HTC ThunderBolt user reviews (Verizon Wireless)

Pros - Don't have the phone yet but might get one when I can upgrade in May

Cons -I've heard the battery is awful, there is an extended battery, turning 4G off may help

Summary To turn 4G off Dial: *#*#4636#*#* > phone information > Scroll down and Select preferred network type to be "CDMA auto (PRL)" rather than the default "CDMA + LTE/EvDo auto

Updated on Mar 20, 2011

Please vote up so people see this!

Updated on Apr 11, 2011

I got the phone about 3 weeks ago, full price. I have to say not bad, I'll keep the 3 stars I had put up before I got the phone. Turning 4G off does help with battery. I get about 10 hours with moderate use.
Pros:
- Very fast transitions/loading times.
- I really do like HTC Sense

Cons:
- Camera is lacking a bit in my opinion.
- I wish I could charge while the kickstand is out
-Speaker not very loud (even with kickstand out)
-No physical camera button

I will be selling this phone to get either the Droid Bionic or the Galaxy S2 (if/when it comes to Verizon)

Pros - Simultaneous Voice and Data
-Sturdy Network.
-Fast as anything.
-Large and Radiant Screen
-LTE!
-Camera's are Good
--720p HD video performs great.
- Sturdy Design.
-FAST Mobile Hotspot
-Overall Performance

Cons -Not Dual-Core
-Battery is just okay.

Summary I have been on T-Mobile, and have had a Galaxy S 4G, I honestly thought LTE was not that important, until recently I stopped in a store, while my friend negotiated something about his plan, I decided to check out this phone, The LTE speeds blew me away. So I gave my little brother a gift ;D.
Anyway the real reason I switched so soon is the unlimited plan. Now on to the phones actual hardware and software.
The biggest reason why I was able to switch over was the promise of simultaneous Voice and Data, This was a needed feature for me, and I am happy to say it works fine, we'll see again when the 4G network get's more populated, however for now the simultaneous Voice and Data works fine great even. Plus the network is really sturdy I have strong clear voice and no dropped call's although I have only had it a day.
The hardware of this phone isn't anything special it's classic HTC, however it still gives off a sense of power and just overall sturdiness, and I'm fine with going without a case until Otterbox comes out with one (a screen protector is a must though), because the phone just feels that solid. As for the screen it's bright vibrant and amazing. However it won't win any best screen award's, and coming from a SAMOLED screen, I can tell the difference normally it won't make a difference, but in viewing video and gaming the screen really does make a big difference.
The camera's on this phone are about as good as you can get, pictures were vibrant colors were solid I honestly couldn't find a picture that took better picture's than this phone did(probably because I haven't compared a N8's real life pictures to mine. However if you are a shutterbug this phone's camera really is top of the line. However the point and shoot yet, because this is still just a camera on a phone. The front facing one is just ok nothing special but nothing too bad either just O.K. 720p is great I took a video of some flower's and then some grayish concrete color's were rich and full, the video was also not as compressed at the Evo's were other than that really not too much to say about the Camera's.
This phone's speed is unreal, and I don't just mean LTE I'm talking about overall speed including everything from swiping the screen, to having slacker play in the background while browsing some seriously flash heavy sites. I saw NO lag at ALL. It was amazing, I called in my family (Dad had a G2, Mom a myTouch 4G, Brother a Galaxy S 4G) friend's (One has a Evo, another a Atrix, hey we are phone nerd's) and we tested general speed, my Thunderbolt beat everyone in (nearly) everything, my friend's Atrix beat me in just general use and 3D gaming, so Dual Core's really do make a difference but for me it wasn't a essential. LTE meanwhile smoked the competition, the closest anyone got was my brother's (and my old) Galaxy S 4G, it averaged around 4 mbps down and 3 up, while mine averaged 7 mbps up and 6 down. It's a substantial difference as you can see. The Mobile Hotspot also averaged the same speeds on my laptop and iPod Touch.
The overall performance of the phone is great, HTC Sense runs almost eerily smooth, and nothing is even close to complaint worthy about this phone yet.
Now to the cons of this phone for one thing, it seems to be the year of the Dual core, and this phone isn't included in the goodies, frankly compared side to side next to the Atrix I saw close to no difference in just overall speed. However now that dual core has been released there will be special app's designed only for Dual-Core phones and more app's will be made to take advantage of that capability, and if you want the latest and greatest then it probably isn't this phone. Also the battery life is rather iffy LTE completely drain's the battery but even so with setting on lowest(LTE on) I was getting a full day of use with moderate use, heavy user's might want to wait till other bigger batteries are available.
The bottom line is that this phone is one heck of a well?.a heck of a phone. People expecting a Evo 2 will be disappointed because this is more of a Evo 1.5, but I have no regrets about the decision because this phone is amazingly fast does everything I need it too, performs admirably in everything and fully satisfies.

Pros Large, bright colorful screen, Sense 2 UI is fantastic, LTE speeds are blazing fast, phone itself is very fast, solid construction, good sound, excellent call quality

Cons A large phone that people with smaller hands may not find comfortable, eats battery power like candy, only those in areas w/LTE will see full benefits of the phone

Summary The HTC Thunderbolt is a bold,large phone that is solidly constructed and people who like big phones will definitely like the form factor. Those who want small, thin, svelte phones may want to look elsewhere.

The rubberized back makes it comfortable to hold, and the bright colorful screen is impressive. It appears faded when viewed at an angle when compared to an AMOLED screen, but is gorgeous when viewed directly.

Call quality is superb: I haven't had a phone with call quality this good in *years*. People sound crisp and clear to me, and they say my voice sounds very clear as well.

LTE speeds are blazing fast (I've seen as high as 18mbps down). They'll no doubt slow down as more people get LTE phones, but it should still stay significantly faster than any other non-LTE "4G" networks.

You also get simultaneous voice and data whether connected via 3G or LTE, so that's a pleasant change for Verizon customers.

The phone comes with a generous 40Gb of memory split between 8Gb internal and a 32Gb microsd card. (However about 5.5gb of that internal memory is already spoken for when you first get your phone.)

Despite being single-core, the Thunderbolt's performance is impressive, and always feels crisply responsive.

From reading the forums it seems a few people are having problems that ultimately seem due to bad sim cards, but my experience has been wonderful: the phone seamlessly and quickly switches between wireless, 3G, and 4G as signals become available, and Sense 2 improves on an already excellent Android-based UI.

Is it worth pulling the trigger and getting a Thunderbolt or waiting for the Motorola Bionic? I'm a big fan of HTC & Sense, so for me the question was an easy answer. If you have an Incredible and really like it, I'd say you should go for the Thunderbolt. If HTC and Sense aren't as important to you, but you live in an area that already has LTE you may want to start taking advantage of that too, it's like night and day!

If you don't have a preference for HTC/Sense, and don't live in an area with LTE yet, then I'd say wait a little longer, but otherwise the HTC Thunderbolt is a very fast phone that is great at meeting the most data-hungry of users' needs.

Pros Large, responsive, vibrant touchscreen, runs smoothly, fast network speeds, lots of features, great camera, nice design.

Cons Battery life.

Summary A phone is only as good as its weakest link. Having a high-end feature filled smartphone is great, but you can't go a full day's use with it if you take full advantage of it's features. Even texting, emailing and light browsing (on Wi-Fi too) with 25% screen brightness and other power saving features has this phone dying a little more than halfway through the day. (6-7 hours)

For me, an ideal phone will last a day and then some. I've been happier with an iPhone or a BlackBerry.