Which Company Will Get Your Money?

[mightyfacundo]

I'm just curious what everyone is going to do when the contract is up on their Thunderbolt. Are you going to stick with HTC no matter what and buy their high end offering? Are you disappointed with HTC because of your experience with the Bolt and going to buy a phone from anyone other than HTC? Are you targeting a particular company (Samsung, LG, Casio, Motorola, etc.)? Or are you just looking for the clear-cut (in your opinion and I know all of us don't share the same opinion) best phone available regardless of which company produces it?

Right now, I'm very content with my Bolt and wouldn't buy any of the current offerings even if I had an upgrade available, but I was having this conversation with a few friends and am interested in which direction everyone else will go when they upgrade.

Leave your comments below. Thanks everyone.

 

[dpham00]

I ended up getting the Rezound for $ 50 on upgrade less than 2 weeks after its release. IMO, better than my Thunderbolt in just about every category, and well worth the $50 i spent. The hd screen is to me way better than the wvga and I get better signal than my thunderbolt. Those two items make it worth it for me.

 

[defcon999]

I'm just curious what everyone is going to do when the contract is up on their Thunderbolt. Are you going to stick with HTC no matter what and buy their high end offering? Are you disappointed with HTC because of your experience with the Bolt and going to buy a phone from anyone other than HTC? Are you targeting a particular company (Samsung, LG, Casio, Motorola, etc.)? Or are you just looking for the clear-cut (in your opinion and I know all of us don't share the same opinion) best phone available regardless of which company produces it?

Right now, I'm very content with my Bolt and wouldn't buy any of the current offerings even if I had an upgrade available, but I was having this conversation with a few friends and am interested in which direction everyone else will go when they upgrade.

Leave your comments below. Thanks everyone.

A lot of us here got locked into a 2 year contract (well, I know I did). My upgrade isn't until December of this year. Depending on what HTC has I might switch to the Nexus or whatever quad core is out by then. I am not loyal to brands per say. I do have my favorites of course, but I think I am more loyal to SPECS of a phone.

The good thing with upgrading in December, all the rumors and new phones will more than likely be out or soon to be out.

I am happy with my TBOLT (just flashed IKream) and this will be a solid phone for me for a long time.

A friend at work has a BIONIC and he just bought the Motorola docking station thing (looks like a laptop)...it is really cool. That is something I might look at as a feature I want (if not immediately, then soon there after).

 

[dragonsamus]

I really like HTC so I'll wait and see their high end phone but I'm very interested to see what the Galaxy S 3 well become.

 

[dpham00]

A lot of us here got locked into a 2 year contract (well, I know I did). My upgrade isn't until December of this year. Depending on what HTC has I might switch to the Nexus or whatever quad core is out by then. I am not loyal to brands per say. I do have my favorites of course, but I think I am more loyal to SPECS of a phone.

The good thing with upgrading in December, all the rumors and new phones will more than likely be out or soon to be out.

I am happy with my TBOLT (just flashed IKream) and this will be a solid phone for me for a long time.

A friend at work has a BIONIC and he just bought the Motorola docking station thing (looks like a laptop)...it is really cool. That is something I might look at as a feature I want (if not immediately, then soon there after).

I thought about getting a two year contract, but I figured that an extra $30 was worth it to me to go for the one year contract. On top of that, Verizon messed up my order, so I was able to get them to credit me $25, making it only a $5 difference for me. But those who bought it after the April 2011 cutoff are stuck on the 2 year contract.

 

[Forgetful]

If HTC releases the EDGE or ZETA to vzw I cannot throw my money faster at them.

Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using Tapatalk

 

[cadzilla74]

I actually like HTC Sense but I'm a ways off from end of contract. I will look at all the Verizon offerings when the time comes but I'll start with HTC if they have something decent out at that time. Based on the recent posts about HTC's ow admission of making some mistakes it will be interesting to see what their next-gen devices have to offer. For now my TBolt has proven to be a great performer for anything I ask of it and built pretty tough as well.

 

[FrankXS]

I'm just curious what everyone is going to do when the contract is up on their Thunderbolt. Are you going to stick with HTC no matter what...

I never stick with any company "no matter what". But I will lean toward HTC unless I have a compelling reason to change. I've been very happy with HTC's phones. Given what is known at this time, I expect to keep my TBolt past November 2012 (the end of my TBolt line contract). Although I also have another line available for upgrade now and I see no reason to upgrade to anything else right now.

-Frank

 

[anon(394005)]

Been off contract since Nov. 2011 and have no plans to change phones as there is currently nothing out there enticing enough. So unless something really awesome comes along this year (with a kickstand?), I'm gonna continue to rock the Thunderbolt! I'm not locked into HTC, but they're my primary choice as I really don't like most other hardware manufacturer's designs or build's. Also really don't care for some of their UI's either (ex. Blur, Touch Wiz, or LG's what ever they call it). Vanilla ICS does nothing for me either. In fact, I think it still has bugs to be worked out. So, I'm in no hurry to get it anytime soon. A few deal breakers for me though when looking for a future phone (no particular order): Blur, Touch Wiz, Vanilla ICS, non user removable battery (ex. RAZR), Pentile screens, no capacitive buttons.

 

[FrankXS]

Vanilla ICS does nothing for me either...

Exactly. Vanilla my a$$. AFAIC, "pure Google" is way too "pure" for me. From what I've seen, pure=very basic . As in, "stripped down".

-Frank

 

[lou1210]

Personally, HTC is my new favorite. I've seen some of the new phones and I'm not extremely impressed. Before I rooted my thunderbolt I hated my phone. I have to say since I rooted, I like it. I enjoy the ability to try new roms and see the differences. I was actually saying that I hope that nothing happens to my phone so I don't have to unroot and root a new one. Contract is up in July 2013, but that's ok. I'm happy, for now. If the tbolt. Doesn't get ics, or custom roms aren't made with them for the tbolt, then I might upgrade at contract time. But that's me.

Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using Tapatalk

 

[worwig]

Before my contract is up, I expect HTC to see a phone like the Thunderbolt, but with a large battery capacity. I would consider manufacturers in the following order:
1. HTC
2. Motorola
3. Dog crap
4. Samsung

 

[SamOliver]

Before my contract is up, I expect HTC to see a phone like the Thunderbolt, but with a large battery capacity. I would consider manufacturers in the following order:
1. HTC
2. Motorola
3. Dog crap
4. Samsung

What's wrong with Samsung?

 

[tbran]

Before my contract is up, I expect HTC to see a phone like the Thunderbolt, but with a large battery capacity. I would consider manufacturers in the following order:
1. HTC
2. Motorola
3. Dog crap
4. Samsung

Seriously? I have supported HTC as much as anyone with the whole line of Winmo and early Android devices over the years and their heart was in the right place, but honestly they are no longer in the same league in QC or R&D. They basically forgot how to innovate at some point. Which makes me sad. Unless they really get their head out of their collective a....$, they are gonna have a rough time.


Sent from Samsung Galaxy II SR via Tapatalk

 

[mightyfacundo]

Thanks for the responses.

It's funny how people have different feeling toward the different smartphone manufacturers, and it's why I'm an Android guy; different strokes and all that. A buddy of mine agrees with cuseguy and thinks that HTC is headed downhill fast, but I don't agree with that point of view. My wife has the Galaxy Nexus, and I'm just not all that impressed with it. Yes, it's a very nice phone (she loves it), but it just doesn't do it for me. The GPS takes forever to lock on compared to my Bolt, she can't hear me sometimes when we're talking to each other, and her radios aren't as strong as mine. I get a solid 4G signal at the house while she's lucky to hold a 3G signal. I know that there is an OTA on its way that is supposed to address the radio issues in the GN, but I'll have to wait and see if they actually do and how well.

For me, I'm just not big on the other companies (although the Galaxy S2 does seem like a VERY nice phone). If I was ranking them, I'd have:

1) HTC
2) Samsung (I would always worry about ever getting updates though, and their phones are so light I'd have to beef it up with a Seidio Active case or constantly live in fear of dropping it.)
3)
4) Motorola (I was not impressed with the Bionic and its laundry list of issues when it was FINALLY released, and then to release the Razr a month and a half later really turned me off. As for the Razr, it seems like a good phone, but I really didn't like the way it felt in hand.)
5) LG and the rest (Beautiful screens (LG), but a friend's phone is so laggy that I would have a tough time owning one if I had to suffer through the same experience.)

I'm up for my update in December as I had to sign a 2 year contract when I got my Bolt. So, unless one of the other companies totally blows me away AND HTC serves up a total POS, I envision myself buying another HTC phone. Don't disappoint me HTC......

 

[Unobtanium]

It all depends on whether there is a compelling "better" device out there. Prior to going to a smartphone, I tended to keep devices past the end of contract. Except for the StarTACs, I never paid for a phone upgrade, except for the two-year contract lock-in. The TB was my last "New Every Two" device, and I paid $150 for it when it was going for $250 for many folks.

When I got the 'Bolt, I had three LTE phones to pick from: Charge, Revolution, and Thunderbolt. I had been lurking here for about three months before I got the TB, and even with the somewhat scary user reports (reboots and battery life). I went for the TB for the SD card, not Bing'ed, the look and feel, the kickstand, and the FM radio. I have had few issues (still wonder why the heck the power connector went THERE).

I've said before that if the Commando had been an LTE device, I probably would have gone for it, and I looked hard anyway, but I like the 4.3 inch screen.

I am happy with the TB. I may well keep it past my eligible upgrade date (March 2013). My next device will be from whoever has the balance of features that I want at a price I can afford. One thing that will help is if the manufacturer offers a Liquipel type coating at a discount off retail or for free.

Wherever the trend goes, I hope we have finally settled on micro USB for power and data connectors. Speaking of which, a slight threadjack - a colleague and I were flying out on a business trip about two weeks ago. We're in the airport gate area a little early, and we see a guy going around to folks asking something. He finally gets to us asking if he can borrow a power adapter to charge his phone. I ask what kind, he holds up an iPhone. "Sorry, all Androids (and Blackberries) here."

 

[jimpala]

I am a phone junkie until now. Since 2007 I bought a new phone every year and I do have an upgrade available on one of my other lines, but I don't see any reason to change from the Thunderbolt now. It would just be an incremental change at best going with the Rezound or Nexus. I am holding out until next Fall when my TB is off contract. Hopefully by that time Google works out any kinks with ICS and QuadCore processors are available. Plus, after a flawed launch with the TB and the problems in May with rebooting I think HTC has brought several updates to this device to make it solid. I am rocking stock 605.9 and rooted. I find myself loading custom roms only to miss the the stability of stock and Sense. This device came out in March and we have seen a lot of updates too, at least 4 or 5 since then. I like that track record.

 

[worwig]

Seriously? I have supported HTC as much as anyone with the whole line of Winmo and early Android devices over the years and their heart was in the right place, but honestly they are no longer in the same league in QC or R&D. They basically forgot how to innovate at some point. Which makes me sad. Unless they really get their head out of their collective a....$, they are gonna have a rough time.

Same here.
But what I was trying to say is, HTC has spent too much time making dozens of boring models, and not making just a few great models. I believe THEY now see that, and are working on it. So I strongly suspect that we will see some interesting things from them later in the year when I'm ready to upgrade. Today, if I had to get something, it would be a Razor Maxx.

 

[worwig]

(Skip this long rant about Samsung if you don't care.....)

What's wrong with Samsung?

I had heard people for years tell me how great Samsung is. I had used HTC WinMo devices for a LONG time. So when I switched to Android, I got a Samsung Fascinate. What a horrible device. The AMOLED screen looked nice, but, I use my device often as a GPS on a handlebar mount. That screen wasn't visible during the day at all. But it didn't matter, the GPS seldom worked anyway. But that didn't matter, because if you had it plugged into a charger and used it, the heat would shut down the touch screen and nothing would work until you unplugged it and let it cool. Verizon AND Samsung both stated that this is typical for this model, live with it.
So it will be a while before I am willing to give them a chance again.
Plus I hated the TouchWiz interface. Simply, I like HTC Sense.

 

[jackmei2]

(Skip this long rant about Samsung if you don't care.....)



I had heard people for years tell me how great Samsung is. I had used HTC WinMo devices for a LONG time. So when I switched to Android, I got a Samsung Fascinate. What a horrible device. The AMOLED screen looked nice, but, I use my device often as a GPS on a handlebar mount. That screen wasn't visible during the day at all. But it didn't matter, the GPS seldom worked anyway. But that didn't matter, because if you had it plugged into a charger and used it, the heat would shut down the touch screen and nothing would work until you unplugged it and let it cool. Verizon AND Samsung both stated that this is typical for this model, live with it.
So it will be a while before I am willing to give them a chance again.
Plus I hated the TouchWiz interface. Simply, I like HTC Sense.

^this

samsungs seem to have gps and data signal issues. I had been recommending to people to get the galaxy nexus or the rezound, but then saw that the GN was having signal issues and such and that said to me that samsung still hasn't figured out that problem. HTC's biggest problem is the size of their phones and horrible battery life. even with the great droid incredible, it had horrible battery life issues.

I like HTC's and when I had my fascinate I used launcherpro and beautiful widgets to make it look like sense. but I don't even use the sense launcher anymore. so I'm no longer brand loyal. so when my contract is up in Dec of this year, I'll probably look at whatever phone is best at the time. oh, and has a good dev community for custom roms. my tbolt runs awesome thanks to them.