Free thunderbolt or $100 charge?

[StreakTheQuad]

i can get a free TB or pay $100 for a DC through my company. The phone will be mine to keep if i ever leave the company. Since this will be a corporate phone, im undecided on rooting at this time.

I will be retiring an OG Droid (Pete's GPA15 currently, have also run CM7) and i have a xoom at home.

It seems that each phone requires some compromise, but are the best choices for now . Im not too excited about the binged LG revolution (although some strong reviews could sway me) and i'd rather have LTE than a dual core X2

Any suggestions?

 

[Outsider(Avid HustlaZ)]

i can get a free TB or pay $100 for a DC through my company. The phone will be mine to keep if i ever leave the company. Since this will be a corporate phone, im undecided on rooting at this time.

I will be retiring an OG Droid (Pete's GPA15 currently, have also run CM7) and i have a xoom at home.

It seems that each phone requires some compromise, but are the best choices for now . Im not too excited about the binged LG revolution (although some strong reviews could sway me) and i'd rather have LTE than a dual core X2

Any suggestions?

Well i been telling peole that the DC is the way to go..yes the TB has good ram but thats about all you get with the TB...with the TB your battery will die quickly(about 5hours worth) and your phone will get super hot quickly the DC on the other hand gives you great battery life (up to a full day if used right) and doesnt get hot as often. Has great screen, great camera both pic and camcorder just all around good phone...like me alot of people dont like touchwiz which is on the DC it lags BUT switch out the default home with Launcherpro or launcherpro plus and the touchwiz isnt even there..best thing for you to do tho is dont just read reviews go to a vzw store an play with both TB and DC and make your own review hope this helps

 

[shadowdude777]

ThunderBolt hands-down, unless you really really love the Charge's screen.

EDIT: Of the three you mentioned though, I like the Revolution. Personally though, I never consider Bing because I always root and remove it.

 

[jinwons]

At that price, it's no brainer for Charge. Just put Launcher Pro/GO launcher EX and dolphin/xscope browser and don't worry about lags. 4G connectivity issues are the same for all LTE phones and it's up to Verizon to fix it.
There is no way I can get Tbolt even if it's free. Horrible battery life, dim screen, mediocre camera, no HDMI. A little more RAM/storage is only pro on it.

 

[StreakTheQuad]

Good feedback so far, thanks everybody. I am a launcher pro + user, does it still run well over touchpiss? Obviously, I wouldn't leave any active Widgets running on tw. I'm also a little worried about Samsung 's update history.

Another alternative is to wait for the next vzw LTE offerings, I still get good life out of my og Droid. Too bad there isn't a vzw LTE Nexus about to drop.

 

[rushmore]

At that price, it's no brainer for Charge. Just put Launcher Pro/GO launcher EX and dolphin/xscope browser and don't worry about lags. 4G connectivity issues are the same for all LTE phones and it's up to Verizon to fix it.
There is no way I can get Tbolt even if it's free. Horrible battery life, dim screen, mediocre camera, no HDMI. A little more RAM/storage is only pro on it.

Though I disagree about the display (seems good to me), everything else is ditto- Especially if another easy root method is found for this and Gingerbread fixes the file system issues.

Plus the Charge apparently has a settings adjustment for 3G only (true?). I did not notice this setting when testing.

Charge > TB

Unless you like gambling, a 4G device would probably be best to secure before mid summer. The end seems nigh for unlimited data. Expect a big summer campaign that says the change is "For the good of the family", or something similar.

Just remember to keep unlimited, you probably do not want to get a discount on your next device- the grandfathering goes away at that point (or is most likely way to lose it).

Added: From a total cost perspective, you may want to lose unlimited data, rather than pay retail- depending on how much data you actually use.

 

[jinwons]

There is no high spec phone (1Ghz processor, 512mb physical RAM at least) that Launcher Pro can't make smooth enough. I know this from experience with Fascinate. Even with stock 2.1 and TouchWiz, Launcher Pro made it move like fluid with just tiny lags here and there, but definitely usable, smooth enough for non techie people. Now that it got 2.2 its screen moves even better with Launcher Pro. Charge wouldn't be any different since it's with 2.2.

 

[shadowdude777]

If you CAN wait, I'd wait for dual core + LTE. I think I'm returning the Charge to wait; I'm honestly not very impressed.

The ThunderBolt has the advantage of being like the OG Droid; HUMONGOUS dev community there because it was a first phone. Like the Droid was the first Android phone on Verizon, the TB was the first LTE phone. All the devs flocked there.

 

[Heelpir8]

If you CAN wait, I'd wait for dual core + LTE. I think I'm returning the Charge to wait; I'm honestly not very impressed.

The ThunderBolt has the advantage of being like the OG Droid; HUMONGOUS dev community there because it was a first phone. Like the Droid was the first Android phone on Verizon, the TB was the first LTE phone. All the devs flocked there.

I think it's a fat chance an LTE chip in a small/slim form factor is going to be introduced before next year. Also think another reason the devs are working on the Thunderbolt is because it's desperately needed right now. More exciting/challenging. Maybe it's sort of like a medical triage, where the patient most in need gets treated first.The DC might get a little laggy, but it's quickly lights out for Thunderbolt users who actually use their phones and are running the OEM package.

 

[carmendiva]

Droid Charge, duh ha

 

[shadowdude777]

I think it's a fat chance an LTE chip in a small/slim form factor is going to be introduced before next year. Also think another reason the devs are working on the Thunderbolt is because it's desperately needed right now. More exciting/challenging. Maybe it's sort of like a medical triage, where the patient most in need gets treated first.The DC might get a little laggy, but it's quickly lights out for Thunderbolt users who actually use their phones and are running the OEM package.

Anything on CyanogenMod > the coolest phone ever on stock Android, or worse, OEM-themed Android. It's just a fact.

Also, who needs the thin LTE chip? Just make a thick phone with dual core + LTE. Really? Do we need paper-thin devices? I'm fine with it being thick if it doesn't compromise on power.

 

[jinwons]

I wouldn't hold my breathe on seeing dual core/LTE phone on VZW this year regardless of thickness. Maybe toward end of year if Bionic resurrects somehow. But battery life on that thing will struggle even with 2000mAh size.

 

[JEcht]

Well i been telling peole that the DC is the way to go..yes the TB has good ram but thats about all you get with the TB...with the TB your battery will die quickly(about 5hours worth) and your phone will get super hot quickly the DC on the other hand gives you great battery life (up to a full day if used right) and doesnt get hot as often. Has great screen, great camera both pic and camcorder just all around good phone...like me alot of people dont like touchwiz which is on the DC it lags BUT switch out the default home with Launcherpro or launcherpro plus and the touchwiz isnt even there..best thing for you to do tho is dont just read reviews go to a vzw store an play with both TB and DC and make your own review hope this helps

hmmm funny my TB battery lasts easly 30+ hrs. My TB is cool to the touch even when talking on the phone.

I have heard about the DC having a great camera. I have yet to see a picture taken by a DC. Can you post one so we can see this? Or is the picture so great as the DC has a great display?

Just remember you have 14 days to exchange whatever phone you get. I personally would get the DC over the bolt and not because of the screen but it has less bugs in it so far than what the bolt has. Dont get me wrong I love my bolt and I am past the 14 day trial. So I will hope HTC/Verizon gets this phone under control.

Good luck on your choice.

 

[kyler13]

I think it's a fat chance an LTE chip in a small/slim form factor is going to be introduced before next year. Also think another reason the devs are working on the Thunderbolt is because it's desperately needed right now. More exciting/challenging. Maybe it's sort of like a medical triage, where the patient most in need gets treated first.The DC might get a little laggy, but it's quickly lights out for Thunderbolt users who actually use their phones and are running the OEM package.

Maybe by the end of this year. The key to thinner phones is integrating the LTE modem which is off-board with the current generation of processors. No clue where Samsung is on this, but Qualcomm's 8900 series processors (quad, dual, and single core) will have it. Unfortunately, the dual core featured in the EVO 3D and the Sensation is the 8600 series so clearly the 8900 won't be to market until the end of this year at the earliest.

Anything on CyanogenMod > the coolest phone ever on stock Android, or worse, OEM-themed Android. It's just a fact.

Also, who needs the thin LTE chip? Just make a thick phone with dual core + LTE. Really? Do we need paper-thin devices? I'm fine with it being thick if it doesn't compromise on power.

Amen. My Incredible was seriously pushing me to the limit of my patience...until I rooted and installed CM7. The thing is smoother and faster than anything I've played with to date in Verizon stores. Makes waiting easier.

 

[StreakTheQuad]

Amen. My Incredible was seriously pushing me to the limit of my patience...until I rooted and installed CM7. The thing is smoother and faster than anything I've played with to date in Verizon stores. Makes waiting easier.

I dont mind rooting and flashing ROMs and kernals on my personal phone, but im not sure if i should do it on a corporate device. I think that LPP or an alternative launcher on the Charge will be the way to go initially.

If/when the charge receives 2.3, will that change the file system that gets Rushmore worked up?