Thunderbolt - the real deal or a beta for the Incredible 2?

[Left Coast DJ]

Is the Thunderbolt a true production model with an average/long lifespan or something cobbled together from the EVO to show at CES while the Incredible 2 incubated?

 

[BzB]

Lol. Stop while you're ahead. The TB will be a great phone but it will be "outdated" before end of the year. That's why I'm signing a one year contract when I get it and will upgrade to whatever dual core HTC phone is out by then.

 

[howarmat]

the incredible 2 is not in the same class, its a 3G phone that will improve on the original. The TB is another class of phones that are in the LTE market so both phones will coexist just fine. The TB is going to be a great phone even with the other 3-4 LTE devices we expect out so far.

 

[DJ_10]

Lol. Stop while you're ahead. The TB will be a great phone but it will be "outdated" before end of the year. That's why I'm signing a one year contract when I get it and will upgrade to whatever dual core HTC phone is out by then.

Outdated? HArdly. It wil be just as fast if not faster than the bionic until an OS comes along to take advantage of dual core.

 

[Zaggs]

the incredible 2 is not in the same class, its a 3G phone that will improve on the original. The TB is another class of phones that are in the LTE market so both phones will coexist just fine. The TB is going to be a great phone even with the other 3-4 LTE devices we expect out so far.

The Incred 2 being 3g comes from one tweet I believe and it wasn't even that definite (Panda saying he was withholding judgement). I suppose its going to come down to whether its the HTC Incredible 2 (which doesn't make sense) or the Droid Incredible 2. If its a Droid it will be LTE. Verizon hasn't released half assed phones in the Droid lineup with the possible exception of the Eris (which was their literal second offering).

 

[DJ_10]

Verizon isn't going to an all 4g lineup. Why would they do that when 4g isn't widely available? I expect the incredible 2 and droid x 2 to be 3g smartphones.

 

[Zaggs]

Outdated? HArdly. It wil be just as fast if not faster than the bionic until an OS comes along to take advantage of dual core.

I know the Bionic has gotten a higher quadrant score than the Thunderbolt (2284 to 1950). Thats without the test being optimized. Now will the Bionic be noticeably faster to the average user? Probably not.

 

[howarmat]

not everyone is going to want a LTE capable phone not want to pay the premium pricing. They still need VERY GOOD 3G phones to market to people. That is where the 2nd gen Incs and maybe driod x come in. To me it makes good sense to have a separate LTE line of phones. Just like the TB doesnt really have anything to do with the incredible now. Its another line of devices, the bionic is not the Droid 3 or any of that. They are all new devices with no real ties to previous generation from a marketing aspect.

 

[DJ_10]

I know the Bionic has gotten a higher quadrant score than the Thunderbolt (2284 to 1950). Thats without the test being optimized. Now will the Bionic be noticeably faster to the average user? Probably not.

In terms of sheer power. The Bionic is tops. But when it comes to usability, the TBs higher RAM count will prove more useful at this point.

 

[digdug1]

not everyone is going to want a LTE capable phone not want to pay the premium pricing. They still need VERY GOOD 3G phones to market to people. That is where the 2nd gen Incs and maybe driod x come in. To me it makes good sense to have a separate LTE line of phones. Just like the TB doesnt really have anything to do with the incredible now. Its another line of devices, the bionic is not the Droid 3 or any of that. They are all new devices with no real ties to previous generation from a marketing aspect.

Exactly.

 

[sean76]

The Bionic would be awesome...for the exception of one thing????? BLUR...

However, I think in sheer power and everyday use the Thunder will be faster...sense is very smooth, and doesn't really blog the phone down. But some will feel different and will opt for the Bionic, comes down to preference.

Back on topic, Matt is right! Not everyone will be able to utilize 4G, so I doubt the incredible will be 4G. But it most likely will have a kick ass screen, and maybe launch with 2.3, and that'll be they're selling points. Maybe 1080p on the video capture? We'll see, there has to be something that sets it apart from the Thunder!

 

[BzB]

Outdated? HArdly. It wil be just as fast if not faster than the bionic until an OS comes along to take advantage of dual core.

Tb may feel as fast as the bionic to most users, but when it comes to raw power the bionic is the faster phone. Do I care? Not at all. Even once Android os and regular apps are optimized for dual core the TB will still be smooth and fast even if it doesn't have the highest quadrant scores.

I'll probably do a one year deal with the TB and keep an eye out for the HTC dual core phone.

 

[SebastianX]

Verizon isn't going to an all 4g lineup. Why would they do that when 4g isn't widely available? I expect the incredible 2 and droid x 2 to be 3g smartphones.

Why wouldn't they go all 4G from this point forward? All 4G phones are fully 3G backward compatible, that makes no sense. I'd put money on every smartphone coming out later in 2011 on Verizon either having 4G or being an Apple product.

 

[howarmat]

The new blackberries that VZW will probably get later this you are not going to be LTE and you are going to have your 2nd tier phones (Citrus, ally,ozone etc) that probably all wont be LTE either. if you think you are going to be able to talk everyone into a new contract with this higher data charge because of the 4G when they do not have a clue what it is and dont even use 3G data much at all you are wrong. You will lose customers.

There will be a huge amount of people that want to just pay for the small data plan on 3G with 250 MB or whatever it is and want nothing to do with 4G. You will need 3G phones to sell to these people. You need choices. This is why android is as good as it is, it gives people choice.

 

[Zaggs]

Verizon isn't going to an all 4g lineup. Why would they do that when 4g isn't widely available? I expect the incredible 2 and droid x 2 to be 3g smartphones.

Not saying Verizon would go to a full 4g lineup. Only that the Droid lineup in the very near future will be all 4g. Verizon's Droids are their top Android phone when they are released. I dont see them adding confusion to this by releasing 3g Droid phones. That does not mean I think the Incred 2 and X 2 will be LTE phones. They could be 3g phones, but wont be Droids.

 

[NCX Designs]

I know the Bionic has gotten a higher quadrant score than the Thunderbolt (2284 to 1950). Thats without the test being optimized. Now will the Bionic be noticeably faster to the average user? Probably not.

Most recent scores from final production models that hit youtube and Verizon stores for training have proved a quadrant score of 2150 as of late

 

[jayishere]

Wooo on the TB