HTC ThunderBolt
Phone Scoop Review
Mar 18, 2011 by Eric M. Zeman
Phone Scoop takes an in-depth look at HTC's Thunderbolt, the first LTE 4G smartphone to become available from Verizon Wireless. Can it live up to the hype -- and the hope -- for the future of 4G? read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
LOVEIT!!!
I have had this phone for well over a year and truly love it! It has never caused me any problems. Mine is broken and I wish I could just buy a new one bc it is amazing!
kind of disappointing
I am a lover of HTC phones so I was stoked to find out the Thunderbolt was coming out. However, it has been pretty disappointing.
Pros:
*Huge screen
*4G capablility
*HTC Interface
*Kickstand
*Ability to use phone and data at the same time
Cons:
*Screen clarity isn't the best and almost impossible to see in daylight
*Loses data connections frequently
*battery life is horrible
*Speaker is behind the kickstand
*Kickstand flips the same direction as charging port so it can not charge while it is flipped open and layed sideways.
*call quality is poor
*drops calls frequently
*the screen doesn't always lock when you are on a call so I frequently hit the mute or end button with my cheek (so annoying!)
Bad Bad Bad and even worse!
On my way back to the store. One reason, BATTERY. I do not care if a phone does the dishes for you, if it does not last more than 24 hours, it is NOT worth the $300 upgrade price. Verizon TEST your phones first, OK?
it's okay
I had this phone for such a short period of time. For me, I hated it. I did not have 4G so take that into consideration. The phone is just too big and the battery is way too small.
Pro's. Browser is very good.
Con's. Battery just flat out sucks and the screen is hard to see in daylight. Software is glitchy.
GREAT Android phone!!!!
I really don't know where some of the comments left on the reviews come from. My second day with this phone, and the first full day with a full charge. The phone was taken off charge this morning at 5AM. It has been running for almost 15 hours now without being charged. People, its a SMARTPHONE! They don't get the old flip phone battery life.
The phone is really FAST. I have no problems with lagging. I am working with only 3G, but the phone still responds faster than my Incredible. The only complaint I had with my Incredible was the battery. I could not go a day without charging, but the Thunderbolt has beaten that the first full charge.
I have a low area on my route home that I have never been able to talk through without dropping the call. Today, I went through the same area without dropping the call. I had numerous phones over the past few years, and very few of them would make it though the area.
The camera is impressive. The capture is really fast. The features from the simplest to the touch focus is very good.
The screen has the size of a Droid X, but the rich color of the Incredible.
My only complaint is the design should have moved the charge port to the opposite side.
Overall, this is BIG REDS best Android to date.
3 days of use
Used last NE2 option and got %50 big ones off of the 249 price. Read a lot of reviews on Battery Life. Was a little hesistant. Started using phone at 530 am and still had green battery life at 230 pm. Used internet, had 4G coverage the whole time. Downloaded new apps, checked email. Other than normal battery life, no problem for me. I did turn off the constant GPS location services and switched to google location services which disabled the constant gps on and battery drain. Phone is fast. Downloaded 10-12 Mbps contantly. I wish I could screen shot and show everyone who don't believe. In order to appreciate the phone. U must be in a 4G city or airport. 4G is ten times faster than 3G from my point of view. I had 40 apps downloaded in about 10 minutes becaise of the speed. Display is nice. HTC sense takes getting used to coming from Droid X, but runs circles around the X.
What You Need To Know
(I rated this 3.5; Rating the TB @ a 0.0 or a 5.0 would start a flame war.) Take it or leave it, this is one Tech of Dub's two cents. This basically applies to all 'Droids.
1) Don't do a phone book transfer with a transfer machine!
2) Back up your stuff before you start upgrading! Find a way to export/create Vcards or CSV files.
3) Share Plans: Determine which line is ultimately going to have the device; Devices are "transferable" between lines E.G. alternate upgrade. Sim cards are not. If you have to go through a contract acceptance hot-line, CHOOSE TO ACTIVATE LATER SO YOU CAN ACTIVATE BOTH DEVICE AND SIM # ON THE ALTERNATE LINE *4G only*
4) Have both devices off during activation, no simcard inserted for 4g's unless you want authentication errors among other things!
5) If you have gone through many other droids and are upgrading, DO NOT ENTER YOUR GMAIL DURING SETUP, create a dummy. (If you need to have communication with Email/Paid apps with the original gmail acct) ... (If you created a Gmail just to download apps create a new Gmail) Otherwise tie the original gmail in as a secondary.
6) DO NOT DOWNLOAD TASK KILLERS. If you dont get messages, calls, etc definitely dont. They give you better battery life in sacrifice of device stability! Google "Do I need a task killer", see for yourself!
7) IF YOU NEED TO TETHER SYNC WITH YOUR PC EMAIL CLIENT DONT GET A DROID!!! THERE IS NO NATIVE SYNC... (Syncdroid.net)
8) Take your battery from the charge out of box down to low battery... NOT DEAD just low batt.. leave it on the charger at least untill full, and then drain down to low battery... Do at least 3 times, 5 reccomended. This goes for most lithium based batteries
9) Use your original chargers or OEM approved. Avoid LG chargers, they mess stuff up.
10) Enjoy the Device!
(PS) I hope many people agree with these rules as they have served me well supporting mucho droids!
Thunderbolt surprises with Simultaneous Voice & Data over 3G too!
This is a great phone, i wasn't going to buy it because it was an HTC, and I expected weak reception and glitches... However, when Verizon offered unlimited data 4G & 3G, I figured it would be a good time to get that grandfathered in on my plan and just deal with the Thunderbolt until something better came along.
Surprisingly, this phone is great, none of the issues I'd expect from HTC, The worst thing about this phone is the Android OS, but I know a lot of people like that, so it's to be expected. Signal is great in weak areas, i've yet to drop a call driving through areas where Blackberries and LG phones will drop every time. Sound quality is great on both ends of the call, battery life is ok considering it's a smartphone and a new data technology.
Then i got an email while i was on a call, and i noticed the 3G data arrows blinking, so i switched my call to a bluetooth headset and opened up the browser, AND IT WORKED! Simultaneous Voice & Data over EVDO (SVDO) is an upgrade that Verizon hasn't talked about, I don't know if they're testing it in this market with the Thunderbolt or what, but it's here, and it works great. I heard the phone had dual antennas, which didn't seem like a surprise because it has to for the 700Mhz 4G. This phone is full of surprises, I'm glad I signed a contract for this phone. I didn't take it likely as I've been upgrade eligible for over 2 years, but hadn't seen anything worth upgrading for. I'm sure the Bionic will be great, and hopefully Motorola will have fixed the issue of their Droids preferring the 1X network and blocking incomming calls by then.
HTC Thunderbolt
After testing the phone for a while I would not recommend it.
- Screen lags
- Battery drains quickly
- Had problems sending SMS
- Charging port is on the same side as Kickstand - poor design
- Problems playing a few MP4 videos - freezing
- Phone calls decent
Not a good experience
Great Phone
Excellent phone, fast and you definitely need extended battery. Responsiveness is fast also. Highly customizable easily change wallpaper & ring tones. Phone quality also good to great. GPS also works great. Having a screen with more real estate is pleasing on the eyes. Extended Battery optimizes the phone so you don't constantly have to keep it in the charger. There probably will be other great phones in the future. If you need a phone now and are happy with the cell phone provider it comes with...Get this phone, you wont be disappointed.
