Of the thirteen Verizon Android phones the The HTC ThunderBolt is
currently their premier phone. Other popular Verizon Androids are the
Motorola's Droid 2 and the HTC Droid Incredible 2. However, these two
phones don't sport the 4G connectivity, while the ThunderBolt does.
From a physical point of view the ThunderBolt is fairly heavy (6.4
ounces) and large (4.8 x 2.6 x 0.5 inches HWD). For some this is not an
issue and gives the phone a solid premier feel, but if you like a phone
that fits lightly in your pocket this one might not be for you. The
display screen is an impressive 4.3 Inches (800 x 480 pixels), giving
you crisp viewing even at obscure angles. There is a 1.3 megapixel front
facing camera for video calling and a powerful 8 megapixel rear camera
with dual-LED flash. The real aspect that puts this phone ahead of the
Droid 2 and Droid Incredible 2 is the connectivity speed - the
ThunderBolt is now running on Verizon's 4G LTE network. Verizon's rapid
4G network is new and already covers a large number of the major
metropolitan areas.
For almost all the smartphones you are required to select the $30 data
plan, giving you unlimited data, and there is no extra cost if you are
running on 4G versus 3G. A neat option is to get WiFi hotspot, this $20
add-on allows you to connect up to eight devices, such as your laptop,
to your phone's internet so you always have internet on the go. The flip
side to having such quick browsing speeds is that your battery probably
will not last you more than two and half hours of 4G use. This has
raised a lot of questions as to the functionality of the phone. However,
on 3G you can expect to get around eight hours of talk time. Which by
all accounts is very reasonable. The reality is you are likely to have
trouble getting through the day without recharging. For a high pace
corporate individual this might not be the right phone for you, but if
you want to dazzle your friends with the fastest internet speeds then
this one is for you.
To sum things up, the Thunderbolt is Verizon's premier phone. It is a
better option for you even if you do not have access to the 4G network
than the Droid X, merely because the interface from HTC (Sence) has
better functionality than Motorola's MotoBlur. If you are toying with
the iPhone, don't. It does not have the 4G connectivity, and nor will
the iPhone 5, soon to be called iPhone 4S. The Droid 2 might be an
option to consider if you prefer having a physical keyboard (much
improved keyboard from the original Droid). If not, stick with the
Thunderbolt and hope that the next generation smartphone's have better
battery efficiencies.