HTC Thunderbolt, not quite fully abandoned, Gets official ICS ota

[stag3]

Call me crazy, but I thought Snapdragon S2 was a rough equal to the Cortex-A7. Google says Thunderbolt has 768MB of RAM, the iPhone4 was 512MB.

I'd call the Thunderbolt 'better,' but it's not exactly leagues ahead. The RAM is the only real difference. The guts are now powering economy smartphones.

It's still a decent single core phone; I don't quite get the hate. I'm guessing it just had too much hype around its release. ICS should run fine on it.

i loved mine, was running infected rom for most of it's life. tossed in a rezound battery and it helped a bit, i was able to get thru a day with light to moderate usage

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

ICS...

How about let's upgrade iPhone 2G users to iOS4? Sound good?

 

[dguy6789]

ICS...

How about let's upgrade iPhone 2G users to iOS4? Sound good?

Android 4.0 is a pretty reasonable baseline target to try and get old Android phones to. It's like the Windows 7 of Android. GB to ICS is a massive upgrade, ICS to JB is like going from Windows 7 to Win 7 SP1.

For the record it's pretty tough to tell the difference between the iOS that launched with the iPhone 3G and the latest iOS without looking very hard

 

[ViRGE]

AFAIK the update doesn't hurt anybody. For people still using the T-bolt (I have one as a backup phone) it is nice to have.

The Thunderbolt only came out what, 20 months ago? Shouldn't most of you still be on your contracts or just getting off of them?

 

[Dannar26]

The Thunderbolt only came out what, 20 months ago? Shouldn't most of you still be on your contracts or just getting off of them?

YES! I don't get how everybody just pays full retail to get a new phone every year. Holy crap, for what you spend on a brand new SGS3 without contract, you could just about buy a brand new gaming rig.

I'm not done 'till May. I'm glad that the half-year I have left will be more tolerable.

 

[RockinZ28]

Maybe some people dont mind lightly used phones.

Or sell one every 6 months while its still worth something, then buy a new one.

Or like me, other people on the plan are willing to give you their upgrade.

Ive never paid retail for a smartphone, and usually get a new one every 12 months or less. Already went from GS3 to Note II both at the discount price, and kept my unlimited data from Verizon.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

ICS...

How about let's upgrade iPhone 2G users to iOS4? Sound good?

Well considering all pre iPhone 5 phones have major issues running the latest OS, I doubt thats a great idea.

 

[s44]

The Thunderbolt only came out what, 20 months ago? Shouldn't most of you still be on your contracts or just getting off of them?

The Thunderbolt was an acceptable purchase for maybe a month or so before the Charge came out (with bigger battery). Plus I think most folks went for the refurb off-contract Nexus deal or something.

 

[Bateluer]

The Thunderbolt was an acceptable purchase for maybe a month or so before the Charge came out (with bigger battery). Plus I think most folks went for the refurb off-contract Nexus deal or something.

Lot of people bought it because Verizon was scrapping their unlimited plans and the T-bolt locked in unlimited LTE.

 

[s44]

Yeah, although it turned out of course that you could have waited all the way to the S3 pre-order to get an upgrade on unlimited LTE.

Anyway, I was just explaining why most TB purchasers were near launch and have already had time to move on.

 

[techie81]

Any idea when this is going to be released to users?

 

[lothar]

Yeah, although it turned out of course that you could have waited all the way to the S3 pre-order to get an upgrade on unlimited LTE.

Anyway, I was just explaining why most TB purchasers were near launch and have already had time to move on.

Not so for people that didn't already have unlimited 3G.

I still had a feature phone with Verizon then(LG Voyager) and considered getting the HTC Thunderbolt...I considered getting it a week after release and people discovered a flaw of getting it for $225 or less at BJ's with a 1 year contract and employer account. Verizon discovered the flaw and also ended 1 year contracts that same April, so I passed.

LG Revolution released in May? Why waste money buying an Android phone that's all Binged up by Microsoft when you can just get the real thing?

Droid Charge released in June? Considered it and kept looking at Costco. Waiting to see if it would be adopted by the modding community. Waited too long. It was also around this time that Verizon Nexus rumors began to spread.

Droid 3? I think this phone was released a day after the unlimited deadline ended on 7/7.

Droid Bionic? I was really hoping for this but it got delayed like heck until August/September due to the hardware changes of Tegra 2 not working with LTE. I bought those early rumors of the Droid Bionic(on Tegra 2) being the powerhouse phone to get, hook, line, and sinker.

Other horrible options I had at the time:
Droid X? Why buy a year old phone on contract?

Droid X2? My goodness...This phone was what got me to hate pentile.

I also didn't feel like spending $200 on Craigslist to get someone's used 2 year old Moto Droid either.

 

[phucheneh]

Mildly relevant image...I hooked my phone up to do backups and figured I'd grab a screen of my 1500mAH battery after over a day without charging. 1Ghz S2, Adreno 205, 512mb, ICS. The Thunderbolt just has a little more screen.

So I'm gonna go out on a limb and say 'better late than never,' as the T-bolt/ICS combo seems fine for the non-demanding user if you tweak it a little.

 

[jm0ris0n]

Anyone able to get the OTA Update yet ?

 

[techie81]

Anyone able to get the OTA Update yet ?

Still waiting here.

 

[Bateluer]

Droid 3? I think this phone was released a day after the unlimited deadline ended on 7/7.

Droid Bionic? I was really hoping for this but it got delayed like heck until August/September due to the hardware changes of Tegra 2 not working with LTE. I bought those early rumors of the Droid Bionic(on Tegra 2) being the powerhouse phone to get, hook, line, and sinker.

Other horrible options I had at the time:
Droid X? Why buy a year old phone on contract?

Droid X2? My goodness...This phone was what got me to hate pentile.

I also didn't feel like spending $200 on Craigslist to get someone's used 2 year old Moto Droid either.

Seems like you might have an issue with chronic 'waiting for something better'. But, yeah, Moto had a long rough patch of garbage. Several people at work own Droid 3s, and the only person slightly satisfied is the one who rooted and rom'd it. Everyone else despises it with a passion. Nobody like the X2 either, it was so loaded with bloatware on a underpowered SoC and crappy screen, that it made me cringe when I played with it. An exfriend of mine bought one, against my advice, because she was up for an upgrade and her OG Droid was ancient. Last I heard, she constantly rants about it. Ironically, I wasn't the only person who told her not to buy it. Her tattoo artist had one and ranted about it during one of her sessions too.

That sad, Moto's recent offerings in the Razr and Razr HDs are pretty damn good. Google's influence definitely shows, and it will be interesting to see what the first Googorola devices are.

 

[lothar]

Seems like you might have an issue with chronic 'waiting for something better'. But, yeah, Moto had a long rough patch of garbage. Several people at work own Droid 3s, and the only person slightly satisfied is the one who rooted and rom'd it. Everyone else despises it with a passion. Nobody like the X2 either, it was so loaded with bloatware on a underpowered SoC and crappy screen, that it made me cringe when I played with it. An exfriend of mine bought one, against my advice, because she was up for an upgrade and her OG Droid was ancient. Last I heard, she constantly rants about it. Ironically, I wasn't the only person who told her not to buy it. Her tattoo artist had one and ranted about it during one of her sessions too.

That sad, Moto's recent offerings in the Razr and Razr HDs are pretty damn good. Google's influence definitely shows, and it will be interesting to see what the first Googorola devices are.

I knew something better would come along...Just didn't know when.
If Samsung didn't trade their Galaxy S II Verizon version for a Galaxy Nexus exclusive on Verizon, I likely would be rocking in a Verizon Galaxy S II with an unlimited plan assuming it released prior to 7/7.
I had no idea they would do that. I waited and waited and waited.

I'm glad I did wait though...If I didn't and got a PoS Android phone, I probably would have caulked it in the water and long gotten an iPhone. I also would be paying ~$80+/month including taxes and fees in rather than the $38/month that I pay now.
I can't imagine anyone holding an HTC Thunderbolt, LG Revolution, Droid X2, or Droid 3 for two contract years until June 2013. A Samsung Galaxy S II, Galaxy Nexus, or Droid Razr, sure I can manage those. Android back then was a hit or miss. I didn't expect Moto would drop support for the Atrix and not release ICS. I didn't expect LG would drop support for the G2X(this phone was being hyped all over XDA due to the stock Android experience) and not release ICS.

I'm not blaming Moto for this...If anything Verizon and all the other makers that are the problem. I wanted to remain on Verizon, signup for unlimited, and get an excellent phone that would last me for 2 years. The problem was from March to 7/7, Moto was practically the only choice.

 

[techie81]

Downloading the update now.

 

[Thegonagle]

The Thunderbolt was an acceptable purchase for maybe a month or so before the Charge came out (with bigger battery).

Where is the 4.0 update for the Charge? (Or the LG Revolution?)

The Thunderbolt, the Charge, and the Revolution were the three contenders at the time of my purchase. Those were the only three LTE phones available at the time.

Once I eliminated the LG due to poor reviews, it was between the Bolt and the Charge. My instinct was to go for the one with the most RAM, as I was likely to have it for at least 20 months and I thought it was likely to be the most futureproof. Plus, the Samsung looked and felt like a child's toy compared to the T-bolt--Just plain CHEAP!

Even though I did eventually spring for the $229 refurb'd Galaxy Nexus, that was more of a surprise "in light of Verizon's policy regarding upgrades and unlimited data, I'd be stupid NOT to buy this right now!" deal. If that deal hadn't come up, I'd still be using my Thunderbolt daily.

And now that the 4.0.x update is finally rolling out, I'm going back to the Thunderbolt temporarily, just for fun.

 

[Red Storm]

Well if anything at least this slightly upped the value of all Thunderbolts out there.

 

[Thegonagle]

... I can't imagine anyone holding an HTC Thunderbolt, LG Revolution, Droid X2, or Droid 3 for two contract years until June 2014.

You're off by a year. People who signed contracts for the Thunderbolt (or Revolution, or Charge) near launch are seeing them expire this year.

EDIT: Nevermind... Fixed.

 

[Bateluer]

Downloading the update now.

Any update for us? How's it run on ICS?

Where is the 4.0 update for the Charge? (Or the LG Revolution?)

No, Samsung stated that SGS1 class hardware didn't have the RAM/storage to run both TouchWiz and ICS, so ICS updates were scrapped. And there was much ranting.

The Revolution got bumped to Gingerbread, but its not going to get anything more. LG is far and away the worst for updating their devices.

 

[techie81]

Any update for us? How's it run on ICS?

So far so good. Took me quite a while to download the update and then it said the server could not be found and I had to re-download it. A few apps have been updated like gmail, facebook, and some other ones. Seems much snappier than before. I was getting a notification that my phone/sim was not activated but restarted it manually and it went away. I am liking it. I cannot report on the battery life yet but it looks the same to me.

 

[lothar]

You're off by a year. People who signed contracts for the Thunderbolt (or Revolution, or Charge) near launch are seeing them expire this year.

Fixed.
I meant to type 2013, not 2014.

 

[Thegonagle]

Any update for us? How's it run on ICS?

So far, so good. Early impression: It's a huge improvement, the UI is smooth and responsive, with no obvious, glaring problems yet. (We'll see as I re-download and sign into the facebook app--that's where this phone always puked and dropped the data connection in the past on 2.3.x.)

I'm typing this on my laptop as it's WiFi hotspotting off the Thunderbolt, and app updates are downloading simultaneously. I also just put my iPod touch on the hotspot and am now running a streaming radio station through that.

Still going...

UPDATE: The battery just finished charging (light turned green) while running all these updates and the hotspot, and it didn't overheat in the process. (Charge the battery, run the hotspot, and NOT overheat and start draining the battery instead? That's something this Thunderbolt can do that my Samsung Galaxy Nexus can't do. I've missed that. I've also missed the built-in kickstand. It's not poor quality hardware in the least--it just has too small a battery.)

No, Samsung stated that SGS1 class hardware didn't have the RAM/storage to run both TouchWiz and ICS, so ICS updates were scrapped. And there was much ranting.

The Revolution got bumped to Gingerbread, but its not going to get anything more. LG is far and away the worst for updating their devices.

I know... That was my point. The Thunderbolt WAS the correct choice in the long run, because as they say, better late than never. The Charge and Revolution were abandoned early on.

I chose right back in June 2011 based on the Thunderbolt having more memory. (I also preferred its higher quality feel and appearance.)

I'm going to try running the T-Bolt for the next week and see what happens.