The pricing fiasco and my take on it

[moondrius]

I think the phone is well worth the price. Theres a trade off. You could be with att with an atrix which is a great device or you could pay more for a droid charge and while it may not perform as well, you will have a great data connection. The charge is a great device and it was well worth the money.

 

[SirKronan]

Well, if you don't mind living with a phone lasting only 5~6 hours per charge and lackluster 4.3" qHD pentile LCD screen, then Evo 3D will do. For me, HTC is dead last in phone consideration list mainly due to battery and screen. They are even behind Motorola in my list and won't change my view until they prove to have addressed those.
Switching to Sprint is not consideration for me either. Their 3G network is decent, but their 4G WiMax (not that I think it's real 4G but according to them ) is horrible and doesn't have future unlike LTE.

You are likely mistaken on the battery, as with some tweaks and streamlining the TB can give you a decent day's use with the wimpy stock battery it has. The EVO3D is getting a 1730 mAh battery, and the dual core snappy is likely going to be extremely battery efficient. In addition, as of yet there are no guarantees it's going to use pentile, so I hope you're mistaken on that one, too, respectfully of course! They haven't used it on one of their phones yet, but of course the Atrix was motorola's first foray into pentile matrix tech. I'm hoping they skip out on pentile as samsung has for the SGS2. We'll see what happens, but I'm definitely expecting the EVO3D to get better battery than the TB.

And HTC still gains props over Moto for not using encrypted bootloaders. Locked bootloaders are not the same as encrypted ones. Even the Fascinate has a locked bootloader. Just a really sissy lock, thankfully.

Personally I can't wait to see the Charge's SuperAMOLED Plus in person. People are raving about that display, and I don't doubt that it's absolutely sensational. Maybe seeing the phone in person, using it, holding it, and playing with it up against the TB side by side will change some of our minds on its pricing. If it includes a class 4 32GB card (already confirmed to be 32GB, but not a class yet that I've seen) that's significant.

 

[jinwons]

You are likely mistaken on the battery, as with some tweaks and streamlining the TB can give you a decent day's use with the wimpy stock battery it has. The EVO3D is getting a 1730 mAh battery, and the dual core snappy is likely going to be extremely battery efficient. In addition, as of yet there are no guarantees it's going to use pentile, so I hope you're mistaken on that one, too, respectfully of course! They haven't used it on one of their phones yet, but of course the Atrix was motorola's first foray into pentile matrix tech. I'm hoping they skip out on pentile as samsung has for the SGS2. We'll see what happens, but I'm definitely expecting the EVO3D to get better battery than the TB.

And HTC still gains props over Moto for not using encrypted bootloaders. Locked bootloaders are not the same as encrypted ones. Even the Fascinate has a locked bootloader. Just a really sissy lock, thankfully.

Personally I can't wait to see the Charge's SuperAMOLED Plus in person. People are raving about that display, and I don't doubt that it's absolutely sensational. Maybe seeing the phone in person, using it, holding it, and playing with it up against the TB side by side will change some of our minds on its pricing. If it includes a class 4 32GB card (already confirmed to be 32GB, but not a class yet that I've seen) that's significant.

OK, I get your points on Evo 3D. Though it's my opinion, I think chance of it having square pixel qHD is slim. Let's see. It will be great if it's square pixel. Then it will immediately rival Super AMOLED plus in SGSII and Charge. Screen has not been exactly strong department of HTC.

And regarding battery life, dual core and 1730mAh will certainly help but its screen won't. I think there is something in circuit/chipset or driver that HTC doesn't do very well for power management. They consistently lag behind Motorola, Samsung in battery life for similar spec phones. Sure, some users could squeeze a working day out of Tbolt with some setting tweaking but that shouldn't be necessary in the first place. So I bet that SGSII and Bionic will beat Evo3D in battery department. But with larger battery and dual core, it will do better than Tbolt at least.

 

[shadowdude777]

OK, I get your points on Evo 3D. Though it's my opinion, I think chance of it having square pixel qHD is slim. Let's see. It will be great if it's square pixel. Then it will immediately rival Super AMOLED plus in SGSII and Charge. Screen has not been exactly strong department of HTC.

And regarding battery life, dual core and 1730mAh will certainly help but its screen won't. I think there is something in circuit/chipset or driver that HTC doesn't do very well for power management. They consistently lag behind Motorola, Samsung in battery life for similar spec phones. Sure, some users could squeeze a working day out of Tbolt with some setting tweaking but that shouldn't be necessary in the first place. So I bet that SGSII and Bionic will beat Evo3D in battery department. But with larger battery and dual core, it will do better than Tbolt at least.

What are you talking about? The Incredible had the best screen of its time for quite a while!

 

[SirKronan]

What are you talking about? The Incredible had the best screen of its time for quite a while!

Yeah, jinwons, you are usually a level-headed guy, but I gotta tell you, HTC makes great screens. The screen on the Eris/Hero was excellent for its time. The rest of the phone wasn't as impressive, but that responsive, contrasty, and colorful screen really turned some heads and sold a lot of devices.

And the Atrix screen, even though it's qHD, honestly looks horrible right next to the screen on the Desire/Thunderbolt. I have compared them side by side personally. I have also compared the TB to my Fascinate, side by side - browsing, gaming, looking at pictures, apps, etc. The screen on the Thunderbolt is gorgeous. It's a noticeable step up from the original EVO 4G. HTC is known for their good screens. They're not always the absolute best screens, but they're typically pretty good. I'd take the TB's screen over the Atrix's screen any day. You can overlook the pentile a little on the Atrix because it's still sharp and hi-res, but the contrast and color reproduction are not there. The screen on the TB is much closer to the the color produced by the Fascinate, than the Atrix, which is a good thing. Go compare them side by side, and you'll see. And with no pentile, text is extremely sharp and crisp on the TB's screen.

And I guarantee you I'm not an HTC fanboy. They are lower on my list because of the Eris. Despite its good screen it was a poorly supported phone and within a few days of being new started to get extremely laggy and buggy with no recourse aside from rooting and putting on a custom ROM. The answer button wouldn't even work sometimes. I went through like three or four Erises before I finally got a half decent one.

 

[sean76]

Yeah, jinwons, you are usually a level-headed guy, but I gotta tell you, HTC makes great screens. The screen on the Eris/Hero was excellent for its time. The rest of the phone wasn't as impressive, but that responsive, contrasty, and colorful screen really turned some heads and sold a lot of devices.

And the Atrix screen, even though it's qHD, honestly looks horrible right next to the screen on the Desire/Thunderbolt. I have compared them side by side personally. I have also compared the TB to my Fascinate, side by side - browsing, gaming, looking at pictures, apps, etc. The screen on the Thunderbolt is gorgeous. It's a noticeable step up from the original EVO 4G. HTC is known for their good screens. They're not always the absolute best screens, but they're typically pretty good. I'd take the TB's screen over the Atrix's screen any day. You can overlook the pentile a little on the Atrix because it's still sharp and hi-res, but the contrast and color reproduction are not there. The screen on the TB is much closer to the the color produced by the Fascinate, than the Atrix, which is a good thing. Go compare them side by side, and you'll see. And with no pentile, text is extremely sharp and crisp on the TB's screen.

And I guarantee you I'm not an HTC fanboy. They are lower on my list because of the Eris. Despite its good screen it was a poorly supported phone and within a few days of being new started to get extremely laggy and buggy with no recourse aside from rooting and putting on a custom ROM. The answer button wouldn't even work sometimes. I went through like three or four Erises before I finally got a half decent one.

I do have to agree on the Fascinate vs the TB screen thing...while the colors POP a little bit more on the Fascinate, its the closest thing I've seen to date. And believe me, I'm no HTC fanboy either people. But I have to side with those saying that for the most the TB's screen is very very Good. Deff a giant step up from the original EVO.

 

[sean76]

Honestly, I may be jumping ship back to Sprint for the EVO 3D...once I use it, and really get a pulse for it, I may drop VZW for the 3D... I'm beginning to hate VZW, and how they've been handling anything that has to do with Android. They forgot how much business the original Droid brought them a mere couple of years ago. Now they're super pro iPhone, and that's all that matters to them. That's cool, Sprint will be LTE soon, and have better pricing, with a better line up of phones.

 

[moondrius]

The Thunderbolt has an amazing screen, just as good as the Fascinates or better. The Atrix has poor color reproduction, I can tell and I have bad color blindness. Anyone interested in the Charge will be happy with the screen. Its very bright and sharp.

 

[jinwons]

Actually I'm looking at Tbolt screen everyday on my work friend's phones. Though it's step up from incredible, EVO, still I can't shake feeling that it looks somewhat dimmer than Fascinate, Vibrant. Yeah, the sharpness is better but overall contrast, rich color still go to Galaxy S in my eye. I'm not saying that HTC screen is poor, just that it's not the best out there. I will soon put them to side of Charge, Revolution for screen contest. But to each his/her own on screen as others may view screens differently.

As for the network carriers, if Sprint switches from Wimax to LTE for their 4G network, it will be easier for me to leave Verizon. Wimax is often spotty, has horrible building penetration and poor reception while moving in car. I think they need to hurry for LTE adoption sooner than later. I have several friends with T-mobile Vibrant, MyTouch 4G and they seem to enjoy pretty fast HSPA data speed too. So if I leave Verizon, it would be either T-mobile or Sprint. But then I should be ready to live with subpar receptions outside urban areas.

 

[sean76]

Actually I'm looking at Tbolt screen everyday on my work friend's phones. Though it's step up from incredible, EVO, still I can't shake feeling that it looks somewhat dimmer than Fascinate, Vibrant. Yeah, the sharpness is better but overall contrast, rich color still go to Galaxy S in my eye. I'm not saying that HTC screen is poor, just that it's not the best out there. I will soon put them to side of Charge, Revolution for screen contest. But to each his/her own on screen as others may view screens differently.

As for the network carriers, if Sprint switches from Wimax to LTE for their 4G network, it will be easier for me to leave Verizon. Wimax is often spotty, has horrible building penetration and poor reception while moving in car. I think they need to hurry for LTE adoption sooner than later. I have several friends with T-mobile Vibrant, MyTouch 4G and they seem to enjoy pretty fast HSPA data speed too. So if I leave Verizon, it would be either T-mobile or Sprint. But then I should be ready to live with subpar receptions outside urban areas.

Ofcourse the color is better on a Fascinate compared to the TB's. That would be a Super Amoled vs a Super LCD debate. We all know who wins that fight. But the TB's screen is a dam good second in my eyes. I've owned both, and switching to the TB was not hard at all. Diff yes, but not light years.

 

[gwlaw99]

The Thunderbolt screen to me looks dim compared to my Droid 1. Now if only Verizon would release a qHD Galaxy S2 with LTE.

 

[jinwons]

Interesting review on screens by phonearena. I disagree with them on the color gamut though. That should go to SGSII. The text clarity of SAMOLED+ is now on par with IPS/LCD from LG. I wonder why they didn't include new HTC like Tbolt here. Maybe because it probably won't do well on the brightness, contrast. And it's not clear if Revolution screen will be more like Black or 2X.

NOVA Display vs Super AMOLED Plus vs Retina Display vs Super LCD - Phone Arena