Review: HTC Thunderbolt
If the Thunderbolt were a regular 3G smartphone, it would be a near home run. Aside perhaps from the large and weighty size, everything about the Thunderbolt is solid. It has a good design; solid signal performance; good voice call performance; and good battery life when in 3G-only areas.
The Sense user interface and other applications customized by HTC make this Android device a cinch to use and adjust. The camera application is great, and mostly produces great results. Aside from a severe case of the shakes, the HD camcorder also does well.
With LTE 4G coverage, the Thunderbolt's browsing and download prowess is second to none. Speeds are Millennium Falcon-fast and are capable of out-pacing most wired home broadband connections. But it comes at a severe cost in battery life. Intense LTE use can wreck the battery in just a couple of hours. Two-hour battery life isn't acceptable in any device, let alone a smartphone.
(It's a shame, really. I have to question why the Thunderbolt doesn't have a larger battery. At only 1400mAh, it seems HTC is limiting the battery on purpose in order to sell the extended-life battery, which packs 2750mAh at a cost of $50.)
Would I recommend the HTC Thunderbolt, Verizon's first LTE handset? Sure. It's a great smartphone. The only significant drawback is the crippled battery life when using the Thunderbolt's best feature.
The Thunderbolt is like a Ferrari. It may be fast as all get-out, but that speedy engine consumes a lot of fuel.
Related
Verizon Pushing Ice Cream Sandwich to HTC Thunderbolt
HTC Promises Android 4.0 Updates Still On the Way
HTC Confirms Android 4.0 Headed to 16 Smartphones
more HTC ThunderBolt news
HTC ThunderBolt specs & features
HTC ThunderBolt user reviews
Buy the HTC ThunderBolt & accessories
