On Thursday, Verizon users who have wanted a phone that worked on a faster 4G LTE network won’t have to wait any longer, as the HTC Thunderbolt smart phone will be released. This is the first 4G LTE phone in the Verizon inventory.
The HTC ThunderBolt is going to be sold for $250 if users sign up for a two year contract. It can be purchased both online and in stores. The phone works with Android 2.2 operating system, which has the most current version of the HTC Sense experience, which has new personalization features, a consolidated e-mail inbox, and camera effects and filters. As with all of the Android phones, it comes with Gmail, YouTube and Android Market pre-installed.
Verizon launched the 4G LTE network in the beginning of December, and it is now offered in 39 major metro areas, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and in smaller areas like West Lafayette, Ind. and Rochester, N.Y. It can also be found in more than 60 airports, and by the middle of 2012, it is expected to be in about two-thirds of the U.S., and by 2013, all over the U.S.
Where users will more than likely see speed increases in 4G LTE is with the new applications that have been optimized to work with it like EA’s Rock Band, Gameloft’s Let’s Golf, Tunewiki and Bitbop. Verizon says users can anticipate download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps where the 4G Mobile Broadband coverage is available. Speed is also thought to be a factor with the most current generation of the 1GHz Snapdragon processor.
The phone can act as its own mobile hotspot and then share its 4G connection with up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Until May 15, this will be free, but after that the cost will be $20 for 2 GB of data per month.
Some of the phone’s specifications are a 4.3 inch WVGA display screen, an 8- megapixel rear facing camera and HD (720p) video recording and a 1.3- megapixel front facing camera for video chatting, as well as 8 GB of onboard memory and a pre-installed 32 GB microSD card and a built-in kickstand
Data plans are expected to start at $39.99 for monthly access and an unlimited 4G LTE data plan will be $29.99 for monthly access.
i need thiz fone bad!!! I cant wait till thursday to get 4g on verizon.
The HTC Thunderbolt will be a huge phone for Verizon since it is their first 4G phone. This phone will test Verizon’s 4G network to see if it is really as good as they claim.