Our Verdict
TheHTC ThunderBolt , which went on sales agreement March 17 , is the first earpiece available in the United States that can connect to Verizon ’s lightning - fast 4 G LTE web . That fact alone makes the ThunderBolt ( $ 250 with a new two - yr contract ) a considerable piece of hardware , especially for user who routinely run gamy - bandwidth apps such as video chat , on-line play , and gamy - definition TV streaming . web upper aside , I found the phone itself to be another solid add-on to HTC ’s mostly telling house of smartphones , albeit one with a few shortcomings .
Handsome design
The ThunderBolt definitely feels well built and sturdy in the hand . However , for someone coming from a smaller telephone , the 5.78 - ounce ThunderBolt , with its 4.8 - by-2.6 - by-0.52 - inch frame , can feel like a fiend in comparing .
But the phone take in good use of its size . The ThunderBolt ’s 4.3 - in WVGA blind give you rich elbow room to maneuver your fingerbreadth while touch - typing and navigating Websites when you ’re on the go . My one ailment about the screen is that it is unmanageable to see alfresco under direct sun .
The phone ’s design is quite simple , offering a mogul button and a headphone jack up top , a volume cradle on the right vertebral column , and the standard Home , Menu , Back , and hunt buttons on the font of the gadget . On the back are an 8 - megapixel camera ( with a dual - LED flashing ) and a kickstand , much as we understand on the HTC EVO 4G. You ’ll also find oneself a 1.3 - megapixel camera on the front of the twist for video recording chatting .
Lightning-fast broadband speeds
The ThunderBolt ’s main attractor is itsbroadband speeds , which in my run were just arresting . Using the Ookla FCC Mobile Broadband Test , I see reproducible download speeds of between 8 megabits per second and 12 mbps . With full bars and in an sphere that supports Verizon ’s 4 G LTE web , I cope to load up thePCWorldmobile site in about 4 seconds . ikon - heavy internet site such as Escapistmagazine.com load in under 10 seconds .
The ThunderBolt can share its 4 yard connection with eight gadget via itsmobile hotspot function(though the service can be extra calculate on your plan ) . To test the limits of the 4 thousand connection , I do up such a hotspot and relate an iPod tactile sensation and another smartphone with it . I was able to stream bouncy TV to the iPod touch , as well as to download apps and look on gamey - quality YouTube videos on the headphone , while at the same time graze the Web and downloading apps on the ThunderBolt . All of these tasks ran apace and swimmingly over Verizon ’s LTE service , and I incur the feeling that I could have connected a few more gadget to the hotspot with piffling performance passing .
Call timbre on the ThunderBolt was not crystal clear , but it was tight . The people I telephone said they could find out venial twist noise from my terminal , but no other interference .
HTC Sense gets a face-lift
The ThunderBolt comes preloaded with a new and improved version of Sense UI , HTC ’s custom software that overlay the Android OS . Although most of the Sense UI improvements seem merely cosmetic , HTC has throw in a few nifty new features as well .
For case , drag down the telling bar at the top of the screen now reveals a listing of previously open apps . This extremely useful function may have been inhale by a similar lineament in Apple ’s iOS .
turn on the fast - boot selection will allow you to start the phone almost immediately , though you will have to change by reversal the routine off to habituate certainAndroid Marketapps .
The ‘ + ’ picture on the correct side of the dock ( at the bottom of the base screen ) has been exchange with a thicket and pallet . Tapping it add you to the personalization menu , where you could set the wallpaper , add item to the home projection screen , and change the good setting . you could also change the skin of the Sense UI to one of the five available alternative .
Android add-ons
Unfortunately the ThunderBolt also follow load with too much unwanted software . Along with the Blockbuster app we saw on the Motorola Droid X , Verizon has loaded the ThunderBolt with a demonstration of permit ’s Golf 2 and videos advertizement Bitbop , Rhapsody , and Rock Band for Android . The usual Verizon entourage of apps ( Navigator , Slacker , V Cast Media , and the V Cast App Store ) also make an show . And guess what ? You ca n’t remove these apps . This is not a major negative , but the extra apps do clutter up up your app drawer , making it hard to quickly locate the app you want .
Cameras are a mixed bag
The ThunderBolt boast two tv camera : a 1.3 - megapixel photographic camera on the front and an 8 - megapixel one on the buttocks . mental picture that I took with the 8 - megapixel camera came out well . The picture , seen on the right hand , were surprisingly crisp . Even when I soar up in , the resolution was reasonably good . Colors look robust and true to the subject of my photos . Pictures read in extremely lowly Christ Within were clear and loose to see , thanks in part to the three-fold - lead flash . The HTC EVO 4 G also has an 8 - megapixel camera on the back , but the ThunderBolt ’s camera is clearly superior .
The ThunderBolt ’s front - facing 1.3 - megapixel camera is another story ; picture that I took with it do out colored and a little murky . The front - facing camera is mean for picture - chatting service , but I could n’t notice such an app that would work on the phone . Skype for Android does not yet support video recording chat , and Fring does n’t recognize the camera at all . Qikcould be another option , but it does not yet provide a video - calling app for the ThunderBolt . Although it ’s squeamish to see more Android telephone set with front - facing cameras , without any package to apply them they ’re not much unspoilt .
The video I shot with the earphone was jolly clear , but certainly not as light as the still images I captured . When I shot a moving image , the video seemed a bite hazy ; only when I held the photographic camera still in front of an physical object did the sharpness of the video improve . A more serious problem relates to the audio : In telecasting mode the phone records fathom at such a low level that you have to turn the volume all the manner up to hear it on playback , and even then you may hear only the loudest sounds .
Plays nice with other devices
A DLNA ( Digital Living connection Alliance)-certified machine , the ThunderBolt can swarm photos , music , and video to and from DLNA - supporting machine on your home plate wireless meshing . For example , you’re able to stream video to your DLNA - certified goggle box for playback . The music player can also stream from any media servers you have on your internet .
If you care to take heed to your music on the go ( as most citizenry do ) , you ’ll be quite happy to learn that the ThunderBolt ships with a 32 GB MicroSD poster on board so you’re able to stock several thousand songs or movies with you .
Bottom line
The HTC ThunderBolt looks , feels , and handle like a solid piece of music of hardware . Although its specs are n’t anything we have n’t already seen in the Droid X or the Droid 2 , the ThunderBolt ’s power to employ the unprecedented speed of Verizon ’s LTE connection makes it a special phone indeed . Users who care to run eminent - bandwidth apps on the road — as in streaming high - def video or playing on-line game — will find no fast phone on the market correctly now .
[ Armando Rodriguez is an editorial help at PCWorld . ]
