VERIZON Charge, Thunderbolt, or Revolution

[Orcares]

Posting this here because I wanted to avoid bias in the individual device forums.

I am on Verizon, and have an opportunity to upgrade into one of these three phones for free (so I don't need "this one costs more/less than that one" responses). The one they send me will be a certified like-new replacement for another phone I've been having issues with.

I thought about trying to convince them to give me the Bionic, but the screen just looks terrible to me... And I don't know if Verizon would go for it anyways.

I know there are similar forum threads about this, but it seems like a lot that I have checked were either PHONE vs PHONE.... But I want opinions on all three devices side-by-side. I've seen all three in person, but I'm looking for user experiences now.

Pros / Cons of each that I am aware of are:

Charge:
Pro - Screen is awesome, battery better than t-bolt, HDMI, good proc for a single core, gorilla glass.
Con - Samsung... who is slow at updating their software, feels somewhat cheaply made, outdated file system causes clunkiness sometimes.

Thunderbolt:
Pro - Solid construction, HTC is better at getting software updates out, data/voice simultaneous on 3g, more RAM, kickstand (had to say it... people love their kickstands).
Con - Battery is supposed to be terrible (I don't want an extended capacity battery on any phone), oldest 4g phone on VZW, screen isn't as nice at Charge, no HDMI.

Revolution:
Pro - People say it is a very snappy and responsive phone, decent battery, HDMI.
Con - Looks like a brick (read: not a sexy phone at all imo...), LG is newer to android.

As many people also feel, I like a sexy phone... The Revolution, to me, is definitely the least sexy.

Please be constructive if you leave comments and prioritize what you like in 1. 2. 3. fashion and why. Otherwise if you're not interested in leaving comments, please just vote in the poll.

Thanks!

 

[honex97]

I have the tbolt and I really dont understand all these complaints about the battery my battery could last me all day most of the time not with heavy use of course and I'm on 3g not 4G but my incredible would only last me untell like 2pm and now I got the extended battery I can go like 2 days with out a charge.
I am very happy with my thunderbolt its blazing fast and I love HTC sense

 

[gvillager]

I have the tbolt and I really dont understand all these complaints about the battery my battery could last me all day most of the time not with heavy use of course and I'm on 3g not 4G but my incredible would only last me untell like 2pm and now I got the extended battery I can go like 2 days with out a charge.
I am very happy with my thunderbolt its blazing fast and I love HTC sense

X2 on the battery for the thunderbolt. And the latest software update made the battery even better. Just yesterday my phone lasted 13 hours with moderate web surfing, a few emails and texts and two hours of voice usage. No problems here.

 

[Orcares]

My understanding is that the Tbolt battery issue is in 4g areas. I am in and out of 3g/4g very often throughout the day, so I'm afraid it might become an issue... What do you like about the Tbolt over the Charge specifically?

 

[Buzzy42]

None of the 4G phones are particularly great with battery life when on 4G. I think the Thunderbolt is the worst of the bunch, but hardly by a massively significant margin. (I.e., it's not like the Bolt gets 1/2 the battery life of another phone on 4G, at least I've never seen indications of-- unless it's an unfair comparison, like someone in a 3G only area, locked into 3G [or on wifi, which uses the least battery], claiming their phone gets 20+ hours on one charge so the Bolt sucks) Keep in mind, the Thunderbolt got its reputation when it was the ONLY 4G phone out there; now that there are lots of choices, it's becoming pretty clear 4G does hurt battery life on ALL phones.

If I put mine into 3G when I'm not actively using it (I'm a fairly light user, except maybe in bursts-- but it's no big deal to put the phone into 4G for that) it gets me through the day with plenty of charge to spare. (I usually go 15-16 hours, on wifi at home, 3g at work except for maybe a short burst of 4G here and there, and at the end of that I'm around 20-40% left depending on what I was doing)

Of course now that I have the extended battery I find myself leaving it on 4G more and more often without worry, but you said you didn't want the battery.

 

[Devinator]

When I was doing my research, I cut the Revolution out of the running right away. Read too many unfavorable reviews.

I liked the Thunderbolt, but, heard too much about it's poor battery life, that was a deal breaker for me. Also, if I recall, it was far too big for my tastes. And with the extended battery, forget about it.

As for the Charge... I did a lot of research, and, decided of the 4.3 inch screens, I was going to go with the Droid X2. I know it's not on your list, but, I had to add it. I hope they'd also give that to you for free if they are going to give you a Charge. At the time I bought my X2, the Charge was far more expensive, almost double.

So, I went to Costco to pick up my X2 and they had a Charge there. I picked it up, immediately felt like a toy (lightweight plastic, I'd give it one solid drop before it breaks). The shape is awful, I'm looking for a phone, not a detective badge. And, the display is horrendous. I know everyone says it's SO great, but, I thought the colors were garish. I found the screen on my X2 to be far better. The colors were nicer IMO and the display was real nice and crisp.

And, it's just a more solidly built phone. All hard plastic or rubberized plastic. I drop it all the time and it's fine. Granted I have a case, but, I think it'd take a beating without it. But, I ended up putting down the Charge and going with the X2. Brought my girlfriend back a couple weeks later to get a phone, and, she picked up the Charge and immediately honed in on all the issues I had with it.

Like I said, I know it's not on your list, but, I had to add my two cents. Sorry if that wasn't helpful. I just can't bring myself to pick one of those phones. But, hopefully my critique was at least somewhat useful.

 

[BattleSwine]

My understanding is that the Tbolt battery issue is in 4g areas. I am in and out of 3g/4g very often throughout the day, so I'm afraid it might become an issue... What do you like about the Tbolt over the Charge specifically?

Battery life was improved some by MR2 update and again in the leaked RUUs. I used the extended battery and regularly hit 30-39 hours on a charge. Web, email, SMS, navigation, and some gaming. I think I'm a heavy user. I live near, but not in LTE coverage. I rarely turn off my Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or lock phone in to 3G only. So, I do very little to conserve battery. Granted when I run Sensorly in background mapping mode it will cut my battery life in at least half, but I can still make it through the day. To me the simultaneous voice and 3G data is HUGE. I won't even consider a phone without it until I have LTE every where I go.... and seeing how poor that coverage is in Kentucky as compared to to Ohio that will be a long wait. I also love the kickstand. Didn't think I would... thought it was just a gimmick, but I use it a lot. Better than carrying around a folding stand. I know people who do. No thank you. I know you don't want an extended battery, but first gen LTE radios are battery killers. Battery life will continue to be a problem while LTE modems are separate chips from SOC basebands. At least HTC and Moto offer OEM extended batteries. Might not be an elegant solution, but it's better than ignoring the problem. So far as the Charge's screen goes its one of personal preference. Go compare them side by side in a store. Using dark backgrounds it will use less battery than light backgrounds. I didn't like how it felt in my hand, but it might be different for you. To me it always goes back to 3G data and voice.... it's my must have feature.