ThunderBolt Comforting Amenities

[FrankXS]

Funny how I take so many things for granted. After some of the bantering here about possibly moving from the TBolt to an upcoming VZW phone like the Samsung Nexus or the Moto RAZR, I see now that the Nexus does not have a removable SDcard and the RAZR does not have a removable battery.

Do these things matter to you? They sure do to me.

-Frank

 

[Unobtanium]

Yes. Bad battery or old battery is simple to fix. Same if the SD card messes up. I am probably likely to keep my TB until my contract is close to running out.

Also, I really like the FM tuner. Right now, the only thing I would switch for is MAYBE a Casio rugged 4G device, if the screen is bigger than the Commando.

 

[coolbreeze]

Yeah I'm telling myself that too.




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[quantumiq]

wow, i was thinking about how cool the moto razr was, but i didn't know you couldn't change the battery. I guess that makes sense given how thin it's gonna be. it's lost a few points in my eyes now. Thanks for the info.

 

[realitydigg]

Whever i get device envy i take a closer look and find something missing. in the new device I am also fortunate that I have not had, or have just worked around the issues that some folks have run into (like VM on GB). I can't see compromising for a device that does less that the Thunderbolt so i think i will likely ride my contract out.

 

[coolbreeze]

Yeah there are some nice phones coming out now. The thing is, even though it's had some issues, the Thunderbolt is still a solid phone. I can't find anything wrong with it to justify buying a phone at full retail. I do have phone envy probably, but I still have a great phone in the Thunderbolt.

At the rate phones are coming out now though, I wish Verizon would have not got rid of annual upgrades and/or one year contracts.



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[anon(394005)]

You forgot one awesome amenity; the kickstand! IMO, the Thunderbolt has a great overall feature set (hardware and software) that has yet to really be matched by any other phone.

I must admit though, initially I had a bit of interest in the RAZR (despite serious reservations on the Blur interface). But, seeing it has a non-removable battery absolutely killed it. Removable batteries are a great feature/advantage. Case in point, I have three batteries (2 standard and 1 extended) for the Thunderbolt, two of which are always kept fully charged via a Seidio Multi-function battery charger. So I rarely if ever have the phone tethered to a charger/cable. Just swap out a battery and go. Subsequently, I?ve also never had a battery charging issue. Each battery is always charged to 100 percent and provides consistent capacity.

 

[FrankXS]

You forgot one awesome amenity; the kickstand! IMO, the Thunderbolt has a great overall feature set (hardware and software) that has yet to really be matched by any other phone.

I must admit though, initially I had a bit of interest in the RAZR (despite serious reservations on the Blur interface). But, seeing it has a non-removable battery absolutely killed it. Removable batteries are a great feature/advantage. Case in point, I have three batteries (2 standard and 1 extended) for the Thunderbolt, two of which are always kept fully charged via a Seidio Multi-function battery charger. So I rarely if ever have the phone tethered to a charger/cable. Just swap out a battery and go. Subsequently, I’ve also never had a battery charging issue. Each battery is always charged to 100 percent and provides consistent capacity.

Yes, you're right. Turns out I really like the kickstand too. I use it every single day, all the time. It is my built-in "desktop cradle". And it never occured to me that I would use it at all until I got it.

Speaking of TBolt exclusives -- how 'bout data and voice at the same time! Yeehaw!

-Frank

 

[Small_law]

I used to think that not having an SD card would be a deal breaker for me, but not anymore. Mounting and unmounting the card isn't convenient, removing it from the phone is a pain because you have to remove the battery, and it isn't as fast as internal flash memory. SD cards are also prone to failure and can get corrupted. Prior to Google Music and my recent adoption of Picasa, I did need expandable storage for mp3's and pictures. But with most things I need on my phone now in the cloud, I can be done with SD cards.

Not having a removable battery would be a bigger deal for me. The need for SD card storage can be ameliorated with cloud storage and streaming now. If a battery goes bad and you can't replace it, you're stuck.

 

[FrankXS]

I used to think that not having an SD card would be a deal breaker for me, but not anymore. Mounting and unmounting the card isn't convenient, removing it from the phone is a pain because you have to remove the battery

I keep thinking about all those folks who have had to reformat their SDcard to salvage the operation of the phone or certain apps. Using a USB cable for this is normally not acceptable because of write permissions and such (unless you're rooted, I guess). Anyway, with each phone I get I find there are some compromises from my last model. Eventually I get used to them and usually forget they ever existed. But when you have a "humming right along" TBolt, it's hard to justify delving into the "unknown" and starting the whole beta tester thing all over again. Especially since you have to pay for it!

-Frank

 

[Kronko]

I am keeping my TB. Still love it. I would not buy a phone with no option of a micro sd card or to change the battery.

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[TnTexas]

You forgot one awesome amenity; the kickstand!

I could probably live without a kickstand, but it's definitely a feature I'd miss - at least for awhile. I also like the fact that I can change out the battery if I need to. I also like the 8 megapixel camera and wouldn't want to settle for a phone with a lower number than that.

 

[bed269]

The two features with the thunderbolt I enjoy the most is screen size and 4g. Like previously posted I use cloud for music and I'm around a charger 90% of the time.
The thunderbolt has turned into a very nice phone with the updates. I don't use my phone for work so certain features are not important to me. But next time I get a new phone I will wait until it has been released for awhile for them to work the bugs out.
The way phones keep evolving so fast it reminds me of the 90's with computers. Hell every few months your video card and cpu would be outdated. I don't think for the time being anyone will have the latest greatest for more than 3 months then something better will be released.
But the thunderbolt is still a hell of a phone.

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[Forgetful]

Kickstand...
Has spoiled me.

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[defcon999]

Speaking of TBolt exclusives -- how 'bout data and voice at the same time! Yeehaw!

-Frank

Have you noticed that AT&T has quietly stop touting that you can surf and talk at the same time......LOLOLOL. Verizon has an opportunity to jump on that but I have heard NOTHING except in the forums.

 

[robrecht]

Have you noticed that AT&T has quietly stop touting that you can surf and talk at the same time......LOLOLOL. Verizon has an opportunity to jump on that but I have heard NOTHING except in the forums.

Supposedly Verizon purposely doesn't market SVDO because they did not believe the quality was high enough. I believed that when Verizon tech support claimed that SVDO was only possible on account of eHRPD. Now that we know better, I suppose they do not market it because only the ThunderBolt is capable of SVDO and they knew the other 4G phones would have simultaneous voice & data while in 4G areas. Maybe they will market it when the 4G network is built out more. I've never heard anyone complain of the quality of SVDO on the ThunderBolt except for Verizon reps who got the memo.

Thanks, Robrecht

 

[robrecht]

I wouldn't mind the lack of microSD card on the Nexus as long as it comes with 32 GB and not 16, but I would never get a phone with a sealed battery. I must admit that I also like the kickstand for Skype video.

I'm sitting on an upgrade but don't see anything significantly better yet. But, once I hold a Nexus in my hand, that 4.65 HD screen just might change my mid.

Thanks, Robrecht

 

[FrankXS]

I'm sitting on an upgrade but don't see anything significantly better yet. But, once I hold a Nexus in my hand, that 4.65 HD screen just might change my mid.

I'm sitting on an upgrade too. And, like you, still haven't seen anything to make me want more than the TBolt. Personally, I'm not keen on a phone even bigger than the TBolt.

-Frank

 

[watson387]

I will never buy a phone without a removable battery or SD. I need both. I've messed my phone up and couldn't get into recovery through hboot because I've left an update file on the SD. Removing the card and deleting the file with a computer was my fix. How can I do that if I can't take the card out? (I know it's a Samsung and not an HTC but you get my point.) Also, I'm a heavy phone user. I just can't stop messing with it (much to the dismay of my wife). I need an extended battery. I'd be seriously po'ed if I couldn't get a larger battery when the non-removable one didn't satisfy my needs. Both of these phones were looking good to me, but now I know I will never buy either one of them.

Drunk texted from my CM7 Bolt

 

[robrecht]

I'm sitting on an upgrade too. And, like you, still haven't seen anything to make me want more than the TBolt. Personally, I'm not keen on a phone even bigger than the TBolt.

-Frank

Yeah, the bezel on the Nexus does seem too big for my taste. I do want to try bigger screens, 4.65, 4.75, maybe even 5 inches, but the form factor will be a challenge with these larger screens. I expect HTC to probably come out with the best form factor and am anxious to see what they announce next year with a Qualcomm 28nm dual core chip (or perhaps even a Nividia chip?). Motorola seems to be making progress WRT form factor with the Razr Droid but it's hard to imagine me getting a Moto smartphone.