TB review from long time BB user

[Nor*Cal]

First let me say thanks for all of the great info on this forum. Been around here as a guest for about a year and finally thought I could contribute a bit so I finally registered.

Switched to the Thunderbolt on launch day from my Blackberry. Been a BB owner for a decade. I've been wanting to switch to a droid for a year now but was hesitant due to the phones I liked seemed to all have too many battery and/or call clarity complaints on this forum. It scared me away.

My mind was set on the TB and I wanted to get it on launch day so I would not be scared off by reading the inevitable complaints once the phone was released. We all know there is no perfect device.

So, its crazy how many differing reviews there are on the battery. Some say its great and others say its unacceptable and that it wont last half a day whether you use the phone or not.

I'm not sure if there's something behind these varying opinions or experiences with the battery but its crazy how extremely different peoples feedback is.

I consider myself a light user and I do zero gaming. My BB was used for an average of 2 to 3 hours of talk time and 30 or so emails and texts per day. A full charge would easily last a day and sometimes 2 if I forgot to charge the phone overnight. The only time I used it for the net was to google something. Anything beyond a google search was painfully slow.

I have now used my TB for 4 full days and as I was expecting, I really like it. I've downloaded a few apps and use a few of the preloaded ones and have experienced zero bugs. The phone is doing everything I was hoping. I have setup my Yahoo email using the Yahoo app and my Gmail on the Gmail app. Tomorrow I will work on setting up my work email through our exchange server. I think that will be the only thing that will be a step backwards compared to my BB. It was great for business email but I think the android will be fine.

My experience with the TB battery is not as bad as one would think reading all of the complaints online. My phone has made it through each day after an overnight charge. The first 3 days were from home and were spent using wi-fi but I played around with the phone for hours tweaking and setting things up and only reached the 15% battery mark once.

Today was my first full workday with the TB. Full charge overnight and out the door at 5am. Checked email often, used the internet twice on works wi-fi and twice on 4G. Sent about 10 emails/texts and about 20 minutes talk time. Also spent about 10 minutes or so checking facebook through the HTC Facebook app. I got home around 5pm and had 50% battery.

Not too bad. However, 20 minutes talk time is really low. I'll have some days with 3 to 4 hours of talk time and that's what I think is going to kill this battery before I make it home from work. I'm worried about that but hope that HTC comes out with one of the 1800mAh battery and charger deals like they have for some of there other phones. That should easily get me through the day.

I should mention that I have GPS turned off and minimized the syncing of apps that came with the phone that I do not use like the news and stocks. I opened each app on the phone and changed their setting. The screen brightness is turned down to about 30% and I also installed the App Killer. I check it several times though out the day and kill apps I'm not using. It's absolutely frustrating that I can't uninstall the Verizon bloatware.

Anyways, this phone is great. The battery is a concern but its a powerful device and its somewhat expected. The internet speed on 4G is awesome. Even on 3G its not even comparable to my old BB's.

Glad I finally ditched the BB and went to Android.

 

[Yellow Snowman]

i hear from some that in order to get full function of work/exchange email to d/l touchdown. i might try tomorrow

 

[UBRocked]

Welcome to Android Forums (glad to have you joining in on the discussions)!

Nice write up! A lot of us are Android freaks around here...and it's always nice seeing the perspective of someone that is new to the OS. I've been around Android for 1.5 years and if it weren't for the Touch Pro 2 I use for work...I would have all but forgotten about the other OS I have used in the past.

Enjoy your T-Bolt!

 

[sean76]

I'm a BB user through and through, I used one for business religiously for the past 7 years, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Eveytime a new one comes out on at&t I buy it. The platform is priceless when u speak about email! However, I can relate to your usage and talktime with your blackberry! My usage is alot little heavier then yours and I get about a day and a half with out a charge on the 9700, and Torch. Looking at your usage with the TB sounds about right! However, as you use it more, you'll see yourself become more and more of an Android user and start using the internet more, and start using market apps more, as well as your talk time increasing as well. Once that happens, you will wonder where the juice from the battery has gone, and that 1400mAh battery won't take you past 3pm! Now a 1700/1750 will, and if TB owners get a chance/break, to pick these up heavily discounted, a lot will be forgivin towards HTC.

Anyway, welcome to the Forum! Always fun to see a fellow crackberry head make the move over to the land of little Green men...welcome and enjoy this great Forum.

 

[IRuninCircles]

Hi Nor*Cal! I was a BB user too, until I bought the TB. I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I love this phone! At first the battery was a real sore point, but I have bumped charged it? Think that's what they call it, for a few days now and my battery lasts A LOT longer. I'm gonna try it tomorrow on a regular charge and see if it will last without bump charging it. Soooo much I still have to learn about this OS.

 

[AdroidThunder]

I also was a big BB use for the past 3 years and this is my first Android device which I picked up on launch day. My last charge lasted 27 hours with 3 hours of on time before it hit the red 15% warning. However I did have very limited talk time, probably 10 minutes which is actually about average for me. I mainly use my phone for email, internet and just quick phone calls. I do have the email set push which I think is the most frequent and it does not seem to cause any problems.

By biggest concern was actually the size and weight compared to my BB but I am getting used to it. There are a few features I miss like being able to have my phone vibrate once when I get a personal gmail email and vibrate twice when I get a work email via exchange. (useful in meetings)

Overall I am very happy with the phone and looking forward to learning more on what it can do.