HTC ThunderBolt or Motorola Bionic

[jrakestraw]

What do you guys think droiders?

I can go ahead and get the ThunderBolt at a $239 for a new two year plan, or I could wait until July and hope that the Bionic is out and use my New every two thru Verizon? I'm currently using a Droid 1

I've gone through and done some research on both and there's really not that much of a difference between the two of them (memory, processors, FFC).

 

[Derekweb]

How do you get a thunderbolt for $239 if you are not up for a new every two? I want one.

 

[jrakestraw]

Goverment Employee Discount. That's the only way I'm able to get it a little cheaper.

 

[Mustang02]

Do you want the tegra or a 2nd gen snapdragon? HDMI? Blur or Sense? That's about the only difference. TB has more RAM though, 256MB's more.

Chart: DROID BIONIC vs. HTC Thunderbolt vs. iPhone 4 - Droid Life: A Droid Community Blog

 

[JFMFT]

By the time the majority of quality applications are optimized to support dual-core and the Android platform not only supports but is highly-optimized for and integrates multi-threading and use of multi-core processors, quad-core processors will be the standard just as dual-core is starting to become the next standard in phones.

I'm going to say this: it'll be a year before we see true use of multi-core processors, and the majority will probably be quad-core a year from now (you can bet quad-core will be the big thing coming out for 2011 Christmas and CES 2012). They'll be much faster overall and have twice the cores... and actually be useful fully.

Right now, dual-core is a waste on anything but a Honeycomb tablet. And I don't see that changing soon. Android 2.3 has been out for MONTHS and we haven't seen it on a single Motorola or HTC device that isn't the Nexus S or some phone running Cyanogen Mod 7. If the two manufacturers best at updating their phones (Motorola and HTC) cannot get updates out within the first 1-2 months, and if we won't see Ice Cream for phones like Nexus S and Nexus One until this summer... we won't see Ice Cream on Motorola phones (like the Bionic) until late fall, maybe winter.

History tells us at a maximum we'll see two major phone OS upgrades in the life cycle of a phone (if we're lucky). If the Droid X launched with 2.1 and doesn't even have 2.3 yet (and it's been 8-9 months that it's been out now), I doubt the Bionic (assuming an April launch) will have Android 2.4 (ice cream - which is likely the first Android phone OS version to support multi-core processors more fully) within 8-9 months of launch... which means it won't see Ice Cream until at least (but probably after) Christmas.

And by that time... those of us who just upgraded now on 1-year contracts (the smart way to go) will be able to upgrade again to whatever Moto/HTC put out at that time (as I said, likely quad-core processors that are about 1.5x-2x faster than the Tegra 2 processor in the Xoom and Atrix and Bionic today).

Single-core will get you very far for the rest of this year. 2012 is when you'll need a dual-core processor to keep up with the applications. But right now, dual-core is a total waste in most applications (save for heavy gaming - which is better handled on a tablet like the Xoom anyway).

Just my .02.... or maybe a little more. Hey, you asked for opinions! I sell phones with VZW... and 2-year contracts are worth a lot more for my commission checks, and I still try to push 1-year contracts if I know the person will have some pretty serious "phone envy" after 5-6 months with their phone (something new is ALWAYS coming out with Android these days).

 

[jrakestraw]

Thanks JFMFT!

That's kind of what I was thinking with how quickly everything changes in the IT field. As of right now, looks like I'm talking it over with the wife on spending the money for a new phone.

 

[JFMFT]

How do you get a thunderbolt for $239 if you are not up for a new every two? I want one.

VZW employees get the Thunderbolt for $219.99 on a 12 month contract (can upgrade after 10 months). I ordered 3 Thunderbolts!!!

 

[billyk]

It seems that another variable that has entered into the decision-making process for many of us is the possible likelihood that increased/tiered 4G data pricing will occur with future phones and the TB allows you to lock in the current (and potentially lower!) $29 rate for 4G.

For two-year contracts the price has already (like today) fallen to $179 at Amazon. VZW offers it to me at $209 with shipping as of this AM.

 

[JFMFT]

Thanks JFMFT!

That's kind of what I was thinking with how quickly everything changes in the IT field. As of right now, looks like I'm talking it over with the wife on spending the money for a new phone.

Just remember... $319 for a 1-year contract sounds like a lot (and it is), but it's very much made up for by the fact that you can usually re-sell a device a year later for at least $175-$200. You'll make up over half the money you spent up front by selling your old device on Craigslist or gazelle or green.ebay.com/instantsale, and then you can take that money and put toward the price of your next 1-year contract phone.

So think of it this way. If a 1-year contract is $319 on average, and you can get an average of $200 back selling your 1-year old phone online... you only end up paying on average about $119 per year for a phone. Multiply that by two years and that's an average of $238.

Most people spend about $200 every two years on a new smartphone already... but you get the latest & greatest every ONE year for a premium of about $19/year over what it would cost on a 2-year contract. That's a good deal. Comes out to about an extra $1.50/month on average over a 2-year pricing structure, but in the time frame of two years, you get TWO phones and you're guaranteed to be on one of the most new phones on Verizon at the time. It's a win-win for you. And it puts more used devices in the hands of customers, which is a win-win for people who are afraid to sign contracts.

And that's not to say you'll only get $200 for an old phone. Some people on Craigslist are very desperate - they will pay much more than $200 for a good condition used smartphone that's in high-demand.

I have had several offers above $200 for my Droid X last month... but couldn't take any of them at the time because of no official release date for the Thunderbolt. A girl offered me $275 for my phone (didn't even want the SD card... the 16GB... she said I could keep it, lol) a month ago when we thought 2/14 was the Tbolt release date. Too bad she isn't interested anymore, but I sold my Droid X to ebay's instantsale for $241 anyway, so it wasn't that bad.

And that's why you get a case for your phone! Keeping it looking brand-new helps you get maximum value for it a year later when you want to sell it off / trade it in.

Use all the options you have available to you... and don't sign 2-year contracts if you yearn for the latest & greatest.

 

[Mustang02]

Thanks JFMFT!

That's kind of what I was thinking with how quickly everything changes in the IT field. As of right now, looks like I'm talking it over with the wife on spending the money for a new phone.

Just remember... $319 for a 1-year contract sounds like a lot (and it is), but it's very much made up for by the fact that you can usually re-sell a device a year later for at least $175-$200. You'll make up over half the money you spent up front by selling your old device on Craigslist or gazelle or green.ebay.com/instantsale, and then you can take that money and put toward the price of your next 1-year contract phone.

So think of it this way. If a 1-year contract is $319 on average, and you can get an average of $200 back selling your 1-year old phone online... you only end up paying on average about $119 per year for a phone. Multiply that by two years and that's an average of $238.

Most people spend about $200 every two years on a new smartphone already... but you get the latest & greatest every ONE year for a premium of about $19/year over what it would cost on a 2-year contract. That's a good deal. Comes out to about an extra $1.50/month on average over a 2-year pricing structure, but in the time frame of two years, you get TWO phones and you're guaranteed to be on one of the most new phones on Verizon at the time. It's a win-win for you. And it puts more used devices in the hands of customers, which is a win-win for people who are afraid to sign contracts.

And that's not to say you'll only get $200 for an old phone. Some people on Craigslist are very desperate - they will pay much more than $200 for a good condition used smartphone that's in high-demand.

I have had several offers above $200 for my Droid X last month... but couldn't take any of them at the time because of no official release date for the Thunderbolt. A girl offered me $275 for my phone (didn't even want the SD card... the 16GB... she said I could keep it, lol) a month ago when we thought 2/14 was the Tbolt release date. Too bad she isn't interested anymore, but I sold my Droid X to ebay's instantsale for $241 anyway, so it wasn't that bad.

And that's why you get a case for your phone! Keeping it looking brand-new helps you get maximum value for it a year later when you want to sell it off / trade it in.

Use all the options you have available to you... and don't sign 2-year contracts if you yearn for the latest & greatest.

QFT.

I couldn't have said it any better. I've had a new phone every year for the past 4 years.

 

[travisn000]

Amazon has it for $179 dancedroid


Amazon Selling the HTC Thunderbolt for $179 on Contract - Droid Life: A Droid Community Blog

 

[Mustang02]

Amazon has it for $179 dancedroid


Amazon Selling the HTC Thunderbolt for $179 on Contract - Droid Life: A Droid Community Blog

Yeah, already posted yesterday.

http://www.droidforums.net/forum/htc-thunderbolt/133013-just-bought-thunderbolt-179-out-door-d.html

 

[C.o.m.m.a.n.d.e.r]

i to would like to know if the bionic is worth waiting for. ive heard nicer things about HTC sense than moto blur. when the person who asked me which one to get, the bionic seemed nicer in the specs i saw

 

[zenman77]

I did'nt even know that there was a 1 yr. option..... Can you change it if you just bought the phone (Thunderbolt) within a few days? I don't mind paying the extra

 

[Beka27]

I did'nt even know that there was a 1 yr. option..... Can you change it if you just bought the phone (Thunderbolt) within a few days? I don't mind paying the extra

I assume... if you just got it. It's still within the 14 day return policy. You'd be eligible to get a new phone next Jan-Feb... I'm only doing one-years from now on...