Thunderbolt review from a skeptic.

[UNC]

Being the nerd I am I went against all my postings here and bought the TB out of contract. $880 out the door.

As some of you know I have been questioning this phone for months, but being that I was at Best Buy I couldn't resist.

1. The battery life does seem bad. But, that could've been all the syncing upon initial launch.
2. Simultaneous data and voice works flawlessly.
3. The build quality is great, feels great in your hand.
4. Tons and tons of crapware.
5. Benchmarks haven't been that great. On quadrant I actually get higher fps on the "walk thru" and DNA strands with the OG. However the planet with moon in orbit ran at full 60fps, my OG runs that test at about 15fps. Average quadrant ~1750.

I'm not really sure about this one. I'm definitely returning this particular device due to a dead pixel, but I don't know if I'll exchange for another TB or hold out for another iPhone.

Question. When you guys reboot does it seem to hang at the HTC logo or the Thunderbolt bootanimation? Mine takes damn near as long as the OG to reboot, and that's with fast reboot selected in the options.

Sent from my ADR6400L using DroidForums App

 

[jdbaker82]

Being the nerd I am I went against all my postings here and bought the TB out of contract. $880 out the door.

As some of you know I have been questioning this phone for months, but being that I was at Best Buy I couldn't resist.

1. The battery life does seem bad. But, that could've been all the syncing upon initial launch.
2. Simultaneous data and voice works flawlessly.
3. The build quality is great, feels great in your hand.
4. Tons and tons of crapware.
5. Benchmarks haven't been that great. On quadrant I actually get higher fps on the "walk thru" and DNA strands with the OG. However the planet with moon in orbit ran at full 60fps, my OG runs that test at about 15fps. Average quadrant ~1750.

I'm not really sure about this one. I'm definitely returning this particular device due to a dead pixel, but I don't know if I'll exchange for another TB or hold out for another iPhone.

Question. When you guys reboot does it seem to hang at the HTC logo or the Thunderbolt bootanimation? Mine takes damn near as long as the OG to reboot, and that's with fast reboot selected in the options.

Sent from my ADR6400L using DroidForums App

My only question is what do you do for a living to be able to walk into a store and just pay $880 for a phone?! lol

 

[BigMcGuire]

Yes, mine hangs a little bit at the HTC logo and the Thunderbolt animation. It does take a long time to start up, longer than my 1.25Ghz OG Droid. But I almost never restart my phone so it doesn't bother me that much.

Interesting review. If anything I'm looking to get rid of the bloatware.

 

[lockman]

My only question is what do you do for a living to be able to walk into a store and just pay $880 for a phone?! lol

It's not what he does, it's that he (obviously) does it well.

 

[jdbaker82]

My only question is what do you do for a living to be able to walk into a store and just pay $880 for a phone?! lol

It's not what he does, it's that he (obviously) does it well.

I disagree I know plenty of people that makes a **** ton and they are not even close to the best at what they do

 

[UNC]

Being the nerd I am I went against all my postings here and bought the TB out of contract. $880 out the door.

As some of you know I have been questioning this phone for months, but being that I was at Best Buy I couldn't resist.

1. The battery life does seem bad. But, that could've been all the syncing upon initial launch.
2. Simultaneous data and voice works flawlessly.
3. The build quality is great, feels great in your hand.
4. Tons and tons of crapware.
5. Benchmarks haven't been that great. On quadrant I actually get higher fps on the "walk thru" and DNA strands with the OG. However the planet with moon in orbit ran at full 60fps, my OG runs that test at about 15fps. Average quadrant ~1750.

I'm not really sure about this one. I'm definitely returning this particular device due to a dead pixel, but I don't know if I'll exchange for another TB or hold out for another iPhone.

Question. When you guys reboot does it seem to hang at the HTC logo or the Thunderbolt bootanimation? Mine takes damn near as long as the OG to reboot, and that's with fast reboot selected in the options.

Sent from my ADR6400L using DroidForums App

My only question is what do you do for a living to be able to walk into a store and just pay $880 for a phone?! lol

I got a big ol' tax return check. Seriously there was nothing I wanted at BB so I ended up with the TB. It is really cool, but I'm not sure it will be a "premier device" for very long.

I can't stand how much it hangs on the reboot, I was going to show a buddy of mine the HTC hot reboot, and it took like a minute and a half!!! Not quite what I expected.

Like I said, I'm definitely doing an exchange and maybe the new one will reboot faster...


If you've got a Droid Eris or lesser Android device, this device is a no-brainer... I'm wrestling with myself whether I think its $1000 better than the OG though.

 

[UNC]

My only question is what do you do for a living to be able to walk into a store and just pay $880 for a phone?! lol

It's not what he does, it's that he (obviously) does it well.

I disagree I know plenty of people that makes a **** ton and they are not even close to the best at what they do

I think I am really good at my job, but I work for the Fed, so performance<tenure... I don't make **** tons, I just get WAY overtaxed every year which results in a giant return.

Saves me 20% on my monthly bill though!

 

[BigMcGuire]

I work for the Fed too, same thing. Got a huge tax return this year. And yes, the monthly savings is nice, isn't it?

 

[UNC]

I work for the Fed too, same thing. Got a huge tax return this year. And yes, the monthly savings is nice, isn't it?

Love it! What department are you? I'm VHA.
Don't you agree with my assessment of Fed jobs... performance<tenure!!


I really love the Sense UI on the TB though, it's really smooth and responsive thusfar, I find it to be much better than the implementation on the DInc.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Loving Sense UI. Heard that people hate Blur and Sense but I'm really enjoying the customization without all the effort. Super smooth and really responsive is true. Even my OG Droid with 1.25Ghz OC couldn't match the smoothness.

Exactly Tenure > Performance sadly. I've been working for the USACE (Army Corps of Engineers) for 6 years this July in their IT field (DOD).

 

[leehblanc]

I work for the Fed too, same thing. Got a huge tax return this year. And yes, the monthly savings is nice, isn't it?

Love it! What department are you? I'm VHA.
Don't you agree with my assessment of Fed jobs... performance<tenure!!


I really love the Sense UI on the TB though, it's really smooth and responsive thusfar, I find it to be much better than the implementation on the DInc.

I work for State Government, and all around me is proof that performance<tenure. How you look at it depends on your work ethic... and you're tenure

With regards to battery life and Quadrant scores:
1) Battery was bad for me. <4 hours on the included 40%-50% charge. That said, the screen was on almost constantly, and I was downloading and configuring and whatnot. I saw hardly any drain for the hour that I spent at lunch with my gf.
2) I'm sure you've seen the discussions... there are a lot of opinions of Quadrant. The prevailing one is that it isn't the be all end all test of a device.

Both battery life and benchmark scores improved after rooting and debloating my X, Fascinate, Incredible, and the 3 EVOs in my house. DRAMATIC battery improvement. I'm thinking by Sunday I'll be done fiddling with every little app and setting and getting into a routine. That's when I expect to see what the battery life is REALLY like.

 

[TRIKOTRET]

then why not order from verizon for 600 and when u get it return the unit to best buy. Or doest best buy price match verizon?

 

[shortsxit]

I want to know what the OP does for a living that made him pay $880 for a $600 phone.

...oh he works for the Fed. Makes sense.

 

[UNC]

I want to know what the OP does for a living that made him pay $880 for a $600 phone.

...oh he works for the Fed. Makes sense.

Nice job trying to be a smart-ass.

I was at Best Buy, so I bought it. Its not like you make an impulse buy and then sit around and wait for it.... also I got a case for it and my iPhone.

You keep your financial house in order, I'll worry about mine, ok??

 

[gujupmp88]

BB is selling the phone at $800??? seems like kinda a rip-off considering verizon sells it off contract for 600. If you really want the phone, might as well go to the verizon store and save a couple hundred, or go back to BB and ask them to price match. That is if you decide to get another one after you return the first one...