First Smartphone: Droid X or HTC Thunderbolt

[WorldOfJohnboy]

Interesting experience. Someone else said the Droid X had poor battery life at first too. I assume your pre-production model Droid X had these battery issues too. Did you compare this with the Droid X after the fix/patch for the battery issues were applied?

If what you're saying is true, this is definitely reassuring news for the Thunderbolt's battery performance.

I don't remember what the Droid X was back in July of 2010, but I do know that my DX that I was using 3 weeks ago lasted the same as my Thunderbolt currently lasts. I usually get one of those wall battery chargers and purchase a standard spare battery, and will do the same with this phone.

 

[techguru]

I have had an X and I just got the TB. Your impressions were dead on. TB is faster, even on 3G than the X, the screen is sharper and richer, it is more comfortable in the hand due to the curved back, and the battery life is worse, although I would not say significantly so. i had to have chargers at home, work, and car to get through a day with the X, and same with the TB on standard battery.


Extended battery does make for a bulky phone, which unfortunately won't fit in the car dock or any of the holsters currently available at the VZ store (although maybe one of the after market ones will work). I found a pouch type holster that works well for it, but I got through a full day today with moderate use and still had 54% at the end of the day. The other option would be to get a spare standard to carry with you and when they become available get the multi-media dock which can charge the phone and the spare overnight.

Seidio has a slim extended that gets you a little extended life but fits in the standard case, so it may also be a good option if you will be carrying a spare. That is what I did with my incredible, and it worked out well.

Alan

 

[dominick_7]

I have both the Thunderbolt and Droid X and will likely be returning my Thunderbolt. Apart from the fact that I've had no 4G in a 4G area, and after one day of having 1x mostly to 3g, now no phone service what so ever because the tower provisioning is messed up and they expect me to be without a phone for up to 72 hours, Id say that the Droid X is superior in several ways.

For one thing the screen looks better, not as vivid as the TB, but it's more accurate. Skin tones look fantastic on the DX, where as on the TB people have a reddish/yellowish Jersey Shore look to them. One reason why pictures look better to view on the DX. Audio and video sound and look much better on the DX. Not only because of the coloration problem of the TB, but also because the blacks are blacker on the DX, it looks sharper, and the lengthly 4.2 inch screen of the DX makes it feel like much more like a wide screen open viewing smaller tv. The DXs screen don't make my eyes feel strain, and actually feels good to my eyes to look at it, where as the TB, not so much. I feel eye strain, and while I like the width of the 4.3 inch screen for texting, it makes video playback look cramped compared to the DX. As far as sound, there is more system wide bass, a deeper richer and punchier sound to the DX over the TB. The Thunderbolt is more so better with mids and highs, but kinda sucks with bass. If you want bass you can only get it within apps like Music, or by getting PowerAmp, but it doesn't apply to the system as a whole.

Now maybe if I had 4G, which was one of the main reasons I wanted the phone, that might off set SOME of these issues, and maybe if I had say an Archos 5 IT or 48 for media, I wouldn't care so much for the lack in video and audio.. but I use Pandora via wifi and data, and want to do so on my smartphone, so since the bass doesn't really come through this is a big knock...besides not having 4G and not having phone, or even data service at all, which one would assume will get fixed soon enough.. hopefully. BTW you can plug headphones into the Droid X and use the mic to talk on the phone. I don't think you can do this with the TB. Also it seems call quality is better on the Droid X, as I can stand 7 feet away from the phone, without speakerphone and people hear me with no problems. If you can do this on the Thunderbolt, great, but when I had poor signal it didn't work this way. That may be because of the tower provisioning partially, but I doubt it. Id agree with Jonboy on the battery life. I'd get around the same with the Droid X as on the Thunderbolt, though maybe a little less with the TB. I usually get an extended battery so I don't care about this.

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

I've always said that much of the pros/cons are specific to each person. Though I disagree with Dominick's opinions on the Thunderbolt and the Droid X, it's what he thinks that matters.

 

[kparks]

I've had both phones longer than anyone else on the planet (had pre-production models of both phones). The Thunderbolt is easily the better device in all aspects, and at worst, is equal to the DX--including battery. (Keep in mind that the Droid X is a 4" screened 3G device, and I have the TBolt on 3G, so that is an apples-to-apples comparison.)

I don't know why people are complaining of poor battery life on the TBolt. I have the same programs installed, same Account syncs, and same display settings and I get equal if not better battery with my Thunderbolt. (I think it's another knock against MotoBlur vs. HTC Sense, but I'm no expert.)

Interesting experience. Someone else said the Droid X had poor battery life at first too. I assume your pre-production model Droid X had these battery issues too. Did you compare this with the Droid X after the fix/patch for the battery issues were applied?

If what you're saying is true, this is definitely reassuring news for the Thunderbolt's battery performance.

if you have 4g then TB no contest i have seen and played and used both and 4g does drain the battery a lil faster but heavy use on any device will do the same if your on it non stop.... then prolly just invest in a spare battery if u need it and keep on rolling.. GO TB BRO

 

[dominick_7]

I've always said that much of the pros/cons are specific to each person. Though I disagree with Dominick's opinions on the Thunderbolt and the Droid X, it's what he thinks that matters.

True, but what would you think if you had no 4G from the get go, no phone service for up to or more than 3 days as they tell you their working on it and if you change anything in the trouble ticket they'll throw it out and stop working on it? Not counting that, while HTC Sense is nice in many regards, you don't think the Droid Xs video and audio looks and sounds better than the Thunderbolts? If you use a separate PMP then I can see if you didn't care about it, but still, as an objective point what do you think?

 

[dfuser312553]

Get the TB & turn off 4G

 

[techguru]

I've always said that much of the pros/cons are specific to each person. Though I disagree with Dominick's opinions on the Thunderbolt and the Droid X, it's what he thinks that matters.

True, but what would you think if you had no 4G from the get go, no phone service for up to or more than 3 days as they tell you their working on it and if you change anything in the trouble ticket they'll throw it out and stop working on it? Not counting that, while HTC Sense is nice in many regards, you don't think the Droid Xs video and audio looks and sounds better than the Thunderbolts? If you use a separate PMP then I can see if you didn't care about it, but still, as an objective point what do you think?

The provisioning issue would bother me, but since I already have a smartphone, I would switch back to give them a few days to work it out. BUT!! I am a typical early adopter and willing to live with some pain to get to play with the newest toys. If it was my first smartphone and they couldn't provision it, yeah, I would be pretty ticked off. I should disclose that I am a member of a Verizon sponsored market research group and get many of my devices for free, so I have used many of them at length, but don't have to worry much about the expense of that, so yes, I am more inclined to cut VZW some slack on a short term network issue than most.

I do not agree with your assessment of the video or audio. I find the TB better on both counts, and much better on audio as a phone. The noise cancelling microphone is superb. In my experience in the research group, I have gathered pretty good empirical data that VZW has about a 5% out of box failure rate on devices across all manufacturers, so it is certainly possible that you got one with a bum screen or worse.


I am very pleased with the Tbolt. The problems is has (Battery life in particular) were expected by me, and I made the decision on the first day that I would need the extended battery for any day I was going to be traveling and not near home, car, or office where I can plug in as needed. I could not make it through an entire day on the DX without topping off somewhere either, but it did last a little longer (maybe 10-15%) under similar use conditions.

Alan

 

[alboboy10]

Get the TB & turn off 4G

There's a switch for that?

Just got the TB today, and it's amazing...first day battery IS draining quick. But cars waste more gas when you first buy them as well. Takes a car a few complete drains in gas tank before they perform the way they should

I'll assume the same thing for phones.

 

[mkjellgren]

Get the TB & turn off 4G

There's a switch for that?

Just got the TB today, and it's amazing...first day battery IS draining quick. But cars waste more gas when you first buy them as well. Takes a car a few complete drains in gas tank before they perform the way they should

I'll assume the same thing for phones.

Actually, there's an app for that... ;-)

The app is called phone info. It basically brings up the testing menu from which you can get to the phone information menu (the same one you get to if you dial *#*#4363#*#*) where you can change your network connectivity. Change it to "cdma auto (prl)" for 3g only.

Sent from my ADR6400L

 

[dominick_7]

I've always said that much of the pros/cons are specific to each person. Though I disagree with Dominick's opinions on the Thunderbolt and the Droid X, it's what he thinks that matters.

True, but what would you think if you had no 4G from the get go, no phone service for up to or more than 3 days as they tell you their working on it and if you change anything in the trouble ticket they'll throw it out and stop working on it? Not counting that, while HTC Sense is nice in many regards, you don't think the Droid Xs video and audio looks and sounds better than the Thunderbolts? If you use a separate PMP then I can see if you didn't care about it, but still, as an objective point what do you think?

The provisioning issue would bother me, but since I already have a smartphone, I would switch back to give them a few days to work it out. BUT!! I am a typical early adopter and willing to live with some pain to get to play with the newest toys. If it was my first smartphone and they couldn't provision it, yeah, I would be pretty ticked off. I should disclose that I am a member of a Verizon sponsored market research group and get many of my devices for free, so I have used many of them at length, but don't have to worry much about the expense of that, so yes, I am more inclined to cut VZW some slack on a short term network issue than most.

I do not agree with your assessment of the video or audio. I find the TB better on both counts, and much better on audio as a phone. The noise cancelling microphone is superb. In my experience in the research group, I have gathered pretty good empirical data that VZW has about a 5% out of box failure rate on devices across all manufacturers, so it is certainly possible that you got one with a bum screen or worse.


I am very pleased with the Tbolt. The problems is has (Battery life in particular) were expected by me, and I made the decision on the first day that I would need the extended battery for any day I was going to be traveling and not near home, car, or office where I can plug in as needed. I could not make it through an entire day on the DX without topping off somewhere either, but it did last a little longer (maybe 10-15%) under similar use conditions.

Alan

Yea paying for it and having issues would make a big difference. If I got it for free, I wouldn't care. I'd do as you said, just activate the other one till they fixed it. So when doing a side by side with the Droid X you also don't find skin tones on the TB to be reddish yellowish a bit, not as sharp as the Droid X, and the blacks to be blacker on the TB over the DX? The screen doesn't look like it's having problems, dead or stuck pixels, or anything irregular, other than the uneven lighting on the touch buttons. You also don't find the length of the screen on the DX is better for viewing video than on the TB? 5% sounds right, and maybe mine is messed up, not just related to provisioning, but I'm not sure. My main thing, provided I can get the phone and 4G issues straightened out, are the sound/video issues.. also a qHD screen, 1080p video, HDMI out, DDR ram, and Tegra2 on the Droid Bionic is starting to look really nice... It also has a larger battery, though the daily battery life may be similar to any other device considering it has dual core and updated specs. Though I'd miss the kickstand and the nice width of the screen on the TB.. it's also pretty smooth and fast..Bah.

 

[meekless]

i had a G1 Motorola Droid and upgraded to the Thunderbolt
i do miss the ease of rooting and changing ROMS, but i think with time it will be just as easy on the Thunderbolt.

i have only had the phone for a day but i LOVE it
everything about it is bad ass, except for the bloatware of course

today i didnt have any problems with the battery, made it through a full day and still 50%

the way i see it, is even though i dont have 4G in my area yet, is i have now locked in 2 years of unlimited data, which will keep me from being affected by the rumored tiered pricing this summer. also , those who buy the Thunderbolt get FREE wifi hotspot for some length of time (i havent found anything about how long we will have it though)

good luck with your choice, the best thing is....between the Droid X and Thunderbolt....you wont be making a bad choice

they are both incredible smartphones

 

[alboboy10]

Get the TB & turn off 4G

There's a switch for that?

Just got the TB today, and it's amazing...first day battery IS draining quick. But cars waste more gas when you first buy them as well. Takes a car a few complete drains in gas tank before they perform the way they should

I'll assume the same thing for phones.

Actually, there's an app for that... ;-)

The app is called phone info. It basically brings up the testing menu from which you can get to the phone information menu (the same one you get to if you dial *#*#4363#*#*) where you can change your network connectivity. Change it to "cdma auto (prl)" for 3g only.

Sent from my ADR6400L

Cool, thank you.

First day of use, I've been using it slightly, a bit of browsing, about 30 texts and in one hour it wasted 14% which is unusual if it was my dx. This does have a smaller battery though and a stronger processor, so it's expected. Can't wait for the monster battery. So uglyyyy but I'm sure it'll help. This phone is worth making a little uglier with a huge battery. It's really smooth with everything.

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

True, but what would you think if you had no 4G from the get go, no phone service for up to or more than 3 days as they tell you their working on it and if you change anything in the trouble ticket they'll throw it out and stop working on it? Not counting that, while HTC Sense is nice in many regards, you don't think the Droid Xs video and audio looks and sounds better than the Thunderbolts? If you use a separate PMP then I can see if you didn't care about it, but still, as an objective point what do you think?

I absolutely HATE the AMOLED screens. They look very orange and red heavy, oversaturated in all accounts.

That said, my Thunderbolt's display is a big reason why I went to it from my Droid X. The DX is not as crisp, not as sharp, and definately not as smooth. It is just very dull compared to the Super LCD of the TBolt.

4G aside (since I don't have it in my city yet), the Thunderbolt IMHO blows away any other phone out there in performance, display, and features on the VZW network. Keep in mind that I regularly test all Smartphones (Blackberries, iPhones, Android, Windows Mobile, etc.) so I have a great idea on what is out there currently.

 

[dominick_7]

I

True, but what would you think if you had no 4G from the get go, no phone service for up to or more than 3 days as they tell you their working on it and if you change anything in the trouble ticket they'll throw it out and stop working on it? Not counting that, while HTC Sense is nice in many regards, you don't think the Droid Xs video and audio looks and sounds better than the Thunderbolts? If you use a separate PMP then I can see if you didn't care about it, but still, as an objective point what do you think?

I absolutely HATE the AMOLED screens. They look very orange and red heavy, oversaturated in all accounts.

That said, my Thunderbolt's display is a big reason why I went to it from my Droid X. The DX is not as crisp, not as sharp, and definately not as smooth. It is just very dull compared to the Super LCD of the TBolt.

4G aside (since I don't have it in my city yet), the Thunderbolt IMHO blows away any other phone out there in performance, display, and features on the VZW network. Keep in mind that I regularly test all Smartphones (Blackberries, iPhones, Android, Windows Mobile, etc.) so I have a great idea on what is out there currently.

Like you I also hate omleds, and leds all together, and I'd say the TBs super lcd isn't at all as bad, but I think I just now realized why I think what I said is true.. because the DX Is longer and set up for hd widescreen video where the TB Is not, it fits more info in the screen, the images are a appear a bit smaller but theres more info that is more condensed to fit into the screen where as its cut off in the TB. Also because the whites are whiter on the dx this and there's more info allows it to have better color accuracy, darker darks within the video itself, and a sharper picture. If you make a painting or illustration Its always good to make it bigger so that when you make prints if you shrink it it'll look better and sharper. Not exactly the same thing but its similar I think. While the wallpaper and UI in the tb may have darker darks, I don't think it does in video which is where the dx I think beats it. I've been an artist my whole life and musician, just to let you know where I'm coming from on these two points.. but after having a sharp disagreement with a Verizon manager at one of the local stores here a while back where i pointrd out dead and stuck pixels in a previous device and she told me she saw nothing wrong so that she didnt have to provide a replacement, i dont think i want to have that discussion with any rep in the. tri state north east area because frankly they usually are horrible and try not to help you. It MAY just be my thunderbolt but I suspect it may not be. I very much WANT to like this phone but other than speed wise and screen width for texting everything via my bad experiences has been a downgrade so far.. they have till today to fix the 4G, voice, and data..maybe ill at least be able to try 4G out at some point being the main reason i got it and the updated CPU and RAM.. ill miss the kickstand if I send it back to wait for another device..