First Smartphone: Droid X or HTC Thunderbolt

[max105]

My impressions of the two phones:

Droid X
Pros: Cheaper (free), good battery life
Cons: No 4G LTE, end-of-life 3/31, less resale value?

HTC Thunderbolt
Pros: 4G LTE, lock into 4G unlimited plan, better resale?, more responsive?, future-proof?
Cons: costs $200 more, poor battery life

I've decided to upgrade my basic flip-phone and move onto my first smartphone: either the HTC Thunderbolt or Droid X. My smartphone experience is limited to a 3 week trial with the Droid X back in Jan 2011. I'm going on a trip to Seattle/Vancouver at the end of April and would like a new phone by then.

I live in an area with 4G (SF) and played with the Thunderbolt at BestBuy over the weekend. The TB seems a little more responsive than my memory of the Droid X, but I can't tell if it's actually true or a placebo effect. The screen also seems a little nicer but again, I can't tell if it's just a placebo effect. They didn't have a working Droid X for me to compare there.

When I borrowed the Droid X, I was mostly on wifi and rarely on 3G. However, I don't think I had enough time to become acquainted with all the smartphone features/functionality. This said, I don't know how much I'll be able to take advantage of the 4G/LTE network. I'm hoping I can rely on experienced users here to guide me through this decision. If it helps for you to know, I'd consider myself a heavy daily Internet user: ~8 hrs @ work and ~4 hrs @ home. I'm not a social media person but I do like to "research" things when I'm out (i.e. Wiki/Yelp).

My biggest complaint with the TB is the battery life. From early reports/reviews, it sounds like I'll need to recharge the TB after 6 hours of medium usage. Battery life is important to me and I recall the Droid X being able to go 1.5-2 days on a single charge.

My concern with the Droid X is future-proofing. The Droid X is free with a 2-year contract, but I'm worried about being stuck on old tech for 2 years. I'd be okay with a 1-year contract on the Droid X, but it will cost me $220/170 for the phone. At that price point, I could just get the TB.

Do you guys think there's any valid concern with being "stuck" with a Droid X after mid-2012? Or do you think I should try to lock in the 4G unlimited plan with the Thunderbolt?

 

[max105]

My impressions of the two phones:

Droid X
Pros: Cheaper (free), good battery life
Cons: No 4G LTE, end-of-life 3/31, less resale value?

HTC Thunderbolt
Pros: 4G LTE, lock into 4G unlimited plan, better resale?, more responsive?, future-proof?
Cons: costs $200 more, poor battery life

I've decided to upgrade my basic flip-phone and move onto my first smartphone: either the HTC Thunderbolt or Droid X. My smartphone experience is limited to a 3 week trial with the Droid X back in Jan 2011. I'm going on a trip to Seattle/Vancouver at the end of April and would like a new phone by then.

I live in an area with 4G (SF) and played with the Thunderbolt at BestBuy over the weekend. The TB seems a little more responsive than my memory of the Droid X, but I can't tell if it's actually true or a placebo effect. The screen also seems a little nicer but again, I can't tell if it's just a placebo effect. They didn't have a working Droid X for me to compare there.

When I borrowed the Droid X, I was mostly on wifi and rarely on 3G. However, I don't think I had enough time to become acquainted with all the smartphone features/functionality. This said, I don't know how much I'll be able to take advantage of the 4G/LTE network. I'm hoping I can rely on experienced users here to guide me through this decision. If it helps for you to know, I'd consider myself a heavy daily Internet user: ~8 hrs @ work and ~4 hrs @ home. I'm not a social media person but I do like to "research" things when I'm out (i.e. Wiki/Yelp).

My biggest complaint with the TB is the battery life. From early reports/reviews, it sounds like I'll need to recharge the TB after 6 hours of medium usage. Battery life is important to me and I recall the Droid X being able to go 1.5-2 days on a single charge.

My concern with the Droid X is future-proofing. The Droid X is free with a 2-year contract, but I'm worried about being stuck on old tech for 2 years. I'd be okay with a 1-year contract on the Droid X, but it will cost me $220/170 for the phone. At that price point, I could just get the TB.

Do you guys think there's any valid concern with being "stuck" with a Droid X after mid-2012? Or do you think I should try to lock in the 4G unlimited plan with the Thunderbolt?

 

[biggles]

If battery life is important to you, Droid X is the way to go. You should get about twice the battery life compared to the Thunderbolt. However, since you are not leaving until the end of April, keep an eye out for the Motorola Droid Bionic, which may be released before then (nobody knows the true release date, however). Motorola has a better track record with battery life versus HTC. A lot of folks who are disappointed with the Thunderbolt but are excited about 4G (LTE) are optimistic about this phone.

 

[tdetroit]

I had the DroidX and bought the TB when it came out last week. The DroidX battery is a bit stronger, but I have chargers all over the place (home, office, car) that it didn't really matter to me...and I'm pretty sure that HTC will address the battery with a software patch or issue high mAh batteries for this device that will fit the regular back. The DroidX is an awesome phone, and the only reason that I got the TB is because of the extra storage and ram...otherwise the phones are pretty similar. The only other difference I've noticed...the DroidX DOES have a higher pixel per inch count, BUT the TB screen makes the colors pop and pictures look awesome on it. Overall, they're pretty equal phones, unless you want to live on 4G....then TB.

 

[DaWolf85]

The bionic has a 1930 mah battery - FAR larger than the TB. Plus the dual-core actually helps battery life because it divides up tasks and uses fewer resources at any given time. If you want battery life AND 4G, wait for the bionic. If you're fine with 3G, the DX is a stellar phone and I'm sure you will be happy with it.
If you don't really care about battery life, the TB is where it's at

 

[gflam]

Right now if I were getting a new phone i'd be waiting for the bionic just to here some confirms about some of the things that have been said about it but if I were getting something now definately the tb especially cause I see it already has a rom for it and it's already been cracked. X is nice but too old now in my opinion I always want the newest and go big when it's time to get a new phone but I'm still on the d1 which is still one of the best devices in my opinion lol

Sent from my Droid using DroidForums App

 

[metzor]

I'm a little biased since I just got my TB and love it (my fiance has the DX and is totally jealous). I've only had it for 2 days, but out of the box my gut reaction is the battery issue has been heavily overblown. Took mine off the charger this morning at 7:50am, it's now 2:00pm and I'm at 71%. No, that isn't amazing, and no I'm not on 4g, but I've done a LOT of texting now, several emails, facebook posting, phone calls and light web surfing. If this remains constant by the time I get home from work (6pm) I'll be at above 50%. Not saying people are making things up, but I'm not exactly sure what they were expecting.

Anyway, sorry for rambling. In your case obviously getting a free DX is a nice deal. It's behind the curve, but then, who cares, it's a fine phone. My point is though, if the deal breaker is battery life, don't let all the negativity keep you from getting the TB if that's the only thing, seems to be it's been greatly overstated (especially since you said you're not in a 4g area).

Or wait for the Bionic. But by the time that comes out though someone will be telling you to just wait for the next thing.

 

[mthorn79]

At least get you a true 4G phone locked into unlimited data while you can. Rumors are going around that by the time the Bionic comes out, tiered data will be implemented.

I was actually in the same boat as you, I love the look of the Droid X & how thin it felt but started reading reviews on how maneuvering between the homescreens would lag & hiccup so it sortof turned me off from the X. I think most X owners complained about battery life in the beginning of it's debut but software patches helped, so like someone said before, they'll offer fixes for it. The X is outdated, hell, the TB is already outdated if you think about it, but at least it'll be Verizon's 1st 4G phone so it will continue to get support for at least a couple more years.

 

[Shusuke028]

???

I honestly think you should go for the Thunderbolt. Since you did say that battery life is important to you, i recommend getting the Thunderbolt with the 2700 mah extended battery. It's almost double the mah of the stock battery so I assume that the battery's extended use would reflect that.

Also, (not to paint a red target on my forehead), but the Bionic has a 1900 mah battery to compensate, and handle the extra core and DDR2 RAM in it. Just because it's 1900 mah doesn't guarantee that it will have much more battery life. IMO, it's just evening the playing field with the Thunderbolt.

Also, from a post that I saw somewhere on this Thunderbolt forum (really trying to find the post so I can reference it) stated that the Atrix's battery life wasn't much better; or even on par with the Thunderbolt's. So seeing that the Bionic and Atrix are essentially the same phone (with minor hardware differences), do you think the Bionic should be much more of an improvement?

 

[MeganLeigh1122]

i have to say htc thunderbolt.

it's the newest device on verizon and is the first to offer 4g. if you get it soon you'll pay 29.99 for 3g and 4g data and will stay away from tiered data plans (if verizon goes that route).

both phones have a 4.3 inch screen and an 8mp camera, however, with the thunderbolt you get a 1.3 mp front facing camera... can't get that on the droid x.

with htc you get sense which is smooth running and fully customizeable, motoblur has gotten better but it still isn't the same as sense.

battery life is probably better with the droid x but if you get the thunderbolt and pick up the extended battery you won't have battery issues. my thunderbolt lasted 15 hours on sunday with texting, gaming and heavy instant messaging... sounds good to me.

htc phones are great out of the box, motorola devices can have it's issues that require tech support. my boss is going through those now with his x while my thunderbolt is working perfectly with no hardware issues.

i also think that htc phones are more refined, they have a nice look and feel to them.

 

[droiddon817]

The bionic has a 1930 mah battery - FAR larger than the TB. Plus the dual-core actually helps battery life because it divides up tasks and uses fewer resources at any given time. If you want battery life AND 4G, wait for the bionic. If you're fine with 3G, the DX is a stellar phone and I'm sure you will be happy with it.
If you don't really care about battery life, the TB is where it's at

The bionic dual core processor won't be put to use until 3.0 because its not compatible with 2.2 or 2.3



Sent from my ADR6400L using DroidForums App

 

[deek]

I've been out of the loop for awhile, but what do you mean by being locked into an Unlimited 4G plan??

I would assume that 4G is not nation wide available... So that would likely scare most people away from purcashing.. Am I wrong?

Also, end of life 3/31?? Looks like I'll have to do some researching myself.

 

[andylulzyou]

Thunderbolt, literally no question.

 

[funkyb]

If battery life is important to you, Droid X is the way to go.

I disagree with this. The Thunderbolt is a whole lot more phone than the Droid X, and by a longshot. If anything, if battery is your main concern just run the 'bolt on 3G only and/or buy an extended battery.

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

I've had both phones longer than anyone else on the planet (had pre-production models of both phones). The Thunderbolt is easily the better device in all aspects, and at worst, is equal to the DX--including battery. (Keep in mind that the Droid X is a 4" screened 3G device, and I have the TBolt on 3G, so that is an apples-to-apples comparison.)

I don't know why people are complaining of poor battery life on the TBolt. I have the same programs installed, same Account syncs, and same display settings and I get equal if not better battery with my Thunderbolt. (I think it's another knock against MotoBlur vs. HTC Sense, but I'm no expert.)