HTC thunderbolt rocks
 

Got this phone on Monday, to replace my aging iPhone 3G/AT&T (along with 3 HTC Incredibles, for my wife and parents).

Have some impressions of the service and the phone itself.

Verizon: better call quality than AT&T, and better penetration into buildings. Also, after disconnection from walking into an elevator or into a shielded room, connection is re-acquired almost instantaneously, where AT&T would generally take 20-30 seconds, and sometimes 1-2 minutes. Even on 3G, the data speeds are significantly faster than AT&T's 3G, and MUCH more reliable. But more about that later.

Thunderbolt: gorgeous screen. Very nice size for the phone. Obviously the 4G speeds are incredible. I don't get less than 20Mbps/3MBps anywhere, and it makes the web a very smooth experience. In real life usage, most websites load in a second or two, which is a very big jump from the iPhone 3G. Don't know how much difference the actual OS/Processor make on the phone in real life usage, because my wife's HTC Incredible is also much faster than the iPhone 3G, and it doesn't use the LTE network. Using the apps is a very different experience from the iPhone - they launch pretty much instantaneously, and the entire UI seems vastly more responsive. Android itself is pretty unremarkable as far as I can see... and the locked-down version is pretty much as restrictive as the iPhone. With one MAJOR exception - the ability to customize the homescreen to display the calendar was something I SORELY missed in the iPhone. It was a major philosophical difference I had with Apple. Steve Jobs obviously thinks that the user is the consumer of apps. I, on the other hand, think that my next appointment is far more important of an item to display.

Now onto the bad. Well... the battery life... To be honest it's not as bad as the internet says. It's not 6 hours the way some websites have written. I have found that I get about 14 hours of regular use before the battery is down to 30%. I figure I can get 16 hours out of it if needed. Not as good as the iPhone, but then again, it's much more powerful.

I'm loving my Inspire 4G, HTC makes nice phones!

whats the price premium on 4g service?

I got mine launch day a couple of weeks ago and it is amazing. I was coming from the Original Moto Droid overclocked to 1.2Ghz and the thunderbolt is better in every single way. Its like moving from a flip phone to a smartphone all over again.

I have also seen similar results on the battery. I average 15 hours to 10% where I have power saving mode come on. That is still better then I was getting on the OG Droid so I don't find it bad at all. You can get a small increase in battery life if you disable the 4G radio as well.

No additional cost for 4G, currently have Unlimited 4G for $22 a month!

Never consider first day battery life to be any indicator. It'll get better and better over a period of weeks :)

I'm loving my thunderbolt also. Good choice on picking it. As for the "premium" on 4g, there is none. At least so far there isn't. I'm also coming from the OG moto droid. Defiantly one of the best upgrades i've done in awhile.

If you don't plan on rooting it, I suggest getting "Advanced task killer". It has made my evo's battery last probably 40% longer by getting rid of the garbage that opens on it's own.

hmm, i currently have the incredible and love it. It seems like i was hearing service providers charging an extra $10 or something for 4G, if it's not, as soon as it is available here... I'm game :D

wasnt there a big talk somewhere by android people how after 2.2 the task killer is really kinda pointless? I had it when i first got it, quit using it at 2.2, my battery is fine

Neg. It still likes to open BS programs like sprint tv, fring, quik etc on it's own. IDK why

Enjoy! It undoubtedly is a major step up from an almost 3 year old phone. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/cool1.gif

Positive? http://m.lifehacker.com/5650894/andr...uldnt-use-them

Yep. Without rooting you cannot uninstall the preinstalled garbage like qik and sprint tv. (not that I have found yet) and these are just a few of the bloat ware that is installed that constantly tries to connect to the internet. [thumbdown]

I was referring to the advanced task killer specifically.

I know, that's why I said that. Without that app, the stupid bloatware uses the internet and causes the phones battery to drain a bit more than it should. That's why it's nice that the task killer is there. I only have it set to kill specific bloat ware that I can not uninstall.

Ah gotcha, I see what you're saying.

Nope. For now, it's same price

Wow, that sucks that you guys get apps pre-installed that you cannot remove... Using a task killer would normally be counter-productive, but then again normally you can get rid of all the crappy apps that keep trying to connect to the internet etc http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/sad1.gif

It does blow, I have a lot of bloatware on my phone, that is why I am using the task killer. I have already rooted it, which involves a new ROM with this phone... now I'm considering a completely new ROM, but I don't want to lose any features.

I'm really happy to be living in a small enough country for the sales to be insignificant enough to even make providers consider tailoring custom roms with bloatware for http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/laugh1.gif