Thunderbolt First Impressions/Reviews
- Thread starter Cyber Warrior
- Start date
My thunderbolt was finally delibered today! A lot smoother and snappier than the DX. And Lte is the sh!t, blazing, incredibly fast. I'm getting 18 down consistently. Can't speak much on battery life since I've only been using it for about 2 hours.
My only grip so far is that the battery cover is difficult to remove and I feel like I'm going to break the thing in half every time I take it off.
My only grip so far is that the battery cover is difficult to remove and I feel like I'm going to break the thing in half every time I take it off.
Well, unfortunately, my ThunderBolt is going back. It wasn't the Exchange and ActiveSync - I got that to work. I wasn't the lack of BBM - I was more or less detoxed. The Facebook and Twitter clients are awesome. The HTC widgets are very functional. I genuinely found use for all seven home screens. 4G coverage isn't in my area, but it is near the Sacramento Airport and covers several miles around that area - worked. I didn't have any of the hotspot problems.
What killed it? Battery life. I cycled it a couple times. Moderate usage was killing the thing in less than 8 hours. The final coffin nail was in my trip to Vegas today. Unplugged at 2:30am, three tweets at 4:30am and check the weather once before boarding at 5:00am. One 3 minute call at 6:00am before takeoff. Device off for 90 minutes. 7:30am back on. Light email reading (3-4 messages). Intermittent email and 4 texts in between 9am and 11am. One 10 minute phone call at 12:30pm. Two emails later. Check the phone at 2:00pm, and the low battery warning comes up and the device is off. I'm out until I can get back to my hotel at 5pm to recharge.
I had to reset my BES and swapped ESNs. Really disappointing. The hardware is phenomenal. The Sense UI experience is clean and I think I would like it better than "stock" Android. Unfortunately, if I were to put this device to my "normal" uses, which is a lot more demanding than today, I wouldn't make it out the door of my house.
I am definitely going to keep an eye out. I love BlackBerry, but I've been very impressed by this most recent "experience" of the ThunderBolt (battery performance aside) as well as webOS. This is going to be an interesting summer with all the goodies coming down the way...
I'll peek around here from time-to-time. Despite my experience, I feel perfectly comfortable recommending the HTC ThunderBolt, especially if you're in a 4G area. It's good stuff. It simply was falling short for my needs.
What killed it? Battery life. I cycled it a couple times. Moderate usage was killing the thing in less than 8 hours. The final coffin nail was in my trip to Vegas today. Unplugged at 2:30am, three tweets at 4:30am and check the weather once before boarding at 5:00am. One 3 minute call at 6:00am before takeoff. Device off for 90 minutes. 7:30am back on. Light email reading (3-4 messages). Intermittent email and 4 texts in between 9am and 11am. One 10 minute phone call at 12:30pm. Two emails later. Check the phone at 2:00pm, and the low battery warning comes up and the device is off. I'm out until I can get back to my hotel at 5pm to recharge.
I had to reset my BES and swapped ESNs. Really disappointing. The hardware is phenomenal. The Sense UI experience is clean and I think I would like it better than "stock" Android. Unfortunately, if I were to put this device to my "normal" uses, which is a lot more demanding than today, I wouldn't make it out the door of my house.
I am definitely going to keep an eye out. I love BlackBerry, but I've been very impressed by this most recent "experience" of the ThunderBolt (battery performance aside) as well as webOS. This is going to be an interesting summer with all the goodies coming down the way...
I'll peek around here from time-to-time. Despite my experience, I feel perfectly comfortable recommending the HTC ThunderBolt, especially if you're in a 4G area. It's good stuff. It simply was falling short for my needs.
I have had my Thnderbolt for 3 days now and here are my complaints!
First of all I am not deaf or have any hearing problems but
the ear speaker when listen is sometimes hard to hear especially if there is any noise. I have the in call volume as high as it will go.
And the call audio quality itself seems not to be very clear.
People have also told me I sound muffled.
When you put the phone on speaker phone it seems that the volume might be too high and causes vibration or some sort of distoration, and isnt the loudest.
When listen to media like a video the sound isis sometimes hard to hear and i have to cup my hand around it so the sound is reflected back at me.
I have also had problems with many of the apps. I get a an error and have to force close anytime I open: Yahoo Messenger, Zedge, LinkedIn, Rock Band.
When i used Tango to test a video call there was all types of noise my phone was make on the other person's phone.
The Vibrate is not very strong and often don't feel it.
Battery life I expected to be bad and have ordered the extended battery. (May I add removing the battery is a pain.)
First of all I am not deaf or have any hearing problems but
the ear speaker when listen is sometimes hard to hear especially if there is any noise. I have the in call volume as high as it will go.
And the call audio quality itself seems not to be very clear.
People have also told me I sound muffled.
When you put the phone on speaker phone it seems that the volume might be too high and causes vibration or some sort of distoration, and isnt the loudest.
When listen to media like a video the sound isis sometimes hard to hear and i have to cup my hand around it so the sound is reflected back at me.
I have also had problems with many of the apps. I get a an error and have to force close anytime I open: Yahoo Messenger, Zedge, LinkedIn, Rock Band.
When i used Tango to test a video call there was all types of noise my phone was make on the other person's phone.
The Vibrate is not very strong and often don't feel it.
Battery life I expected to be bad and have ordered the extended battery. (May I add removing the battery is a pain.)
Sounds like u have an app effecting your bolt. Fc'ing and speaker distortion are not the more noted problems with the phone. Mine sounds better than my incredible ever did
Sent from my Rooted HTC Thunderbolt via Tapatalk Pro
Sent from my Rooted HTC Thunderbolt via Tapatalk Pro
I had the incredible too, and this phone doesnt sound as good. I see another hard reset coming.
Pros:
Browsing Speed
Screen size
Htc sense improvements
Size(coming from a bb storm with otter case....no biggie)
Flash in browser
Ability to click phone #'s in email/text and have dial through
Copy/paste features
Notification bar
Skin/wallpaper custom options
Supported APPS!
Cons:
Having to touch power button to pull out of sleep
Lack of native 4g off option*
Slight battery life(very minor)
Email(exchange) not as clean or easy as with BB
Speakerphone volumn and clarity(top issue)
Keyboard(very awkward spacebar)....keep typing Periods instead of spaces
Browsing Speed
Screen size
Htc sense improvements
Size(coming from a bb storm with otter case....no biggie)
Flash in browser
Ability to click phone #'s in email/text and have dial through
Copy/paste features
Notification bar
Skin/wallpaper custom options
Supported APPS!
Cons:
Having to touch power button to pull out of sleep
Lack of native 4g off option*
Slight battery life(very minor)
Email(exchange) not as clean or easy as with BB
Speakerphone volumn and clarity(top issue)
Keyboard(very awkward spacebar)....keep typing Periods instead of spaces
Last edited:
Coming from multiple blackberry phones, either used personally or tested by me (8330, 8530, Tour, Bold 9650) this phone is a different animal. And I mean animal.
I'll start off with the bad/cons.
If you do a TON of email a day and have BES, a blackberry is better. I'm not gonna lie. Good thing is, I don't.
Standard battery life is ok. I bought the 2750 with it...so I'm good.
I can't use my case in the car dock. I haven't tried the car dock w/ the 2750.
I have nolock installed, but whenever I hit the volume buttons, it wakes it up...poop.
Camera (still and video) a little dissapointed in low light situations, otherwise they're fine.
Market is not up to Apple yet in terms of # of apps...but it's getting better day by day.
It is not as simple and intuitive in my mind as my bb. However, retraining your brain/learning curve could very well be the case there.
Good/Pros.
Speed. In every since of the word. Browsing, app to app, photos, video, etc.
Car Dock/Navigation. I just gave my girlfriend my 5" screen TomTom and I know I won't miss it. Google Nav is not only amazing, but voice search for anything is the bomb.
Screen, wow. I was charging my phone and picked up my iPod 3 for the first time since last Friday. The screen just felt small and constricted.
I love the look, feel, weight and quality of this phone.
Call quality and clarity is the best on any phone I've used, tried or tested ever, period.
Multitasking, wow. On my car dock, I made/received phone calls yesterday, used Nav, read email (while parked for lunch/rest stop, I swear...) seamlessly and easily.
Every day I figure out something new that makes me love it just that much more.
It has a few quirks sure...but the speed and rich web/browsing experience and power of google have me absolutely blown away.
I'll start off with the bad/cons.
If you do a TON of email a day and have BES, a blackberry is better. I'm not gonna lie. Good thing is, I don't.
Standard battery life is ok. I bought the 2750 with it...so I'm good.
I can't use my case in the car dock. I haven't tried the car dock w/ the 2750.
I have nolock installed, but whenever I hit the volume buttons, it wakes it up...poop.
Camera (still and video) a little dissapointed in low light situations, otherwise they're fine.
Market is not up to Apple yet in terms of # of apps...but it's getting better day by day.
It is not as simple and intuitive in my mind as my bb. However, retraining your brain/learning curve could very well be the case there.
Good/Pros.
Speed. In every since of the word. Browsing, app to app, photos, video, etc.
Car Dock/Navigation. I just gave my girlfriend my 5" screen TomTom and I know I won't miss it. Google Nav is not only amazing, but voice search for anything is the bomb.
Screen, wow. I was charging my phone and picked up my iPod 3 for the first time since last Friday. The screen just felt small and constricted.
I love the look, feel, weight and quality of this phone.
Call quality and clarity is the best on any phone I've used, tried or tested ever, period.
Multitasking, wow. On my car dock, I made/received phone calls yesterday, used Nav, read email (while parked for lunch/rest stop, I swear...) seamlessly and easily.
Every day I figure out something new that makes me love it just that much more.
It has a few quirks sure...but the speed and rich web/browsing experience and power of google have me absolutely blown away.
My new Thunderbolt is really, really good and really, really bad.
Good: Beautiful colors and screen definition. Excellent ui, fast, responsive. Blazing downloads (when connected to 4G). I get 2500-12,000 mbs.
Bad: Kinda heavy. Battery last about 4hrs. without much use. Data connection off and on. Very annoying.
I am not sure the good out weighs the bad. I may return it. Data connection being the biggest issue. If Verizon can't take care of it I'm out.
Good: Beautiful colors and screen definition. Excellent ui, fast, responsive. Blazing downloads (when connected to 4G). I get 2500-12,000 mbs.
Bad: Kinda heavy. Battery last about 4hrs. without much use. Data connection off and on. Very annoying.
I am not sure the good out weighs the bad. I may return it. Data connection being the biggest issue. If Verizon can't take care of it I'm out.
Everything is awesome! Except for the speaker. Coming from the incredible speaker the bolts speaker is a joke....
Read it this morning... very on point review. If you want the fastest data its Verizon.
I disagree with a statement he made.
It DOES offer something other phones don't other than LTE speeds.
Voice and data at the same time, LTE or 3G networks.
Take that ATT
It DOES offer something other phones don't other than LTE speeds.
Voice and data at the same time, LTE or 3G networks.
Take that ATT
From the Washington Post today:
...You could call 4G the flavor of the month in smartphones, but that wouldn’t be right: With the four nationwide carriers serving up different forms of fourth-generation wireless broadband, there is no one flavor.
...In terms of speed, you can categorize those four as the ThunderBolt and everything else. Verizon’s 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) network gives this phone the kind of speed usually confined to cable or Verizon’s Fios fiber-optic service: more than 10 million bits per second (Mbps) downloads, as clocked by Speedtest.net’s app, and uploads even faster at an unreal average of some 30 Mbps.
The ThunderBolt paid for that speed, however, with woeful battery life. Just leaving it idle on a desk for 24 hours drained two-fifths of its battery.
...You could call 4G the flavor of the month in smartphones, but that wouldn’t be right: With the four nationwide carriers serving up different forms of fourth-generation wireless broadband, there is no one flavor.
...In terms of speed, you can categorize those four as the ThunderBolt and everything else. Verizon’s 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) network gives this phone the kind of speed usually confined to cable or Verizon’s Fios fiber-optic service: more than 10 million bits per second (Mbps) downloads, as clocked by Speedtest.net’s app, and uploads even faster at an unreal average of some 30 Mbps.
The ThunderBolt paid for that speed, however, with woeful battery life. Just leaving it idle on a desk for 24 hours drained two-fifths of its battery.
I am missing my old BB Storm interface, and all of the ways you can customize the BB. I still do not know how to delete some of the contacts as the delete button does not show, and I miss the sync features of the BB sync system. The phone is amazingly fast, even in poor signal areas. It has a better antennae than the BB. If you like to save messages, that feature does not exist on the Android system. Its a little large, but its a great phone. I do wish BB had a similar phone!!!
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