorry... but do the technicalities really matter?!

TMobile HSPA+ is blazing fast (when you have service). The second part of that statement is why I am switching to Verizon... because I have terrible TMo coverage where I just moved.

But honestly, does it really matter if HSPA+ is 4G by technicalities? No... because it is still hanging with the "big boys" and is faster than LTE in many cases.

The N1 cannot even use HSPA+, so I was not even getting full HSPA+ speeds and was still impressed.

I agree that HSPA+ is good enough for today's use scenarios, but as LTE gains adoption, devices and apps will push speed and latency demands beyond what HSPA+ can supply. Video calling and cloud-based applications/storage, for example.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

 

[I am Fake Jesus]

it was between tmo an verizon. the longer it takes for the t bolt the more chances tmo gets my interest. t mo here hspa+ / 4g coverage is awsome. friends g2 runs 5-6mb. i just wish they had a 4.inch phone i want. but lte an tbolt is wat im waiting on.

 

[cleon527]

Exclusivity only means other 3rd party retailers will not get the Thunderbolt until whenever it's over. ALL Verizon stores will have the Thunderbolt the day it comes out. Verizon has never put out a phone and not carried it themselves at their stores that would be financial suicide. They have done exclusives in the past & they have ALWAYS stocked the phones in stores and online.

So, I went into a stand alone Best Buy Mobile today and asked about the release date. The salesman said he didn't know for sure but he did know that it would be exclusive to BB. I asked what that meant and he said that only BB will be able to sell it. I asked specifically about Verizon stores and he said that they would not have it. Doesn't make sense to me and I'm betting he's wrong but thought I'd pass that along.

 

[ythot26]

hmm. that'd be really weird if a verizon store did not carry a verizon phone, especially it being the first 4G phone.

 

[paulmike3]

I asked specifically about Verizon stores and he said that they would not have it.

I didn't see a Best Buy rep on stage at CES announcing it. Verizon stores will have the phone on release day. Anyone telling differently is just trying to get you into their store.

 

[RichardClark]

Agreed. I can't imagine Vzw not having it in their stores on launch day. I can see Best Buy having a period of exclusivity where no other reseller has it. That might work to Vzw's favor if they're still expecting heavy store traffic at that time from iPhone sales -- helps to spread the load around. Also helps split up the advertising cost with BB. I wonder if this has anything to do with the little spat Vzw and BB had a few months ago where they stopped selling certain Android models? Maybe they found out they would not be allowed to carry the Vzw iPhone and were eventually offered a period of ThunderBolt exclusivity to placate them? Just speculation on my part.

 

[corn4ahead]

does everyone still agree on the 2-14-2011 release date. There are so many reports about the 24th.

 

[CaliTBolt]

I'm sure Verizon will have the phone. I don't think the guy in the Verizon store would have told me to come back the week after the iphone came out if they weren't going to have it. That would just be a quick way to piss someone off if you tell them to come back and aren't going to have the phone.

Also why would they be training the Verizon employees if they weren't going to have the phone on hand.

 

[vzwuser76]

About the "BB is carrying it exclusively and not Verizon stores" I got that when I called into the local bb mobile. So I called into VZW CS and told them that I was going to buy the tbolt at full retail but did I have to get it from BB. Three CSrs confirmed that BB is the only non Verizon store to carry it, that means no (fill in your local Verizon authorized reseller), no amazon, wirefly, letstalk, etc.

I think the BB people are trying to hook in as many people as they can into their stores especially since they're not getting in on the ip4. When I mentioned that bb was the only authorized reseller to sell the tbolt, but that Verizon stores/online/telesales would also sell it, the rep just said "Oh, they just told us it was an exclusive for us. That might be the case though."

 

[Forgetful]

About the "BB is carrying it exclusively and not Verizon stores" I got that when I called into the local bb mobile. So I called into VZW CS and told them that I was going to buy the tbolt at full retail but did I have to get it from BB. Three CSrs confirmed that BB is the only non Verizon store to carry it, that means no (fill in your local Verizon authorized reseller), no amazon, wirefly, letstalk, etc.

I think the BB people are trying to hook in as many people as they can into their stores especially since they're not getting in on the ip4. When I mentioned that bb was the only authorized reseller to sell the tbolt, but that Verizon stores/online/telesales would also sell it, the rep just said "Oh, they just told us it was an exclusive for us. That might be the case though."

Is it really better to buy at BB? I've never got a phone from them.

 

[SpaceHippie]

Im convinced it's the 14th. The BB pic, the video. Too much proof. The other reports say their SOURCES say its the 24th. Well we have proof.