Thunderbolt vs. Bionic...what to do

[armyman22]

Hello all, this is my first post here but I have been poking around on the site for quite some time now. Here's my delimma:

I currently have a blackberry bold 9650. (I don't need anyone saying toss it to the curb since I know this is a DROID site). I have been looking into a droid for some time but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Personally I like what I've seen from the thunderbolt EXCEPT the dreadful battery life. I do not live in a 4g area so I would turn the 4g off using the *#*#4636#*#* trick to help a little on batter life but I'm not sure how much it would actually help. I know a new line of phones will be out in the next couples of months but don't know if I should/can wait. The bionic looks to be the next big thing but I'm wondering about the bugs with all the new technology. Considering it will be the first of its kind with a dual core, running on 4g and DDR2 RAM, it sounds like a recipe for disaster in the first release. (maybe I'm wrong). In any case I just want to get y'alls opinions on what a good course of action would be. I'm not by any means a heavy user (not with my blackberry anyway) but I do a decent amount of texting and voice calls. I get several e-mails per day but rarely send one from my phone. I like having the e-mail feature when I need it and so I know when my professors send me things regarding my classes. I use the internet moderately, mainly facebook though. Average use on my phone is about 1hr and 45mins per day (8am-midnight) 1/2 of that is voice calls, the other is between the texting and facebook.

So...bottom line this is what I want. A phone that will give me everything I've got now but will make $60 a month really worth it. Battery life is my #1 concern, I'm used to plugging my phone in ONLY at night when I go to bed, no other time...EVER. I know that any droid will need to be charged during the day but how much? Is it worth waiting or should I pull the trigger on the thunderbolt? It wouldn't be a big deal but being a student, $250 price tag is expensive especially not knowing if I'll like it. I know I have the 14 day return policy but would still have to pay the $35 restocking fee. I'm sure plenty of you are ready to chime in so let's hear it!

PLEASE NOTE: I'M NOT CONSIDERING THE EXTENDED BATTERY DUE TO IT'S PHYSICAL SIZE, IF I WANTED TO CARRY AROUND A PHONE THAT BIG I WOULD GO FIND AN OLD BAG PHONE! :biggrin:

 

[Beardface]

Hello all, this is my first post here but I have been poking around on the site for quite some time now. Here's my delimma:

I currently have a blackberry bold 9650. (I don't need anyone saying toss it to the curb since I know this is a DROID site). I have been looking into a droid for some time but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Personally I like what I've seen from the thunderbolt EXCEPT the dreadful battery life. I do not live in a 4g area so I would turn the 4g off using the *#*#4636#*#* trick to help a little on batter life but I'm not sure how much it would actually help. I know a new line of phones will be out in the next couples of months but don't know if I should/can wait. The bionic looks to be the next big thing but I'm wondering about the bugs with all the new technology. Considering it will be the first of its kind with a dual core, running on 4g and DDR2 RAM, it sounds like a recipe for disaster in the first release. (maybe I'm wrong). In any case I just want to get y'alls opinions on what a good course of action would be. I'm not by any means a heavy user (not with my blackberry anyway) but I do a decent amount of texting and voice calls. I get several e-mails per day but rarely send one from my phone. I like having the e-mail feature when I need it and so I know when my professors send me things regarding my classes. I use the internet moderately, mainly facebook though. Average use on my phone is about 1hr and 45mins per day (8am-midnight) 1/2 of that is voice calls, the other is between the texting and facebook.

So...bottom line this is what I want. A phone that will give me everything I've got now but will make $60 a month really worth it. Battery life is my #1 concern, I'm used to plugging my phone in ONLY at night when I go to bed, no other time...EVER. I know that any droid will need to be charged during the day but how much? Is it worth waiting or should I pull the trigger on the thunderbolt? It wouldn't be a big deal but being a student, $250 price tag is expensive especially not knowing if I'll like it. I know I have the 14 day return policy but would still have to pay the $35 restocking fee. I'm sure plenty of you are ready to chime in so let's hear it!

PLEASE NOTE: I'M NOT CONSIDERING THE EXTENDED BATTERY DUE TO IT'S PHYSICAL SIZE, IF I WANTED TO CARRY AROUND A PHONE THAT BIG I WOULD GO FIND AN OLD BAG PHONE! :biggrin:

Well, I can't really address everything, but I just got the Thunderbolt a couple days ago, and I got through yesterday without a charge. I played a couple games of Sudoku, browsed the web a bit, updated some apps in the Market, and was on email and Google Talk pretty much all day. My phone is telling me I got about 12 and a half hours out of it, but I unplugged it at 9, and didn't it was still running on about 8% when I went to bed a little after midnight, so that puts it at about 15 hours, and that also includes a reboot that I made to get my texts working, which appeared to zap about 15-20% of the battery. If its really that much of an issue for you, you can still buy the extended battery that more than doubles the charge.

I think 4G is the main problem with the battery, and if its the problem on the TBolt, it may likely be a problem on the Bionic as well, and possibly a bigger issue since it will be a dual core processor as opposed to the single processor of the TBolt. With that said, I moved over from the original Droid, and I have to say, I'm finding the TBolt to be a better phone in all regards, except for the battery, which is on par with it.

 

[Beardface]

Also, one other question... You said you're a student. I assume you mean you're in college. If so, does your school have campus-wide Wifi like Virginia Tech did when I was there? If so, as long as you log into it through your phone, you should have a great battery life, cause Wifi is the least demanding of them all.

If you are in high school, with the amount you'll be in class, you should get a day's charge out of it as well. Assuming you turn off 4G and don't have any buggy apps installed.

 

[enyalius]

I know that decisions like this can be paralyzing, but remember that the next best thing is always coming out next month, and that won't change once the Bionic is released. If you are looking for a phone that won't be succeeded for a year or more, get an iPhone.

I really like the Thunderbolt, and have recommended it to first time smartphone buyers who love it, too. By the way, the extended battery only adds a few mm to the phone, and I rather like the way it feels in my hand. Either way, though, the stock battery can get me through the day.

The bottom line is: there will always be something better "in a few months". Because of this, the only thing you can really do is hold on to your current phone until it no longer works for you. Once you get to that point, upgrade to the best phone you can afford, and be happy with it for the next two years.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[armyman22]

@beardface-Yes I meant college student (NC State) so I will be using wifi most of the time. In most of my classes I currently loose 3g signal as it is and can rarely send or receive messages.

@enyalius-The iphone is something I have considered but not that seriously.

 

[Beardface]

@beardface-Yes I meant college student (NC State) so I will be using wifi most of the time. In most of my classes I currently loose 3g signal as it is and can rarely send or receive messages.

@enyalius-The iphone is something I have considered but not that seriously.

NC State, huh? Well shoot, you're just right around the corner from me. Anyway, we won't be getting 4G until sometime this summer, and if you upgrade now, you'll be grandfathered if/when VZW moves to a tiered plan, and 4G costs the same as 3G.

Also, keep in mind, if you really want the Bionic, you'll be kicking yourself later this year when the Atrix comes to Verizon, which is already the superior phone. But with all that said, I'd still take the TBolt. The memory capacity on this thing is amazing (30GB external, 3GB internal), its pretty fast, and will be blazing when 4G is activated. Oh, and lets not forget that HTC Sense blows Moto Blur out of the water. And at the end of the day, what really sold me was that if I grew tired of stock, the TBolt is already rooted and people are already creating custom ROMs for it. With the Bionic, its heavily locked down, so what you get is what you're stuck with, even if you start to dislike it.

 

[enyalius]

@beardface-Yes I meant college student (NC State) so I will be using wifi most of the time. In most of my classes I currently loose 3g signal as it is and can rarely send or receive messages.

@enyalius-The iphone is something I have considered but not that seriously.

I am not a fan of the iPhone, personally, and iOS is far too controlled for me.

Something you should consider, thoigh:

-Tiered pricing. Verizon has stated that they intend to move LTE to tiered pricing. Does that mean that unlimited data will go away? Will it move prices up? Down? No one knows, honestly, and no one knows when the new pricing will take effect. We do know that unlimited mobile LTE is currently available for $30, and you can lock that in for at least two years by upgrading and signing a contract now.


Also, I just saw Beard's post, and agree with everything he said.

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[armyman22]

I did not know that about the pricing and being grandfathered in. That alone may be enough to make me get it. I wasn't sure how they did the stuff for people that aren't in a 4g area like me.

 

[enyalius]

I did not know that about the pricing and being grandfathered in. That alone may be enough to make me get it. I wasn't sure how they did the stuff for people that aren't in a 4g area like me.

Yeah, the $30 price tag covers unlimited 3g and 4g.

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[armyman22]

so what you're saying is it is an EXTRA $30 a month more just for 4g? thats half what I'm paying now as it is...PLUS we don't even have 4g yet.

 

[Beardface]

I did not know that about the pricing and being grandfathered in. That alone may be enough to make me get it. I wasn't sure how they did the stuff for people that aren't in a 4g area like me.

Oh yeah... I just got mine over at the Brier Creek Verizon store on Tuesday. Right now, RDU is the only place in the area that has 4G, but the towers region-wide should go active in June or July. And, as I said, I was not expecting the price of 4G to stay the same as 3G. Sure, it could go up or down in the future (likely up) but if you get it now, you'll be locked in for 2 years.

And believe me about the rooting. Its nice. I had the old Droid and kept it stock for 6 months before I gave in and rooted it. It was a great decision, and I can only imagine what people are going to do with the TBolt. Heck, its already been overclocked to a speed thats 3 and a half times faster than a stock Droid, (not sure how it compares to a Blackberry). Thats something you will not be able to accomplish with the Bionic. Whatever Motorola decides to underclock it to is what you're stuck with. Yeah, it'll be nice to have 2 processors, but you're at the mercy of whatever Moto and Verizon decide you should be.

 

[Beardface]

so what you're saying is it is an EXTRA $30 a month more just for 4g? thats half what I'm paying now as it is...PLUS we don't even have 4g yet.

There is a $30 fee to use Verizon's data network. However, that fee covers both 3G and 4G, so if you were paying it before, your bill will not change.

 

[enyalius]

so what you're saying is it is an EXTRA $30 a month more just for 4g? thats half what I'm paying now as it is...PLUS we don't even have 4g yet.

No, you misunderstood. The single $30 gets you BOTH unlimited 3g data and unlimited 4g.

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[armyman22]

ok, let me back up a few steps just to clarify. Sorry guys, I've just been taking in soooo much info over the last few days I want to make sure I have it right. Currently, I have a family data plan (4 people: a droid 2 global, my blackberry bold, and 2 OLD moto razrs). We're paying for the unlimited data now so what you're saying is that my bill will NOT change and then when they switch to 4g i get it at no extra cost IF i go ahead and get the thunderbolt??

 

[Beardface]

ok, let me back up a few steps just to clarify. Sorry guys, I've just been taking in soooo much info over the last few days I want to make sure I have it right. Currently, I have a family data plan (4 people: a droid 2 global, my blackberry bold, and 2 OLD moto razrs). We're paying for the unlimited data now so what you're saying is that my bill will NOT change and then when they switch to 4g i get it at no extra cost IF i go ahead and get the thunderbolt??

Umm... I'm not 100% sure on the family plan, but I know the fee is being paid on the Droid 2 Global. I also know with your Blackberry Bold, you should be paying a fee every month to use the the BlackBerry Mobile network. I never owned a BB, so I'm not sure how much that is. I think that takes the place of the Verizon data plan, since it goes through BB and not VZW. So, if you have to pay a data fee per smartphone on the VZW network, you would have to pay it, (as opposed to that one fee covering all smartphones, which I doubt to be the case), but it doesn't necessarily mean its the full $30. Its the difference between the BlackBerry fee and the Verizon fee.