Nice, but flaws. Wouldn't buy it again. April 21, 2011

Reviewer:  E. Barnes "Never enough tools"  (Solana Beach, CA) -

The phone has some very nice features and the 4G is fast. However, my battery life is terrible and I run app killer constantly. I also wish I could remove apps that Verizon installed that I never use. But the biggest issue is with my Jabra blutooth speakerphone for my car. It pairs with no problem, you just can't hear anything (the volume is very low). I contacted HTC and they siad I was doing something wrong. Terrible customer service! My wife has a Droid X and if I had to do it over, I would get that instead.

Horrible March 23, 2011

Reviewer:  flames8889 

This phone is great. However, it is pointless to have a great phone when your battery is dead in 3-4 hours. My Droid X could go a full day between charges, and that is with heavy use. The Thunderbolt is dead in 4 hours and the only thing I did on it was have a text conversation.

This phone would be so awesome, but it's negated by the worst battery life ever. Yes, all smartphones don't have the best battery life, but this is not acceptable.

The only other negatives are that I cannot turn off the 4g, which is most likely what is causing the battery life issue, and the TB also heats up very easily.

A friend told me that the heating up and the battery life are somewhat trademark issues for HTC (this is the first HTC phone I've owned). However, these issues seem to be common sense things that could be easily resolved. For example, why couldn't HTC use a bigger battery, say 1900MAH?

Common sense would tell you that 1400MAH is not going to work with a 4g device.

Very nice phone with some major limitations March 19, 2011

Reviewer:  E. Hall 

[...] - After almost one week here are my observations:

1. The phone cannot be used with the kickstand while charging. This was just plain stupid. The USB charging port is on the bottom, so when plugged in the cord keeps the kickstand from stabilizing the phone. Given the 3 to 4 hour battery life when in use, this is a tragic flaw.
2. As stated, battery life is very bad (3 to 4 hours in moderate use). The extended battery is very thick and does not allow for any of the current skins or cases to be used.
3. There is a bug in the hotspot application. HTC says they are aware of this issue.
4. The phone is fast, but if you cannot rely on it for more than a few hours you might as well buy a laptop as you will be using it near a power supply.

I will be returning the phone. I am so disappointed as I waited for two months for this phone.
[...]

The Thunderbolt is quite fast as others have already discussed. In addition, the screen is clear and bright (but no match for the iPhone). I find the phone's size to be comfortable, and smaller than my old Droid X.

I have two major concerns. First battery life is limited at best. I have drained the battery in six hours, without heavy internet access and no streaming. Secondly, the apps for Android do not compare with Apple. For example, iPhone users can watch March Madness live and without cost on their phones as can Android users. However, when I compared my Thunderbolt to my friends iPhone last night, the iPhone's video (3G) was smooth while the Thunderbolt (4G) was jerky and slow. My concern is that Verizon will stifle streaming apps to conserve bandwidth as they have with Netflix access. If they do so, why bother with 4G? Additionally, apps such as MLB At Bat 11, also work much better on Apple products (see customer reviews).

Nonetheless, this is a major improvement over the Droid and a marginal improvement over the Droid X, with a smaller footprint and much faster internet uploads and downloads.

Great phone! March 19, 2011

Reviewer:  Android 

The Android operating system is integrated with the popular search engine and email provider Google. Google provides many services to its users and is the most popular search engine.
This Android phone has multiples functions, options, and endless personalization capabilities.
It is exceedingly easy to sync your phone to a computer or laptop to view, edit, or remove content from your micro SD storage card.
The Android operating system is great because it can connect to a user's Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, or other social networking site.
When the phone is connected to the user's Facebook account there is an option to import all the users Facebook friends to his or her phonebook.
This phone has a very good camera. Actually, this phone has TWO cameras. One camera in the front for video chat, and one in the back that is 8 megapixels.

All in all many people, including myself have come to the conclusion that Android phones are the best phones on the market. They offer endless possibilities and great functioning.
This phone is a fantastic addition to the Android community and overall is a great phone.

Best Phone I Ever Had, but March 21, 2011

Reviewer:  J. Gabrielson 

Simply put this blows the iPhone away. The speed is incredible, along with Verizon's 4G network. The phone is big, but light weight and not bulky.

Major problem - Less than two hours of battery life if anything but the phone is used. I think it may be about an hour if the GPS function is used.

Wait another month or two and some others should come onto the market.

****UPDATE****
I am now able to get around 4 hours of use. I had to turn off 4G using a hidden menu. (Google turn off 4G Thunderbolt.) As for GPS it was already off, task killer was turned up, screen brightness was set at 50% and the only apps are the OEM ones that I have yet to spend considerable time removing. (You have break into the Linux like core.) I am waiting for a 1900mh extended battery (or around that) to come onto the market. The extended battery HTC currently offers is just too big, but rumors put the usage over 1.5 days under normal usage.

All batteries are not the same. Not every battery HTC makes has the same amount of power, which is why everyone's user time is different. Radio control car hobbyist know this and they pair the cells when they make battery packs, so the batteries work evenly.

4g sim card April 27, 2011

Reviewer:  4g sim card 

i know this is not a review but i was wondering if this product comes with a 4g lte sim card ?

Phone is Great, but Amazon Wireless Needs Work March 24, 2011

Reviewer:  Charles 

I received my phone yesterday and have spent an hour trying to contact Amazon Wireless and Verizon Wireless the first night. Amazon Wireless wasn't even open to take any calls, so I called Verizon. Verizon informed me Amazon Wireless did not properly activate my phone and was having issues activating this for me. They instructed me to call Amazon Wireless the next business day and have them "push" my contract to a 2 year extension since it was not done properly. I called Amazon Wireless and was giving another number to call (ended up being Verizon). I sit here on the phone with Verizon the next morning, 37 minutes later and now being transferred to tech support. This is really unfortunate, because I thought Amazon would have made this seamless, but it hasn't been and not worth the $70 saving at all. Very upset.

Backorder issue March 21, 2011

Reviewer:  Robert M. Stein "Rob in GPW"  (Grosse Pointe Woods, MI) -

I ordered this phone through Amazon since it was $70.00 less than the upgrade price on Verizon. Thought I could wait until 6-30 or 6-31 for delivery due to the savings. It is actually to be delivered TOMORROW (6-21). Amazing Amazon service. Will write a review on the actual phone once I have the opportunity to play with it awhile. (I ordered the phone on the first day it was available on the Verizon website, believe 3-16). Way quicker turnaround on the backorder than I expected.

(Rated 5 stars for the Amazon service, not too sure on the phone as yet.)

FREAKIN FANTASTIC!! ITS LIKE CARRYING 4 DEVICES March 20, 2011

Reviewer:  BILLYTHEKID "STEREOLOVER"  (ORLANDO) -

GOT THIS PHONE FRIDAY, IT LOOKS AND FEELS GREAT. THE SCREEN IS GORGEOUS AND THE PHONE ITSELF IS THIN. THE SPEED IS FASTER THAN MY QUAD CORE SSD HARD DRIVE COMPUTER HOT WIRED TO THE INTERNET!!!!!!

IT IS A PHONE, MOVIE PLAYER, GPS ( NAVIGATION APP WORKS WITH GOOGLE MAPS FOR FREE), CAR FINDER, FLASHLIGHT, VIDEO CAMERA, REGULAR CAMERA AND MORE!!

LOVE THE PHONE KILLS THE IPHONE EASILY!!!

Know Who Your Friends Are May 10, 2011

Reviewer:  Bass Lake "Dan"  (Bass Lake, CA) -

There are some very interesting but distasteful legal and social issues with Android Phones. Although you purchase the phone from Verizon and you are a customer of Verizon and you have an established business relation with Verizon that is covered under a "terms of agreement" with Verizon, you must realize that if you purchase an Android phone Google Corporation will place itself in the middle of that relationship and force itself upon you as a new "business partner", "parent", "guardian of your information", and general overseeing data mining agent, even though you have no business relationship with them and have never legally agreed to any of their activities.

Not withstanding that you have no business relationship with Google and have never signed any "terms of agreement" with them they will take over a great deal of your interaction with the phone, with data stored and transmitted on that phone, and general control of your use of the phone including controlling your ability to download application from the "market" and other sources. They can even "terminate": your "bundled account" with Google (by revoking your password and access to your sign in at Google.com) which will then render a good deal of the functionality of the phone useless.

So that you have no illusions about the social positioning of Google and their very aggressive corporate management style on the subjects of data mining, location tracking, and other similar and related issues, you need to know that they firmly believe that they have the right to access, spool (remember indefinitely into the future with no possibility of deletion at your request), compile, digest and use for their own purposes or re-sell for profit your personal "information" including emails in their gmail system..

Google has taken some very daring legal chances on the design, management, and distribution of its software products (of which the Android operating system is a part). Google has attempted to subvert the public GNU license of the Linux system on which Android is based and claim it is their own private property. This and other outrageous and aggressive "bully" tactics are part of the corporate mindset at Google.

Know who your new "business partner" is before you buy an Android phone! Make your own informed decisions. Check your options before you buy. You may prefer Apples more open and honest policy and business style.

Bad Phone March 20, 2011

Reviewer:  MBS 

Purchased this phone from Verizon store on Friday, returned it Friday night. The data speed is very good. The phone itself is terrible. Could not make calls from my office, kept cutting in & out and dropped calls. Hooked it up via bluetooth to my car and got a loud clicking noise constantly. Even at home the call quality was terrible. Only got a max of 2 bars, even at the Verizon store. Also the battery life is absolutely terrible. You buy a phone for a phone and this one just does not cut it. Sticking with my iphone 4 from AT&T.

Backordered?? March 20, 2011

Reviewer:  Chuck Kenyon 

Site says the phone is backordered and usually ships in 8-9 days. Anyone with experience have a sense of whether this is a realistic timeframe? The phone is available from a couple other places at comparable prices.

Are you kidding me?????? NO NFL Mobile!!!!! March 18, 2011

Reviewer:  K. Moy  (Long Beach, Ca United States) -

I was in need of a new phone as I had dropped my incredible one too many times. I loved my Incredible. By far the best Android out at the time. I was very excited when a friend turned me on to this phone. My heart quickly turned to stone when I downloaded the NFL mobile app,launched, and then got a message saying it's not supported on this device. I'm shocked the evil red monster is doing this! This HD screen, 4G speed and no NFL? Just plain stupidity!