i want to know if its really lived up to the hype i think it looks nice but the battery is smaller than my fascinate and the thunderbolt is more of a resource hog and it seems thats everyone biggest complaint
I will keep mine...Root is coming...
keeping it, a phone is a phone, but root makes it MY phone...
i'm keeping mine. i upgraded from the original droid so this is a fantastic phone even-though the battery isn't great. still, i think it will be a matter of finding a balance or tweaks to get the battery running longer. plus, someone said root is coming and that will be followed by some roms which will make this awesome phone run better and more efficiently.
shock2sys said:
someone said root is coming
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you haven't seen the development section, they accomplished root on the first night, and last night we were able to get past write protection which means custom recovery to flash custom roms and such. Instructions will be posted later today and a "one-click" root method will be posted in about a week or so...
k if only someone in the marketplace was willing to sell their thunderbolt i am so ready to get it and last question i already have unlimited data plans do i need to also sign up for 4g LTE data if there is no 4g in this area
I am coming from a samsung omnia which was a total piece of junk. I think this phone is amazing. Battery life is not so good but I am sure it will get better once I work with it a little more. I am sure I will have a go at rooting it once they get the process more simplified. I cant wait to get some of the bloat off the phone.
BlackHoleSlam said:
k if only someone in the marketplace was willing to sell their thunderbolt i am so ready to get it and last question i already have unlimited data plans do i need to also sign up for 4g LTE data if there is no 4g in this area
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no, you do not6 need to sign up for a 4G plan if you currently have a unlimited 3G plan. I do not have 4G in my area yet either, was told I would be grandfathered in on the unlimited plan even after 4G rolls out nationwide.
chas1723 said:
I am coming from a samsung omnia which was a total piece of junk. I think this phone is amazing. Battery life is not so good but I am sure it will get better once I work with it a little more. I am sure I will have a go at rooting it once they get the process more simplified. I cant wait to get some of the bloat off the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha same here, Blazingwolf's ROM made it much better but after he stopped developing for it I used lioryte's barebones ROM. Sad part is that the Thunderbolt out of the box had better battery life than my Omnia currently does and it was replaced a year ago.
Edit: And no I will not be selling it, I will wait 8mos or so and we'll see. But I think so far other than being short Skype Mobile it's doing what I hoped it would.
I have waited for this phone since aug 2010 .... almost left verizon for the evo even tried to unlock a evo for verizon . i'll be keeping this phone for a while . the only problem is the battery which i solved by getting the extended battery today ..
For me its been worth the wait, I've been running with RIM for the past 3 years and wanted to buy all of the early android phones, but this one fits me the best. I've become anti Moto sin the locked boot loaders and the comments from some of the big wigs of the company, but it looks like HTC wants to get into the locking business too. But definitely loving the Tbolt and rooted and running VirusROM at this time, but I've found myself to be a ROM-aholic so I may jump around.
I had been looking forward to getting a top of the line device for some time and i feel that ive found it with the t-bolt. Already rooted and beyond pleased. Looking forward to digging into it a little deeper
The battery is fine after using titanium backup to freeze all the htc crap in a stock rom, and I'm sure aosp will make things even better.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App
I was tempted to take it back as you have a 30 day return policy. Coming from the Incredible I was definitely impressed with the 4g speeds. But with all the "Forced Close" errors, the larger-than-expected form factor, and the lousy battery life I was seriously contemplating sending it back but then I heard that Verizon is going to move to a tiered data plan for the LTE 4G so I thought it better to get a phone and get the unlimited plan now so that when they switch over, I'd be grandfathered in with the unlimited plan.
So I'm keeping it.
Coming from the Nexus S, in some respects, the Bolt is a step backwards for me. Don't get me wrong it's a great device and the speeds of LTE is fantastic. However, super amoled of the NS is much better IMO as is the chipset used (hummingbird). The TB feels quite sluggish in comparison. So in the end LTE just isn't enough for me to keep the device.
IGottaDroid said:
I have waited for this phone since aug 2010 .... almost left verizon for the evo even tried to unlock a evo for verizon . i'll be keeping this phone for a while . the only problem is the battery which i solved by getting the extended battery today ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had 5 different android phones (X, D2, D1, D2G, DI) and ALL of them needed extra or extended batteries. Even with CM and Tasker.
I too Came from Fascinate And this thing Is alot smoother on browsing and Has Flash 10.2. The 3g speeds seem alot faster than Fascinate and 4g Blows it away. After dowloading an app to turn off 3g/4g Battery life Improves alot. Plus im liking how stock browser lets me switch to desktop only for Browsing and the bigger screen is cool too. not Missing Fascinate at all.
It's a huge upgrade from my Samsung Rogue (lol) so I'm loving mine, and hoping for an easy, relatively safe root before I do anything fancy
Not me ,I love this phone.It is just starting to get good here...
I just wonder how you can aquire a lte sim card cause my personal information is embedded on my sim so thats not going to be included when I sell the phone in 3 years
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
Related
Ok today Verizon call me and asked if I would like to renew my plan and replace my phone with new every 2 years.
Now I really really like my Eris. It's size is wonderful the speed is not great from all the development from XDA developers and thank you all for the support over the years.
Yes the phone could use more ram but adding sd cards and tweaking this done the job for me.
So the question is should I be looking to to an LTE4 phone before it is a limited data plan right now I tether my phone to my computer when on the road and I use the GPS so much with google maps.
The TB looks like a great phone however I hear the battery life stinks and duel cores are the next big thing.
What would you do?
There's always going to be a newer, faster, more of this or that coming out soon.
I would wait it out. If your Eris does everything you need then why bother to change into a new plan now?
joe91584 said:
The TB looks like a great phone however I hear the battery life stinks and duel cores are the next big thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't seen the battery life on the TB yet, but the argument of not getting it and instead waiting for a dual core phone is crap. I've seen the speed of the TB on stock and it's amazingly fast, I don't see a dual core processor giving you any advantage over the single core in the TB.
I agree with sir_eagle. If you always wait for the next big thing, when Do you stop waiting? The thunderbolt looks pretty awesome. That's what I am wanting right now. I can't see the battery life being any worse than what the Eris was a couple of years ago. That's just my $. 02.
Sent from my Eris using XDA App
I was just having the same issue, and when I looked up that I have 4g all over my lil back country area, I decided to go ahead and upgrade.
1234567188 said:
I was just having the same issue, and when I looked up that I have 4g all over my lil back country area, I decided to go ahead and upgrade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After looking at the map at network4g.verizonwireless. com I see where I live at is covered with 4g but my work only has 3g.
I do agree with everyone the TB will most likely get better with time, as for waiting one side of me says wait for a smaller phone because I like the size of what I have but the other says go for it... Coverage will come with time and the phone specs are great.
idk maybe I need to sleep on it more.
Thanks everyone for the different views
Sir_Eagle said:
There's always going to be a newer, faster, more of this or that coming out soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad to know I can agree with you about something! Everyone's comments regarding this are spot on. There'll always be reasons to wait. IMHO it sounds to me the OP is itching for an upgrade, so I would say go for it.
Pokelover980 said:
I haven't seen the battery life on the TB yet, but the argument of not getting it and instead waiting for a dual core phone is crap. I've seen the speed of the TB on stock and it's amazingly fast, I don't see a dual core processor giving you any advantage over the single core in the TB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
homer169 said:
I agree with sir_eagle. If you always wait for the next big thing, when Do you stop waiting? The thunderbolt looks pretty awesome. That's what I am wanting right now. I can't see the battery life being any worse than what the Eris was a couple of years ago. That's just my $. 02.
Sent from my Eris using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just bought an old school Moto Droid off ebay, lol...
Verizon will have to kiss my ass and wash my feet before I lock into an other contract
Sent from my Eris ADR6200 using XDA Premium App
Get an incredible. I belive they are free through amazon and tigerdirect. Super fast and the size is perfect.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
ryryrocco said:
get an incredible. I belive they are free through amazon and tigerdirect. Super fast and the size is perfect.
Sent from my adr6300 using xda app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
[dinc]|[cm7]|[slayher#27]
Yea, but they are End of Life, why replace one outdated phone with another?
1234567188 said:
Yea, but they are End of Life, why replace one outdated phone with another?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could be the right price
The 149.99 I got the TB for was the right price, I don't know if verizon is still running whatever that was, but it was the major factor for me along with the desire to have a 4g phone before the move to tiered data
yeah but the incredible will still be supported, will get gingerbread officially and is still a pretty kick a*s phone even though it is a year old and EOL.
i really don't want to give up my incredible ever. it really is the perfect phone for me.
I actually still love/have my eris as well. I am rocking gsb and I use it as an mp3 player and to stream audiogalaxy over wifi while at work.
EOL is the way to go. Then I have no hesitation getting a XDA upgrade.
Sent from my ERIS GSBv2.1 using XDA Premium App
I really wanted the TB, but now with running GSB on my little Eris it is totally revived and does what I need it to do.
Sure it is not an Inc or TB in regards to specs, but atm I'm quite happy.
Also hesitant to sign up for another 2 year contract, so for my next phone I might go the e-bay route as well should my Eris die.
4G is not in my area yet and won't be till at least next year, so no need for a 4G phone yet.
I'm in the same boat. I'd love to get the latest and greatest, but my Eris is running pretty well on GSB 2.8. I fear the TB might be a little big, and I'm worried about these rumors of unrootable HTC devices. If the Incredible 2 is unrootable, I guess I can look into the LG Revolution, or fall back on the TB, which may prove to be the last great dev phone on Verizon.
Or... if the gloomy predictions about Android becoming more closed end up being all true, I'll get the iPhone 5 and sit this generation of Android out until they pull their heads outta their asses. Maybe I'll wait for a device that runs Jellybean.
I have 2 family share lines w. nice discounts, both eligible for upgrade - with the last of NE2 and the disappearing annual/VIP upgrades - line 2 to be out of contract in 3 months/line 1 out in 10 months. Going to wait & I'm holding it out and might just ditch CDMA handsets and join the fun with GSM - more rooted device to pick & choose. VZW has NOT been consumer friendly, doing away with 1 year subsidized pricing plan as of 4/17 - yes, next week (in case, anyone missed the leaked news now plastered all over CNN, et. al.) Not sure if I wanted to renew another 24 months with them (been w. big Red since the mid 90's although I have backup lines with other carriers) - tired of their high ETF and capped unlimited data pricing, etc.
Was @ local Target/VZW kiosk looking at the TB along with Moto's & LG/Samsung's - while glancing at AT&T's sibling offerings and prices. TB is nice with a big screen, but I asked myself do I really want to hang a "brick" in a pouch on the belt and deal with an oversized battery (or, keep a spare ones with me at all times?) Prices will drop sooner & faster than the remaining lifespan on the contract while resale/trade-in values will fade even faster with the dual core's releases.
EOL or not, I picked up my ebayed Eris for under $100 (excellent condition 9 - 9.5 out of 10) including 2 SD cards & batch of accessories after researching. This is ideal for my use and still undecided between 3 or 4 top ROM's - Froyshedyo, XtrRom, XTRSense & GSB 2.8 - having fun & getting acceptable battery life, enough to last a full 15 to 18 hours extended work day if necessary. Sure, I could use a bigger screen (eyesights not what it used to be as one aged, LOL) but this was a step up from the HTC Ozone/Q series' 2.4" screens. Faster CPU's, more memories & bigger SD card will always be in the race for us to catch - depending on one's priorities & preferences - might as well go the extra yard & get a tablet ?? with a 7" screen so that I can really see FB, YT and use Navigation ....
This "little" nicely sized Eris is as good as we can root it - why mess with it as between DW and I, we CAN make the best use of it in the coming year with continued XDA development & support here, thanks to all.
About to purchase this phone. How do you guys like it? Is it a good quality device? About to get for one of my family members? Also is the bootloader unlocked? Lol thanks
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G
Bootloader is not unlocked. Those phones are not coming out till about Septemberish.
I love my Thunderbolt. No complaints.
Sent from my ThunderBolt using XDA App
I've had about 12 phones in the last 2-3 years, and the Thunderbolt has been the best phone I've ever owned, development is nuts, not a single problem with it, great performance stock even better rooted/rom'd
I am a recent convert to the Thunderbolt, with a whopping three weeks of ownership.
I originally wanted to support the Sensation on TMobile. But, for various reasons, not the least being the AT&T merger which I suspect will happen (this reducing the quality of TMobile's service, IMHO) and price, I came over to the Thunderbolt and verizon.
Previously I had the Samsung Captivate on AT&T and Evo on Sprint.
It was the commitment and speed of the independent developer community that won me over. The hardware is pretty decent. LTE speeds are extremely impressive when in optimal coverage. Battery is getting better after tweaking the ROM, startup applications and services and usage patterns.
I am definitely happy with it at this time, and upcoming Gingerbread will be very interesting.
Of course, it seems like the Thunderbolt is already being treated as "dated" and something newer and "better" is always around the corner. I would guess that we'll see the $49 price point for new contract in the not too distant future.
scubaskm said:
Bootloader is not unlocked. Those phones are not coming out till about Septemberish.
I love my Thunderbolt. No complaints.
Sent from my ThunderBolt using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is unlocked...assuming one has the common sense and patience needed to unlock it through the tutorial stickied in the developer's forum (or one can ask detailed questions that don't involve people having to play 20 questions to help the said person). However, it is not unlocked out of the box or through official channels.
My experience only.
I came over because of an accidental drowning of my Incredible. Honestly, I didn't stay with the Inc2 because I knew we had 4g here and I wanted the speed. I also like HTC phones. I also thought the Bolt would be better.Truth is though, after flashing all the ROMS, I still miss my incredible.
The bolt is a good phone. However, I use my phone for business and reliability is key for me. This phone has been nowhere as reliable as my inc. Random reboots before root and the battery issues since rooting. If it weren't for the Development Community for the Bolt, I would have traded back in for something else. I realize there are plenty of things I could do different to get more battery, but I like 4g, sense 3 elements and GB. I'm stuck with it until Feb. 1, so I will make do until then.
courtesy of my rooted bolt
Ok so it is unlocked or you can unlock it. Is htc sending out an ota update to unlock the bootloader? I think they are doing it for the sensation sometime mid august. But if you can follow a tutorial and do it yourself. Thats not so bad i guess. Sounds like its a great phone according to all you guys. Was looking at the droid 3 just because it has dual core. But the over all screen and build quality of thunderbolt is so much better im sure. Plus its android
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G
Xx12thANG3LxX said:
Ok so it is unlocked or you can unlock it. Is htc sending out an ota update to unlock the bootloader? I think they are doing it for the sensation sometime mid august. But if you can follow a tutorial and do it yourself. Thats not so bad i guess. Sounds like its a great phone according to all you guys. Was looking at the droid 3 just because it has dual core. But the over all screen and build quality of thunderbolt is so much better im sure. Plus its android
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolute_Zero said:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
?????
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G
Xx12thANG3LxX said:
?????
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The bootloader does NOT ship unlocked. If you want to root your bolt, the goto the Devs section and follow jcase's tutorial. It's the first sticky.
courtesy of my rooted bolt
ILMF said:
The bootloader does NOT ship unlocked. If you want to root your bolt, the goto the Devs section and follow jcase's tutorial. It's the first sticky.
courtesy of my rooted bolt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That wasn't what the ??? was about. I believe it was about saying "Plus its android"
since both are android phones, heh.
I've been very happy with the Thunderbolt. The first few days on Android with the phone stock I was extremely disappointed with the battery life. So I went to Verizon and ordered the extended battery. I got home from the Verizon store and started playing with my settings. The next day I thought something was wrong with my battery meter because it was lasting so long but nope, battery life really had improved that much.
One of the biggest things I see among people new to the Thunderbolt is the same problem that I had. I was running 4G enabled and there is no 4G in my area yet. It was eating battery searching for a signal that didn't exist. I typed a few numbers into the dialer and it toggled 4G off, that alone doubled battery life.
The developer support is amazing, there is so much going on right now and the full capabilities of this phone have not even been let off the leash. I was new to Android and I unlocked my bootloader and rooted my phone before the sim card arrived that Verizon had to mail. It was completely painless.
Someone more familiar with Verizon will have to let you know about what competition is coming in the next six months and if you should wait for it. With what's available right now, I'd definitely choose the Thunderbolt again.
The Tbolt has its quirks, just like any other phone. The battery life isn't the best, but I think the whole issue has been overhyped. You can expect 8-10 hours with the stock rom & battery with 4G always on and typical usage. You can double that time with a custom rom & kernel. You get even more time with the extended battery. I have really enjoyed my Tbolt and I wouldn't trade it for anything except maybe the SGS2 (only if it gets LTE)
Yeah the guy at the verizon store said my family member should get an iphone4 cause the battery life sucks on tbolt. But whatever so what you buy an extended battery. No biggy. Guy at verizon an apple fan. Lol. Trying to make my family members one of the sheep. F_ck apple!!!!!!
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G
After being a long time BlackBerry owner, for the better part of a decade. I switched to the Motorola Pro, to have Android and a physical keyboard, and then a month later while adding a line for my wife, I saw the thunderbolt. Having already used my upgrade, I purchased it at full retail price.
Even with paying a little shy of $600 for this phone, I don't regret it one bit. The only complaint I had was the battery life. After rooting, flashing decent ROMS/kernels, and choosing the right settings, battery life has improved signifigantly. And 4G LTE is the best hands down in my opinion. Plus its nice to be able to talk on the phone and surf the web at the same time, which iPhone can't do on Verizon's 3G.
I'd just get the tbolt if I were you. If you don't like it, you have 30 days to exchange it for a different phone.
**Sent from my Ziggy powered Thunderbolt, INFECTED by Synergy, the only Virus that doesn't need a cure!**
Thanks for all the help
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G
This thread strikes me as being similar to walking into the Corvette museum and asking the guys bumming around in there if the like their cars. I've got 3 gripes. First, I have yet to run a ROM on this thing that didn't have some annoying quirk I just had to live with, the LTE coverage and technology still seems to have some kinks that need ironing out, and for whatever reason my digitizer has come loose on the bottom left side and it clicks when I tap the screen sometimes. I'm thinking super glue if it keeps annoying me. The Samsung Charge is the only other one I'd consider, buy no where near the custom development for it.
I've been with Sprint for over 10 years, the last 2 of which I've had an HTC Evo 4G (rooted). I'm looking to switch over to Verizon in the next week or so and I'm leaning towards the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx (unless someone has a better suggestion for a top-of-the-line Android offering). I'm looking for some advice/suggestions on how to make the switch - I have Titanium Backups for all of my apps - is it possible to restore these on the Droid Razr Maxx if I root this too? Also, I'm very used to HTC Sense on the Evo 4G - how will this impact the switchover, and is it possible to flash a Sense ROM on this new Verizon phone? Sorry if any of these questions are dumb, I've been stuck in the Sprint world for so long, I don't know what's going on outside of it.
Thanks for any help in advance!
Sorry for the double post, please feel free to delete this thread.
I just made the same switch! A few things about this device... No, you cannot run a sense rom on this device, and I dont believe titanium back-ups will work either (havent tried myself, but I'd be surprised if they do work)
I always used go launcher on my evo, and have done the same with my razr, so the switch-over wasnt all too noticeable for me in that regard. If it must look like sense, there are multiple clock widgets in the market that will give you the sense clock and weather look.
I havent rooted yet, but from what I've read, its a bit more involved than the evo, and there really arent very many custom roms available. Not too big a deal for me, as the only reason I rooted my evo, was because sprint released updates that caused issues with my evo, and wanted the option to downgrade from the terrible update. The razr seems to work just fine out of the box. We will be getting an update to ICS soon, and I will wait to read the forums, and see if its just as functional before I update myself.
I was very happy when I made the switch! Sprint always treated me great, but the network is just not as good as verizon's, at least not up here in Maine! I spent a lot of time roaming with sprint, and even when on the sprint 3g network, speeds were horrible, calls would drop, etc... Now, I get full signal most places I go, no roaming and slow speeds. Add the 2days minimum I get outta the battery on my razr compared to the 6hrs I got on my evo, and I wont be looking back!
I may be wrong, but I think TB should work for your user apps. I just used TB between three different phones, because I didn't feel like downloading the apps I wanted.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA
Thanks! So what are the main benefits to having root with this phone, if there aren't many ROM's available? Their hotspot is already free with the plan, correct (or at least it will be with their new pricing options, which will be available on 6/28)?
Edit: I guess that's a dumb question, because I'll still have the option of restoring my apps with TB, as well as continuing to back them up from then on....not to mention removing bloat, etc... But when I rooted my Evo, the two main reasons were to try out different ROMs and to use the hotspot, both of which seem like they'll be non-issues with this phone.
I am currently in the same situation and extremely torn.
I was on the Evo 4G with MikG 3.11. The phone worked perfectly and the development was great as you know. Never had to worry about data caps/overages and generally got enough coverage and speed to really bother me too much.
Then the wife broke her screen on her Evo and the 4g LTE came out. I gave her mine and upgraded to that one. First one was a complete mess and wasn't even assembled right. The second didn't work well either with WiFi bouncing and random bugs. Couldn't get a third one as Sprint won't replace after one return. (Best buy said the same thing when I got the Razr BTW).
After the Sprint run around I said screw it and dumped them. The Razr was a let down at first in two ways. The rom on my OG Evo was miles ahead of the stock Razr. Playing with the promises of the LTE Evo was pretty awesome just too buggy. I do like sense as well. Lot's more polish and I personally don't get the sense bloat people talk about. My current Razr (and the wife's) is on par response wise as my old Evo.
Sure the battery is cool and more memory is nice but it doesn't really feel like an upgrade. Maybe the fabled ICS update might help with polish and performance. Who knows?
My biggest worry is the higher price of Verizon monthly and the data cap. Best Buy told me there was a promo going on for 4gigs for the price of 2gigs. Well I called today inquiring about it and guess what. Nope that special was over when I bought my phone. Now more horse **** to deal with. (Probably never should have left sprint, oh well).
I now don't feel as free with this one due to the data cap. When I spoke with Verizon rep today he told me if I streamed stuff moderately, used navaigation etc. I would probably go over. And yes for some reason during that 4 day period before my regular monthly period started my wife and I were at one gig. Great. Remember even though I had Sprint their speeds are pretty crappy so was used to using WiFi a lot. But now i am constantly looking at that stupid widget.
I don't know what I am going to do. I have had four dropped calls today on verizon and my GPS wouldn't connect two days ago. I was relieved when I found the place with my own sniffer and I saved some precious data! But I don't think that is really how I should have felt.
I hate US cell companies. Really hate em. And yes I would drop it if I didn't have to work. Now I am going to go stick my head in a dead tree and twist. Stupid cell phones. Promise so much and try so hard to not deliver.
Team420 said:
I always used go launcher on my evo, and have done the same with my razr, so the switch-over wasnt all too noticeable for me in that regard. If it must look like sense, there are multiple clock widgets in the market that will give you the sense clock and weather look.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you give a name of any "weather widget" that looks the closest to the weather widget on htc sense?
Thanks in advance...
refuse2bstopped said:
Can you give a name of any "weather widget" that looks the closest to the weather widget on htc sense?
Thanks in advance...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sense analog clock widget, fancy widgets, animated weather widget,clock ... Gotta be at least 20 in the play store...
Just an FYI.
So far over the weekend including Friday day I was able to use over one gig of data and 311 minutes on talk time. The Verizon rep said I would have to call back when the billing cycle actually printed to bill to know my actual bill.
Now how the hell was I able to do that when on WiFi all weekend and use minutes as well. That makes no sense at all. Weekends free right for minutes?
Some how today I was able to use 25 Mega bytes on the drive to and from work 15 minutes each way. This isn't my first android and I didn't stream a thing, have all the data set not to do anything unless on WiFi.
Beware.
Obviously Samsung's new device(GS3) will change smartphones for sure. Once it releases,how many people here are switching to it once they have an available update?
I have until about March to make my decision. Im on Verizon and dont plan on changing, so i plan on choosing the 32gb model for only $50 more than the 16(worth it in my opinion because i can double that amount thanks to HTC leaving us a wonderful 32gb card w/ tbolt)
Most of the specs impress me, although im kind of wishing that a couple new 'top of the line' 4.0 devices release, just to give me more options, because honestly the S3 is the only phone on verizon(will be on verizon) that truely impresses me (Galaxy Nexus= no micro sd which puts 32gb card to no use, and cameras significantly better on S3).
Well, let me know! How many people plan on making the switch? Also, why or why not??
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda premium
Pre-ordered first day love my thunderbolt been with it since day one but ready for something new plus my USB charging port no longer works and my volume rocker up crapped out on me ( dropped phone ) with those two reasons and the fact that I can't flash radios its time for an upgrade
Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using xda premium
True, sounds like your thunderbokt has seen its day.. i just wish my upgrade date was available sooner, 7 more months with my phone might be alittle harder than i thought. the possible ics update might bring a new flavor to the phone, but i am also getting tired of it, as much as i love it
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda premium
i would if i can keep my unlimited data plan, but thanks to verizon i think i will be with my thunderbolt for a long time.
I'm switching, luckily I had an upgrade available on one of my other phones on my account. And I was able to keep my unlimited data.
Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using xda premium
ordered one for my wife to replace her thunderbolt....her phone constantly freezes and apps are always crashing. she'll be much happer with the SGIII
i will be also. my upgrade is in august and i cant wait. im sure since i am not preordering i wont even be able to get one for months but oh well. it was either this or the nexus one which id much rather have the gs3 any day... im excited just hopefull theyll have some in stock
I know it's too late, but this info might help others down the road. I got 2 T-Bolts the day they came out last March and my upgrade date on both was something like November 12th. I spoke to 3 different reps at various points and told them all I am a long time Verizon customer and do not want to lose my unlimited data. I want my upgrade dates moved up so I can get 2 GSIII's now and keep my data and all 3 were fine with moving my upgrade date up--no checking with a supervisor or anything.
I know a lot can depend on who you get, but sometimes if you just call and ask you may be surprised.
Hope this works for someone moving forward.
they definately did not help me. they wouldnt push up my upgrade date from august 8 to now. sucks you would think after being a verizon customer for 12 years they may try to help you out a little bit more. it just makes you not want to give them your money at all but damn i wanna get rid of my bolt finally and get a gs3 for something new. the only reason i truly rooted my thunderbolt was to get better battery life and some customization of course.... damn i want a new phone
I advise anyone considering a GS3 from Verizon,
That you should think about and thank Verizon for the only GS3 with a locked bootloader....
santod040 said:
I advise anyone considering a GS3 from Verizon,
That you should think about and thank Verizon for the only GS3 with a locked bootloader....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heh that's not surprising. Verizon is notorious for locking bootloaders.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2
Honestly, I just switched to Verizon from Sprint. Going from my Nexus S 4G to the HTC Thunderbolt. The one thing I miss is ICS.
I plan on going to the GS3 later though
Don't worry we are scheduled to get ics this month or next from what they have said anyhow. I don't know if it has been delayed though.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2
Yup, that was my first question when the guy handed the phone to me. "Will it have the ICS update?"
disconnecktie said:
Heh that's not surprising. Verizon is notorious for locking bootloaders.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, yeah no real big surprise I suppose, though it was the first Samsung device I can think of to get such "special" treatment.
Despite Verizons' efforts to lock it down, it only took devs a day to achieve Root and recovery for it.
So I don't suppose that should stand in anyone's way of their decision now.
Update: still have 6 months with this thing, but i was able to preorder a nexus 7! Hopefully that keeps me occupied. Latest android software, pure google, quad core... I think i can last 6 more months :thumbup:
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda premium
It'll get bypassed in no time. I wouldn't worry about it. So far the only thing this Tbolt has going for it is the camera and music software. SRS with Sony Xtreme Bass Ear buds sounds pretty awesome. That aside this is my second Tbolt in 6 days. My first one did a reboot on Saturday as I left Verizon so I figured it was just a fluke or update. The second time was when I was on my way home from college. Then Tuesday it boot looped then just sat at the HTC boot logo.
Yesterday I bought the GS3 (full retail, ouch!), and honestly I don't think it's that great. Yes it looks great, and the display is awesome, but I got so used to the awesome battery life of the TB with the extended battery, that I took it for granted. I barely used my phone today and I got down to 15% after a full day, whereas my TB would have been around 60-75% remaining. I also noticed that because it's so thin and slick, it's difficult to easily hold without it slipping.
I'm actually leaning towards returning the GS3 and going back to the TB.
geoff5093 said:
Yesterday I bought the GS3 (full retail, ouch!), and honestly I don't think it's that great. Yes it looks great, and the display is awesome, but I got so used to the awesome battery life of the TB with the extended battery, that I took it for granted. I barely used my phone today and I got down to 15% after a full day, whereas my TB would have been around 60-75% remaining. I also noticed that because it's so thin and slick, it's difficult to easily hold without it slipping.
I'm actually leaning towards returning the GS3 and going back to the TB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought about grabing one, but couldnt let go of the unlimited data or pay retail prices. I would love to have a device with the latest android but is it really worth giving up unlimited data? imho not so much.
jackfrost12 said:
I thought about grabing one, but couldnt let go of the unlimited data or pay retail prices. I would love to have a device with the latest android but is it really worth giving up unlimited data? imho not so much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1... plus eventually we will get updated to the latest builds (hopefully) through rom development.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2
Hey guys,
Hoping to get some feedback from former HTC Rezound owners who are now onto the S4 (seen a few in this forum).
I'm strongly considering turning to the S4 as my next phone after 3 straight HTC phones. I see that Verizon officially announced the One coming, but with HTC company in disarray, lack of updates on all my HTC phones, and only a 4mp camera (ultra pixel or not, it's not going to be enough for pix you need to crop), and no removable battery or sd card slot, I'm close to jumping over. I've rooted all my phones, but kinda sick of being a guinea pig with half working stuff on ROM's that wasn't supposed to be on my phone anyways, and constant issues, etc just to get close to the latest OS.
With the S4, wondering about comparison in signal strength (4G) that you've seen (just as strong, weaker, etc), GPS lock time, camera (speed and quality of pix), overall speed of the phone (opening apps, mail, etc), and comparative lag, etc.
I'm more interested in a 32gb model if it ever comes to Verizon, so I'm trying to hold out a little longer before making my move, but any input on comparing the 2 phones would be helpful in solidifying my decision! (wife has the S3 by the way, and it's pretty nice, although she has Sprint and never gets 4G)...
Yo, I'll fill you in and answer as much as I can. Just got my s4 last week, had the rezound for about 1.5 yrs. Awesome phone, like it, still like it, was kinda hard to switch. I even left the store without buying the S4, but went back the next day. Glad I did.
I ran the rez stock for a while, but for some time ran the roms by Neo. Mostly rage, but switched to Infection towards the end. This phone has been great for me so far.
-signal strength to me seems a little better for 4g, not major
- wifi is better for sure. Rez wasn't bad but you needed the back cover and maybe it degraded over time???
-GPS seems fine for me, but never had issues with Rez
-camera is fine for me, seems fast enough, good pics too
-I find phone super fast, faster than Rez was, I don't notice any lag. But I never had major issues with that on the Rez tho
For me, it was a slightly tough upgrade, but I'm happy. Biggest for me has been battery life. I had to charge my Rez every 24hrs, this things lasts me at least 2 days.
So far, all I have done is root with TWRP, and froze all the bloat. I haven't flashed any different roms (TW or other). Wanting to see what it is like close to stock for a bit first.
Been very happy with my decision. Would do again, would recommend.
Hope that helps.
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I went form Rezound to S3 and now S4. I do not think you will be disappointed if you get an s4. The phone is superior in every way. My biggest gripe is that touchwiz is extremely ugly!! I use custom roms and themes so that does not really bother me too much. You will also notice that development here will be better than the Rezound. I was going to wait for the HTC One but the state of the company really scares me. I also like having the ability to expand storage. Hope this helps.
hpower1 said:
Yo, I'll fill you in and answer as much as I can. Just got my s4 last week, had the rezound for about 1.5 yrs. Awesome phone, like it, still like it, was kinda hard to switch. I even left the store without buying the S4, but went back the next day. Glad I did.
I ran the rez stock for a while, but for some time ran the roms by Neo. Mostly rage, but switched to Infection towards the end. This phone has been great for me so far.
-signal strength to me seems a little better for 4g, not major
- wifi is better for sure. Rez wasn't bad but you needed the back cover and maybe it degraded over time???
-GPS seems fine for me, but never had issues with Rez
-camera is fine for me, seems fast enough, good pics too
-I find phone super fast, faster than Rez was, I don't notice any lag. But I never had major issues with that on the Rez tho
For me, it was a slightly tough upgrade, but I'm happy. Biggest for me has been battery life. I had to charge my Rez every 24hrs, this things lasts me at least 2 days.
So far, all I have done is root with TWRP, and froze all the bloat. I haven't flashed any different roms (TW or other). Wanting to see what it is like close to stock for a bit first.
Been very happy with my decision. Would do again, would recommend.
Hope that helps.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very helpful - thanks! It's great to see good posts on the S4, but you don't know what kind of phone folks are coming from, so wanted to get a better perspective. Thanks.
jm700wx said:
I went form Rezound to S3 and now S4. I do not think you will be disappointed if you get an s4. The phone is superior in every way. My biggest gripe is that touchwiz is extremely ugly!! I use custom roms and themes so that does not really bother me too much. You will also notice that development here will be better than the Rezound. I was going to wait for the HTC One but the state of the company really scares me. I also like having the ability to expand storage. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with the look not being totally appealing too. I'd probably do the same thing with a theme or shell (just saw a good review of the Yandex shell 3d launcher) as long as it doesn't lag or mess up the phone. Thanks.
Not sure I can add anything to what's already been said but I just made the jump from Rezound to S4 and I'm very happy. I was concerned with the transition to TouchWiz as I've used previous iterations on family members' phones and didn't like it. Sense was superior in nearly every way but to be honest, it could be worse and I'm getting used to it. I considered another HTC phone (DNA or One) but hated the idea of no SD card option and a non-removable battery. Speaking of battery, I don't think HTC is capable of manufacturing a phone with decent battery life.
Speed on the S4 is excellent though I've noticed some odd lag in the Google Maps app. I enabled developer menu and disabled all of the animations so that's helped. The Rezound was fast enough for me and if I had to go back to it, I don't think it would be an issue. Signal strength and quality are as good for me as with the Rezound. I was running VipreRez and had odd issues with WIFI whereby I had to disable/enable it now and then to stay connected...not an issue with the S4. GPS lock is very quick but I had no problems with the Rez. I don't use the camera much so I can't comment on that except to say that some of the camera modes on the S4 are pretty neat (possibly gimmicky).
The single largest difference is battery life and it's a MASSIVE difference. I could not make it through a day with the Rez if I used navigation, wireless tether or spent too much time talking. I use my phone only for business (no games) so for me it's phone calls, text, e-mail and a minor amount of navigation. I was constantly powering the phone from the car and plugging it in immediately upon returning home. The S4 has amazing battery life. I've easily made it 17+ hours with nearly 3 hours of screen on time, navigation and WIFI tether and been at or just below 30% at the end of the day.
The only issues I've had with the S4 have been adjusting to the size of the phone and lack of a search button. I have a difficult time reaching across the screen with one hand but I think I'll live with it. I used to press search and immediately type a client's name and get to them quickly. Now it takes an extra step or two but not a huge issue. Also, I miss the Sense clock..heh. I realize there are apps that emulate that clock but it was amazing. I thought the screen on the Rez was fantastic but the 5" screen on the S4 is truly amazing.
One last thing to mention. I always felt like the Rezound was the red-headed step-child of HTC phones. Not much dev support and accessories were difficult to come by. The S4 is a complete 180 from that due to the pervasive nature of the distribution. I expect loads of development and accessories for this phone.
Former Rezound user here too. I totally agreed with everything everyone has said. I did notice GPS , Wifi and 4G were a little better. I wasn't really nervous about TW . I actually like TW. Battery life is great as previously mentioned . Love the phone so far.
I went from the Rez to the S3 tp the S4. I really liked the build quality of the Rez. When I sold mine, it was like selling a child.
Wifi is awesome in comparison. 4G averages 25% higher in my tests. I guess it's just more consistent. Battery life is WAY better. I always had to have an extended battery on it. My S4 lasts me a whole day off intense use. I work IT and I'm on my phone all day. Development will be much better. Let's not even mention the screen comparison.
All in all, the upgrade is amazing. Worth every penny.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Former Rezounder and I just got the S4 today. I'm so excited to have this phone and I'm very happy to hear all the good remarks from this thread. I expected to see that there is more development for this phone compared to the Rezound. I agree that it was the red headed step child too lol. Anyways I'm gonna get started on rooting
Get the s4. You will leave terrible battery life, heat, and poor development behind. You won't regret it. I don't miss my rez that much
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
I had the Rezound. After Google I/O and not hearing anything about the Moto X phone I decided to jump on the S4 bandwagon. I had my Rez for a little over a year. It was an okay phone, hated the battery life, even got the extended battery and always got weird looks for how big my phone was. But I've gotta commend developers like Neo or Chad for bringing us 4.2 to the Rez. For me the standout points with the S4 are battery life, the camera and very very smooth UI. I'm excited to see what the future brings, development is explosive with the bootloader being unlocked now. I really want to like the HTC One but I need HTC to show better support for their phones, there was no excuse for the Rezound to not have 4.1 by now, even the Droid Bionic has it!
Rezound to S4 and the very first thing I notice was how freaking light it was I even told the verizon rep if he put the battery in LOL but after the initial shock the phone is so good, the only thing I noticed was the lack of CDMA support unless I am missing something here but if you not in a 4g area you get a lot of dropped calls unless being on Global has something to do with it.
Great feedback guys! exactly what I was hoping to hear.Think I'm sold on getting the S4.
Already talked to a Verizon store rep about options to upgrade early without paying full retail and losing unlimited (Verizon really stinks about these new policies), but may wait a few more weeks to see if a 32gb version of the S4 will actually come to vzw or not...
I too had a Rezound and it's been passed down to my mother.. The Rezound is choppy and slow these days.. Still has a great screen though in my opinion.. the S4 is a no brainer to switch to.
---------- Post added at 09:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:26 AM ----------
jmk32 said:
Great feedback guys! exactly what I was hoping to hear.Think I'm sold on getting the S4.
Already talked to a Verizon store rep about options to upgrade early without paying full retail and losing unlimited (Verizon really stinks about these new policies), but may wait a few more weeks to see if a 32gb version of the S4 will actually come to vzw or not...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's the big gripe and deal with needing 32gb internal storage? I'm sure pretty soon we're going to have working apps2sd and it's not an issue anymore. . It's also one of the reasons Vzw was able to sell it 199 on contract still.
jmk32 said:
Great feedback guys! exactly what I was hoping to hear.Think I'm sold on getting the S4.
Already talked to a Verizon store rep about options to upgrade early without paying full retail and losing unlimited (Verizon really stinks about these new policies), but may wait a few more weeks to see if a 32gb version of the S4 will actually come to vzw or not...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was in the same boat as hpower1. I must have made 3 trips to the store to look at the S4. I went to a Corp store so I could buy it outright and put it on a 12 month payment plan. Didn't want to lose my unlimited plan. My wife and I only use about 1GB +/- per month but the "what if" factor kicked in. It helped sell me when I was on the phone with 611 and they told me that it wouldn't affect my upgrade. So if something else comes out in a year or so and we are not using over 2 or 4 GB per month that I could still my upgrade. They offered to buy back the Rezound but I declined. I moved it to another line to replace a D1. This thing (S4) is awesome. Light, fast, big screen. I put it in an OtterBox Defender case to help protect it. Makes it so much easier to hold. This is simply a GREAT phone. I got it last Friday night and couldn't take it any longer so Monday morning I rooted it just so I could disable some of the bloat and flash a mod that I wanted. Get it, you won't regret it. Also like others have said, the battery life is great but I have to admit that the Rezound got much better after flashing XenonHD and is still a great phone.
Oh, and I also installed a 64Gb card in it that I got off of Amazon.
Had my rezound for 1.5 years and it was definitely an above average phone with limited support from verizon and developers.
Although the developers that were there (Cleanrom) were terrific.
I had the incredible before the rezound so, like you, was contemplating waiting for the One.
I need to use spare batteries so I didn't bother waiting
For me, personally, everything is better with the s4 EXCEPT 4g signal strength.
Just to clarify, when I have proper strength, which is most of the time, the speed is superior.
What I'm talking about came to light last night.
I went to my first yankee game since getting s4 (I go to 30 games a year) last night and I had sporadic service, at best.
Maybe there was something in the air but my rezound got much better signal and data was good.
Since everyone else is saying theres is better with the s4, I'm beginning to lean towards it being a bad night at the stadium.
Anyway, I just wanted you to know my experience.
The phone is awesome, support on the forums is great (I'm running cleanrom now, but have tried hyperdrive too and it was equally good), and you will be very happy.
On a side note, Yankees won and I got to see Mo close which is a treat that is quickly coming to an end
jmk32 said:
Great feedback guys! exactly what I was hoping to hear.Think I'm sold on getting the S4.
Already talked to a Verizon store rep about options to upgrade early without paying full retail and losing unlimited (Verizon really stinks about these new policies), but may wait a few more weeks to see if a 32gb version of the S4 will actually come to vzw or not...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might regret it loosing ur unlimited plan , I did a payment plan.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
I rocked the rezound for awhile back when it came out and loved it! Probably one of my favorite android phones to use! The s4 is pretty nice I just say coming from a note 2 too but if Verizon does in fact release a HTC one with more 16 gb of storage I will get one and switch between it and s4 depending on how nice it is and stacks up against s4!
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nes4r2 said:
You might regret it loosing ur unlimited plan , I did a payment plan.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I won't give up my unlimited. It's sick how Verizon is gouging us lately and even pushing back upgrade dates - seriously Verizon?
I went to a Verizon store and the rep gave me some options how to keep unlimited whole still being able to upgrade a little early - something about adding a line and paying a little more per month. Gotta do what you gotta do I guess...
nes4r2 said:
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What's the big gripe and deal with needing 32gb internal storage? I'm sure pretty soon we're going to have working apps2sd and it's not an issue anymore. . It's also one of the reasons Vzw was able to sell it 199 on contract still.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But if we don't get apps2sd it could be a problem in the future with 1/2 the 16gb internal clogged with OS, etc. Who knows how big some apps will be in the future, so don't want to get stuck with potential limited space. I'm sure its fine for now. It's also one of the main gripes I've read from professional reviews. Plus I'm just sick of having all my iPads, kindles, etc always running out of room and just don't want to deal with that potential issue at some point.
If I don't hear more about a 32gb soon, I'm sure I'll cave in before too long...