Ita4ぎa4г been a long wait for the HTC Thunderbolt, Verizona4ぎa4г first LTE 4G smartphone. After a delay of almost a month, Verizon has finally made the phone available today for $250 with a two-year contract.
First expected around late February, the Thunderbolt was delayed for weeks without explanation. One reason for the delay could have been trouble with the phonea4ぎa4г battery life, which testers reported at around two to three hours, Engadget reported.
The Thunderbolt is HTCa4ぎa4г Verizon spin on its popular Evo 4G phone on Sprint. This time around, though, it will be packing support for Verizona4ぎa4г LTE 4G network, instead of Sprinta4ぎa4г WiMax 4G network. Ita4ぎa4г somewhat fitting that Verizona4ぎa4г first 4G phone would resemble the Evo, which was Sprinta4ぎa4г first 4G device.
The phone sports the same 4.3-inch display as the Evo as well as a slightly newer 1 gigahertz Qualcomm processor. It ships with Android 2.2 and, being a flagship HTC device, runs the companya4ぎa4г Sense 2.0 user interface. The Thunderbolt has about 50 percent more RAM than the EVO, 768 megabytes versus 512 megabytes, which should make it a little zippier in day-to-day use. It also sports an 8 megapixel camera with HD video recording capabilities &8212' although I hope ita4ぎa4г a higher quality camera than the Evoa4ぎa4г.
Laptop Magazine describes the Thunderbolta4ぎa4г 4G speeds as a4ぎAfreakin fast.a4ぎ The phone saw download speeds between 4Mbps あand 13.8Mbps, or somewhere between two and seven times faster than Verizona4ぎa4г typical 3G speeds.
If the phonea4ぎa4г $250 price sounds too high, you can also find it for less at online retailers. Amazon, which currently has the Thunderbolt backordered, was offering it for $180 earlier today. Ita4ぎa4г also available for $199 at wireless reseller Wirefly.
Via Engadget
Calling all mobile executives: This April 25-26, VentureBeat is hosting its inaugural VentureBeat Mobile Summit, where we&'ll debate the five key business and policy challenges facing the mobile industry today. Participants will develop concrete, actionable solutions that will shape the future of the mobile industry. The invitation-only event, located at the scenic and relaxing Cavallo Point Resort in Sausalito, Calif., is limited to the top 180 mobile executives, investors and policymakers. Request an invitation.
Next Story: Second time&'s a charm: FriendFinder files to go public again Previous Story: Ngmoco&'s We Rule logs 3 billion minutes of game play in one year
Print Email Twitter Facebook Google Buzz LinkedIn Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Delicious Google More&8230'
Companies: HTC, Verizon Wireless
Companies: HTC, Verizon Wireless
Devindra Hardawar is VentureBeat's lead mobile writer and East Coast correspondent. He studied philosophy at Amherst College, worked in IT support for several years, and has been writing about technology since 2004. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can reach him at devindra@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @Devindra.
Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.com
VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters. Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
Comments