Verizon customers are getting a new Android-based smart phone: the HTC Thunderbolt.
The Thunderbolt is one of the four 4G-enabled smart phones that Verizon showed to consumers at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Jan. 6. CES. The phone works on the Android 2.2 operating system and HTC’s Sense. It also has the convenience of built-in Skype video calling.
Pictures of the HTC Thunderbolt leaked out prior to the New Year, but that didn’t seem to bother Verizon or HTC as they unveiled the phone at the CES. The two companies happily showed off this newest addition to the smart phone market. The HTC Thunderbolt will only be offered through Verizon’s 4G LTE network.
The Thunderbolt features include a 4.3-inch WVGA display and the Android 2.2 operating system along with HTC’s Sense 2.0 Interface and a new feature called Fast Boot.
The phone is one of the first to pre-install the Skype video calling program, which is so integrated into the HTC Thunderbolt that it is as simple to make a video call as it is to make a regular call.
A front facing camera is included, making a Skype call even more convenient. It also has a back backing 8 megapixel camera, as well as Presence icons to let people know when their friends are online to chat and it’s built right into your Contacts list.
Users will be able to record high definition video with the phone’s bigger camera and since it uses wireless Digital Living Network Alliance, they will be able to stream video to other DLNA devices like HDTVs or stereos.
Other features of the new smart phone include a 32GB microSD card, a kickstand to give users a better movie watching experience, Dolby and SRS surround sound, a way to set up a hotspot that can be used by up to eight devices, and the ability to use the 4G network. Verizon brags that the 4G network is 10 times quicker than their 3G network.
Verizon’s 4G LTE network came online on Dec. 5, and is available in 38 cities and 60 airports with plans to expand over the next three years. Other places that can expect service soon include Little Rock, Ark.; Pensacola, Fla.; Honolulu, Hawaii; Baton Rouge, La.; Detroit; State College, Penn.; and Hilton Head, S.C.
The Thunderbolt joins 10 other 4G capable devices that Verizon debuted at the CES, including the LG Revolution, the Droid Bionic 4G, the Samsung 4G LTE smart phone, the Motorola Zoom and a 4G LTE-capable Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet.
I wish HTC would release Android phones without Sense. I like the stock android UI better. Sense is just not as good. Surely they would be able to release updates for Android faster if they didn’t have to take time to replace the UI and a bunch of system apps with their uglier home-grown versions.
Would this phone have Gingerbread (2.3) rather than Froyo if HTC wasn’t sinking time into Sense?