Thunderbolt & HTCSense.com

[reb422]

I've heard two conflicting reports... 1) the Thunderbolt will sync with HTCSense.com because it's a part of the new Sense and 2) the Thunderbolt will NOT sync with HTCSense.com because it's device specific and Verizon did not wish to have the Thunderbolt compatible with that website.

Can anyone shed some light on this? Thanks.

 

[bkorver]

Sense.com is not phone specific, it's the "new" sense specific. If it has the new sense, it will be able to log on the the HTC site, regaurdless of the carrier. Verizon has nothing to do with that...

 

[reb422]

Sense.com is not phone specific, it's the "new" sense specific. If it has the new sense, it will be able to log on the the HTC site, regaurdless of the carrier. Verizon has nothing to do with that...

I certainly hope you are right... here's one of the websites that is saying the Thunderbolt will NOT use HTCSense.com:

HTC Thunderbolt won't sync to HTCSense.com

 

[Droid800]

I certainly hope you are right... here's one of the websites that is saying the Thunderbolt will NOT use HTCSense.com:

HTC Thunderbolt won't sync to HTCSense.com

Reps on the floors of trade shows like CES are about as knowledgeable of what goes on in their companies as the secretary in the lobby at the company headquarters. All they know is a very narrow list of talking points for the devices they're handling, and that's it.

The sense.com features are baked right into the new version of sense, so it would take a lot of doing on HTC's part to strip them out. That, and I doubt HTC would go to such lengths to essentially cripple one of the newer features of sense just to make Verizon happy.

 

[bkorver]

Here's why I am convinced it will... I have ran 2 or 3 different ROM's ported from the Desire Z on my incredible and have not only synced with sense.com, but also have access to HTC Hub and have downloaded several widgets, ringtones, and skins. I'm willing to bet if you went into a Verizon store and asked them if the DInc had access to sense.com they would tell you NO. Long story short, it's ROM based, not phone or carrier based.

 

[rfmike]

I cant wait for the thunder bolt to come out, i think it will be a great addition to Verizon's HTC line up. I love my Droid Incredible But i will miss the AMOLED.....(enter sad face).

 

[Jason-Droid]

bkorver, can you give us your opinions on sense.com? Is it worth running a ROM ported from the Desire? I am running SkyRaider on my DINC

 

[sail4fun201]

bkorver, can you give us your opinions on sense.com? Is it worth running a ROM ported from the Desire? I am running SkyRaider on my DINC

I'm running a Z ROM on my Dinc, but that's not really what makes the new sense all that good. It has more options, seems a lot nicer, you can sync contacts and settings to htcsense.com, and other things, but the actual options you have on the site are pretty limited. The phone finder won't work - I don't know why. I says to make sure the button is checked in settings, and it is, so I don't know where the breakdown is there. When I first flashed this ROM (Uber Sense_RC-2.0.1), I tried out the lock feature on the website, and my phone didn't actually lock for another 16 hours or so, even though I forced a sync to HTCSense.com and rebooted in between.

The HTC Hub is really what's worth it for. There's way more customizing options, more widgets, and you can do skins, which is really nice. Plus your homescreen rotates. There's more transitions, everything seems faster, and while the autobrightness is a little funky, it's overall better than the current Sense.

In terms of bugs (at least in the ROM I'm using), the Display is always the main user of power in the Settings menu, regardless of teh brightness level and how long you use it for. I don't know why. This might be limited to the ROM I'm using. And HD video recording doesn't work, but that's in all of the ports. the HTC Locations app, which is suppoesd to replace Maps, doesn't support the USA so that kinda blows. You can still have Maps though so i don't really care.

I'd recommend trying it out. Keep in mind it takes a couple days for everything to get set after flashing. I like it better than SR.

 

[bkorver]

It only has a couple of features up and running, but the features it has are really handy. There is a map (google map, btw) that shows you exactly where your phone is based on gps and tower locations in case you leave it somewhere while out and about. I have left my phone in a cab in Vegas before, wish I would have had this...

It also has toggles to forward you phone calls or messages to another number. I forward my calls to my desk all the time, because I work in the basement of a large concrete building and get a shady at best signal at my desk.

By far the handiest feature is there is a button on the site that will make your phone ring at full volume regaurdless of it's current volume settings. In a word, MONEY for a dope like me who can't remember where I set my phone down before I went to the bathroom.

There is also a button on the site to remotely lock your phone and another to remotely wipe it. Remember my trip to Vegas? Again, I wish I would have had this ability.

By far the biggest advantage to sense 2.0 is the HTC Hub app you will see on your phone. You will have access to the latest HTC widgets, skins (which are esentially themes), new ringtones and alerts, things like that.

Many of the Desire Z ports now are stable enough to be daily drivers (mad love to all the chefs for their time and effort). Let's talk about cameras. The photo camera has been updated and is like the evo camera on crack. You also now have the ability to edit photos on your phone. Very cool. The only issue with all the ports is that the video camera freaks out when trying to record in 720p, but records 800 x 480 just fine.

 

[reb422]

Hmmm.... I'm reading more and more that are saying the Tbolt will NOT sync with HTCSense.com

 

[Seba617]

From what i have heard, the site is having some issues right now and the thunderbolt will NOT be working with HTCSense.com AT LAUNCH. It WILL be working soon after though after they get the issues resolved. That is probably why everyone is seeing reports that it will not be working with the thunderbolt.

 

[INK]

From what i have heard, the site is having some issues right now and the thunderbolt will NOT be working with HTCSense.com AT LAUNCH. It WILL be working soon after though after they get the issues resolved. That is probably why everyone is seeing reports that it will not be working with the thunderbolt.

I've read that as well. and sense 2 has sense.com deliciously baked into it.

 

[reb422]

I could live with that. As long as it is compatible eventually.... better than not working with the website at all. I'm curious where you are reading this though? I haven't seen anywhere that it will be compatible AFTER launch.

 

[I am Fake Jesus]

guys on another post i email htc directly to ask. here was the response


Dear jordan,

Very good question, Jordan. I would be more than happy to provide you with a little more insight.

At this point in time, HTCSense is still undergoing further development and testing. We've run into major problems that will probably not be fixed before the Thunderbolt is released; this is why only two phones, thus far, have the necessary version of HTC Sense to work with the site. We feel that the site is not stable enough to handle the additional traffic. Due to this, the Thunderbolt most likely will not initially be able to interface with HTCSense.com -- Once the site is a little more stable and able to handle more traffic, and once we've worked the bugs out of it, we'll be looking to expand the list of phones that will work with the site. As the Thunderbolt is going to be among the first of Verizon's 4G phones, I can only guess that this phone eventually would be made compatible -- however, this is something that is left up to Verizon. We would be more than happy to forward this suggestion to the people at Verizon, so that they know that people looking forward to the Thunderbolt would like to be able to use HTCSync.com.

 

[reb422]

guys on another post i email htc directly to ask. here was the response


Dear jordan,

Very good question, Jordan. I would be more than happy to provide you with a little more insight.

At this point in time, HTCSense is still undergoing further development and testing. We've run into major problems that will probably not be fixed before the Thunderbolt is released; this is why only two phones, thus far, have the necessary version of HTC Sense to work with the site. We feel that the site is not stable enough to handle the additional traffic. Due to this, the Thunderbolt most likely will not initially be able to interface with HTCSense.com -- Once the site is a little more stable and able to handle more traffic, and once we've worked the bugs out of it, we'll be looking to expand the list of phones that will work with the site. As the Thunderbolt is going to be among the first of Verizon's 4G phones, I can only guess that this phone eventually would be made compatible -- however, this is something that is left up to Verizon. We would be more than happy to forward this suggestion to the people at Verizon, so that they know that people looking forward to the Thunderbolt would like to be able to use HTCSync.com.

Thanks for sharing that. So it looks like it will be a possibility in the future... unless Verizon chooses to not allow it's customers to use it. That would blow.

 

[htowngator]

Thanks for sharing that. So it looks like it will be a possibility in the future... unless Verizon chooses to not allow it's customers to use it. That would blow.

Yea, a big reason why you never buy a new phone on day 1.

I always wait a few weeks to see what people think, what the reviews say, and how it performs in the general public. There's no beta test like a live launch.

 

[karnovaran]

Anything with the ability to wipe my phone remotely should go through rigorous testing before distribution. However, I suspect Verizon may have plans to develop and market their own version of this kind of software.

 

[I am Fake Jesus]

I also emailed verizon about this. It's been 2 days now with no answer back. I asked the chat on verizon site with the typical response of we haven infO on that device yet

Either way sense 2 has other great features on The phone. But sense.com is a great feature IMO

 

[paulmike3]

However, I suspect Verizon may have plans to develop and market their own version of this kind of software.

Bingo. They already offer that for free (it's called "Mobile Recovery" and included with TEC), and they just lowered the TEC cost by $1, so I would be shocked if they don't start to offer their own version and charge $2-3 per month for the service. Another way to nickel and dime us!

 

[thedeceiver]

Bingo. They already off that for free (it's called "Mobile Recovery" and included with TEC), and they just lowered the TEC cost by $1, so I would be shocked if they don't start to offer their own version and charge $2-3 per month for the service. Another way to nickel and dime us!

Yes! God forbid you should have to pay for additional services. It should all be free.