HTC Thunderbolt Release Date

[guitarchris123]

I was informed yesterday by a fellow agent and Rep that the Thunderbolt MAY be a BestBuy exclusive phone. Which means the Verizon stores will not carry the phone.

Also, indirect stores, will not be carrying the iPhone, as apple only wants corporate and premium retailers to be able to sale the phone. And indirect stores will not be able to assist people with the iPhone.

I know the iPhone topic was really off. But figured I would let you know the scoop.

How do I know? I work for Verizon as an agent, so this is new information to us. And if its already been posted, sorry.

Sent from my DROID X.

Yes, we've discussed this in here a while back. Your friend is partially misinformed. Yes, Best Buy has an "exclusive" agreement for the ThunderBolt. As far as third party retailers go. That means Radio Shack, Wal-Mart, Costco, etc. will not get the phone until that agreement expires (I think I heard it was something like 90 days). Then everyone else will start to sell the phone as well. There is absolutely no way that the ThunderBolt will not be available at Verizon stores. If you go into one and ask about it, they will probably keep their mouths shut, either because the store employees have been kept in the dark and are clueless, or because corporate told them to pump the iPhone instead and not mention how much better the TB is and to just wait for it instead. There have been rumors that Best Buy would get it first, but those are becoming more and more questionable as more "leaks" for a release date of 2/24 are coming out. It is still possible that it gets the phone a few days before Verizon stores, but I wouldn't count on it. Some say BB first, some say same day.

 

[spindrjr]

I was informed yesterday by a fellow agent and Rep that the Thunderbolt MAY be a BestBuy exclusive phone. Which means the Verizon stores will not carry the phone.

Also, indirect stores, will not be carrying the iPhone, as apple only wants corporate and premium retailers to be able to sale the phone. And indirect stores will not be able to assist people with the iPhone.

I know the iPhone topic was really off. But figured I would let you know the scoop.

How do I know? I work for Verizon as an agent, so this is new information to us. And if its already been posted, sorry.

Sent from my DROID X.

I'll admit I haven't followed cell phones basically at all until late last year when I decided I wanted a full blown smart phone and the one I wanted was the Thunderbolt. So now I am following closely and (im)patiently waiting.

As far as the Best Buy exclusive issue, it seems to me there is a lot of confusion regarding retail exclusive and exclusive. Retail exclusive meaning that BB is the only retail store (read: store other than Verizon stores) that could sell it, and flat exclusive meaning BB is the only place you can get it period.

I guess my question, and what I haven't seen mentioned is: has Verizon ever offered a particular phone only at a retail outlet, and not at their Verizon stores or through Verizon online? Have they ever done that for a new 'flagship' phone?

Doesn't the fact that Amazon seems to have Thunderbolts debunk this?

Sorry if any of that is ignorant. Like I said, only recently started following anything to do with phones.

 

[dominick_7]

I wonder if preorder is available online also.

The Best Buy I got my Droid X from allowed me the option to pre order over the phone, but that may just be because the manager is cool.. they may or may not let you do that. Either way you have to eventually go into the store to pick up the $50 gift card you pay for as the deposit towards the phobeot anything else if you decide not to get it.

 

[SierraRR]

The TB is already in the Verizon booklet listed as coming soon.

 

[ryan18]

Feb. 24th release date?
according to BGR

HTC ThunderBolt Release Date Confirmed by BGR | Android Community

hopefully it comes out soon
sooooo tired of waiting for this phone

 

[guitarchris123]

I'll admit I haven't followed cell phones basically at all until late last year when I decided I wanted a full blown smart phone and the one I wanted was the Thunderbolt. So now I am following closely and (im)patiently waiting.

As far as the Best Buy exclusive issue, it seems to me there is a lot of confusion regarding retail exclusive and exclusive. Retail exclusive meaning that BB is the only retail store (read: store other than Verizon stores) that could sell it, and flat exclusive meaning BB is the only place you can get it period.

I guess my question, and what I haven't seen mentioned is: has Verizon ever offered a particular phone only at a retail outlet, and not at their Verizon stores or through Verizon online? Have they ever done that for a new 'flagship' phone?

Doesn't the fact that Amazon seems to have Thunderbolts debunk this?

Sorry if any of that is ignorant. Like I said, only recently started following anything to do with phones.

To my knowledge, Verizon has never had a phone come out on its network that it did not sell in its own stores. I don't expect them to start now. Why would they? It makes absolutely zero sense to only let Best Buy sell it. They want to maximize sales of phones to get more people on contracts (where they make their real money), not limit them.

Oh, and the Amazon posting has been taken down. Not sure whether it will be available on their website at release or not. Maybe since it is an online retailer, the exclusivity agreement does not apply. I have no idea on that one.

 

[wvdroidman]

if the thunderbolt is delayed til march or april, which phone is better:
the incredible, droid x or the droid pro. Can get incredible for $200 with no contract on ebay.

 

[guitarchris123]

if the thunderbolt is delayed til march or april, which phone is better:
the incredible, droid x or the droid pro. Can get incredible for $200 with no contract on ebay.

TB will absolutely not be delayed until April. I don't know where you are getting that from. The very latest it will be delayed is early March, but late February is more likely.

It mostly depends on if you prefer Sense or Blur. The X is a great phone, much bigger screen than the Inc, much better battery life. I think it looks pretty ugly though with the hard buttons and camera hump on the back. Plus Moto likes to lock down their phones. If you want to root and customize your phone, go with the Incredible. The only issue I have with the Incredible is battery life (it sucks). You could always buy an extended battery though. I think I'd rather have a Inc than an X personally, but both are good phones. My advice is to wait out the TB though, it won't be that long. The Droid Pro is more of a business phone like a Blackberry (as far as form factor goes). Do you want that little physical keyboard and small screen? Or do you want a bigger touchscreen phone?

 

[wvdroidman]

if it is delayed beyond the 24th I am buying a phone on ebay. I like my droid one besides the battery life. Even with extended battery. Can't figure out how to get it to accurately show battery remaining though.

 

[wvdroidman]

the main reason I am switching phones is the inabilty of the original droid to accurately show battery left for my seido batter.

 

[moosez3]

the main reason I am switching phones is the inabilty of the original droid to accurately show battery left for my seido batter.

All the phones you listed are very capable, so it depends on what you want and what is important to you.

DX: Big Big phone, Multimedia is its biggest purpose. Moto Blur.

DP: Very Blackberry-like, Global - huge selling point for some, physical keyboard.

Dinc: smaller screen than the DX, but just as fast and smooth.

 

[dajogejr]

Folks....
A few things...and I am NO iphone fanboy or salesman.

How can you say lackluster sales for the iPhail? In two hours via online pre sale ordering, it broke all Verizon sales records. It sold out in less than 24 hours.
Estimates are between 750K to 1M phones sold.

Too early to say how many were sold in stores yesterday, some had lines, some didn't. My guess is another 250 to 500K throughout the nation.

That being said...I highly doubt Verizon Company owned stores are not going to carry their flagship, first LTE phone. Other retailers probably won't get them as soon as Best Buy, etc., but make no mistake...VZW corporate stores will have/carry them.

I'm stuck because my company does all its purchasing through a local Wireless Zone.
Could be weeks or even a month or two before they get the Tbolt.

While I want this phone badly, that might not be a bad thing. Any bugs may become known and even possibly worked out before I can get it in my grubby paws.

Again, I'm not an iPhone fan...but be honest and give credit where it's due. Just because the sheep didn't stand in line to order it in person, online sales were through the roof.

 

[leehblanc]

Folks....
A few things...and I am NO iphone fanboy or salesman.

How can you say lackluster sales for the iPhail? In two hours via online pre sale ordering, it broke all Verizon sales records. It sold out in less than 24 hours.
Estimates are between 750K to 1M phones sold.

Too early to say how many were sold in stores yesterday, some had lines, some didn't. My guess is another 250 to 500K throughout the nation.

That being said...I highly doubt Verizon Company owned stores are not going to carry their flagship, first LTE phone. Other retailers probably won't get them as soon as Best Buy, etc., but make no mistake...VZW corporate stores will have/carry them.

I'm stuck because my company does all its purchasing through a local Wireless Zone.
Could be weeks or even a month or two before they get the Tbolt.

While I want this phone badly, that might not be a bad thing. Any bugs may become known and even possibly worked out before I can get it in my grubby paws.

Again, I'm not an iPhone fan...but be honest and give credit where it's due. Just because the sheep didn't stand in line to order it in person, online sales were through the roof.

Let me get this out of the way... I'm typing this on a MacBook Pro. The only problem I've ever had with it is when I boot it into Windows. I have 2 Airport Extremes, and my network is rock solid. You will pry my iPod from my cold, dead hands. Now... I USED to have an iPhone. You couldn't pay me enough to switch back after using Android.

Now that I've established I'm not a hater... when stores set up amusement park like queues outside their stores and there are less than a dozen people (2 at the Mall of America) it's a fail. It's not because of pre-orders and it's not because of the weather. VZW and Apple stores where at full staff yesterday, and they had 7 employees for every iPhone customer. Again... fail.

As far as kinks in the Thunderbolt... there better not be. This phone is not going to launch until almost 2 months after it was shown at CES. If the rumors have any shred of truth, it's been delayed to make sure the customer gets a "smooth" device. If there are problems after that, we should march on Verizon stores with pitchforks and torches.

 

[dajogejr]

Ok...that being said.
From a VZW/Apple Standpoint.
Would you rather be over staffed and more than ready, or understaffed with people waiting in line forever and ever.
I'd rather pay a higher labor cost for a day, or even 3...then pissing off a bunch of would be customers.

The whole idea behind this launch (the most successful for any phone on VZW) is to be ready...which they were, MORE than.

As said elsewhere...last year's technolgy, no LTE, folks locked in a $$ ATT contract and a looming i5 is the reason people weren't lining up.

 

[46hemi]

Ok...that being said.
From a VZW/Apple Standpoint.
Would you rather be over staffed and more than ready, or understaffed with people waiting in line forever and ever.
I'd rather pay a higher labor cost for a day, or even 3...then pissing off a bunch of would be customers.

The whole idea behind this launch (the most successful for any phone on VZW) is to be ready...which they were, MORE than.

As said elsewhere...last year's technolgy, no LTE, folks locked in a $$ ATT contract and a looming i5 is the reason people weren't lining up.

Club owners all over have been using this very successful technique for decades. I cant imagine, under any circumstance, that either party is happy with the bad press being associated with the short lines and the association people are making with a lack of interest. They sold a ton I am sure...I just think they are underestimating the rapidly increasing knowledge base of the average consumer. When my Mom tells me "but isnt there a new one coming out soon...on a faster network" they need to take note.