Just upgraded to a TB...

[gilmour93woo]

so my BB Storm 2 has been to hell and back. It is really flaky and I can't hear anyone when I call not even the other phone ringing. I got a TB from an online store for $19.99...my question is what are the necessary apps, settings for the battery etc, do I need when I get it...any assistance from the Droid world would be awesome.

 

[dragonsamus]

One thing to improve battery life would be to minimize how often the phone is syncing.

 

[quantumiq]

lowering brightness, and using 3G instead of 4G should also help

 

[OhioG]

Root. I get 8-10 hours on 4G with fairly moderate use in low signal areas.

 

[D850]

Quick Return it now while you can! Save your self the pain and suffering! I had a thunderbolt for 13days and was glued to a wall charger 2 times a day with medium usage! Battery life is totally unacceptable! One sunday I unplugged it at 11am and barely used it and it was beeping low battery at 6pm! I returned it before I got stuck with it. I got a Droid X while I wait for the Droid Bionic to come out. With light to medium use I have gotten 3 days out of the battery! Htc notoriously under batterys their phones and has horrible battery management software. You should not have to handicap your phone to get a days use out of it. My Droid X has everything on and i can get a full days use out of it. The Best bet is Go with the Motorola Droid Bionic when it comes out next week I will be getting one on launch day testers have been getting a full days use out of it with everything on. Thats my 2 cents take it or leave it. I will not be getting another HTC phone piss poor battery life is a deal breaker! Motorola has some of the best battery management software i have experienced and they put the correct size battery for the power of the phone.

 

[BostonBeats88]

I would have to agree with OhioG. I have rooted my phone and get 15-18 hours of battery life with 4G on and fairly heavy use. The battery life even on a stock phone isn't as bad as D850 would lead you to believe. Perhaps he did not have his setting set correctly or was syncing way too often. On a stock phone I was getting 12 hours no problem, streaming HD video over 4g and listening to pandora.

It is a great phone and I would recommend the Gingeritis VIII ROM, it really does wonders for the battery life.

 

[Mortiel]

Quick Return it now while you can! Save your self the pain and suffering! I had a thunderbolt for 13days and was glued to a wall charger 2 times a day with medium usage! Battery life is totally unacceptable! One sunday I unplugged it at 11am and barely used it and it was beeping low battery at 6pm! I returned it before I got stuck with it. I got a Droid X while I wait for the Droid Bionic to come out. With light to medium use I have gotten 3 days out of the battery! Htc notoriously under batterys their phones and has horrible battery management software. You should not have to handicap your phone to get a days use out of it. My Droid X has everything on and i can get a full days use out of it. The Best bet is Go with the Motorola Droid Bionic when it comes out next week I will be getting one on launch day testers have been getting a full days use out of it with everything on. Thats my 2 cents take it or leave it. I will not be getting another HTC phone piss poor battery life is a deal breaker! Motorola has some of the best battery management software i have experienced and they put the correct size battery for the power of the phone.

3 days out of the battery on the Droid X huh? Curious.

Aside from what this gentleman says, I think that the Droid Bionic will only have *marginally* better battery life than the rest of the LTE phones, and will probably have its own quirks. EVERY phone has some kind of glitch to it when its released. Remember that.

Aside, on my Thunderbolt I get around 15 hours, and that mainly from the app Juice Defender.

Keep in mind one of the unique things about the Thunderbolt is that is does have the Fast Boot option, which lets you power off the phone to use almost no battery, then power it on and have it ready in around 10 seconds.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

For the most part, many of the tricks you employed on your Storm 2 (I used to own one as well) will apply to the Thunderbolt, such as keeping screen brightness at a minium, reducing the amount of apps that sync in the background, etc. Common sense stuff really.

Simply put, you won't get the same battery output out of a Thunderbolt (or any Android phone) that you can out of a BlackBerry, but you can definitely achieve a managable balance of performance and battery life.

1 thing to know: 4G, for as great as it is, is a HUGE battery hog. You'll get at least twice as much life if you run your phone in 3G mode. Wifi also conserves power as well. If know I'm going to be out for an extended period of time, I always switch over to 3G.

As far as rooting goes, you can do that if you want. Rooting by itself won't get you better battery life, but some ROMs, more specifically some kernels, that you can install once rooted can also have a profound effect...but I wouldn't venture down that road unless your comfortable with all that is involved.

 

[Jude526]

I do keep my TB at 3G mode for various reasons. I live in 3G and the Phoenix./Scottsdale area do have 4G. But the 3G on the TB runs faster than it did on my Incredible. I don't mind keeping it set at 3G. My battery life is better and am pleased with the speed. If I am in town for any length of time and want to use the 4G then I can switch it, but for the most part, am ok with the 3G. Another cool feature of this phone is you can talk and use data at the same time even while on 3G. There is no other device on Verizon that allows this ........not even their iphone. Welcome to the TB I just got mine too and love it.

 

[gilmour93woo]

Where do I find swype texting on this phone?

 

[gilmour93woo]

Thanks for everyone's advice and help!

 

[recDNA]

Its funny, I'm always complaining about how buggy my tbolt is but the biggest complaint most people have is battery life and I have no problem with that at all. It's true I have the extended battery but I actually prefer the feeling of the tb in my hand wih the hump to hold onto.
I have a charger in my car so when I drive I put the tbolt in a vent cradle and charge it while using nav or maps. I also have a charger next to my computer at work so I sometimes charge while I work on the computer. I did the same thing with my d1. I don't see it as a big deal. I also charge at night when I'm sleeping. That's no work and I always know where the tb is when at home. I don't consider myself chained to the charger. It's just a habit.

If I could change a couple of things I would like multicolored led notifiers and a vanilla android option.

Oh, btw, I'm sitting here using AR radio to listen to sports radio while using a a2dp bluetooth earpiece to listen. Probably would have exhausted the battery of my d1 faster than this phone.

 

[Mortiel]

Where do I find swype texting on this phone?

Swype Beta Website

Sign up for the beta. Follow the steps and get the Swype Installer downloaded. You'll be good to go.

 

[Jude526]

I have had mine now over a week and am really enjoying it. I knew prior about the battery but didn't let it stop me from having this amazing phone. I don't want the huge hump on the back with the extended battery. It is for some people but not for me. I have small hands. I do have a battery saver...and it helps.I have it set on fast boot and that is great too. I had the extended batteries (Off brand) on my Incredible and there wasn't that much of improvement. If I do get an extended, it will be a brand name and I want the slimmer design. It will give a couple more hours. But charging it isn't a problem for me. It does all I want and last week I was out of state with it and the navigation was perfect. I have used it but this was the first time on a road trip. I had it charging the entire time and it didn't run hot either. I love HTC products and this phone is great.