Immolate
Member
So I'm in a situation where I have an upgrade available on my son's phone, and he is more than happy to let me use it if he can get my X to replace his beat-up Rogue. I'll have another opportunity to bribe others in June and July for their upgrades as well, so I'm not stuck with whatever decision I make today. I love my Droid X which is still in factory condition, nine months after I got it, rooted on Gingerbread, but the combination of getting a new toy overwhelms me.
Currently in the mix are the HTC Thunderbolt, Samsung Charge and the DInc2.
..............Thunderbolt......Charge.............DInc2
Processor.....Snapdragon 1Ghz..Hummingbird 1Ghz...Snapdragon 1GHz
Screen type...TFT..............Super AMOLED+......TFT
Screen size...4.3..............4.3................4.0
Screen res....480x800..........480x800............480x800
Battery.......1400mAh..........1600mAh............1450mAh
OS............2.2..............2.2................2.2
RAM...........768MB............512MB..............768MB
ROM...........---..............512MB..............---
Rear camera...8MP..............8MP................8MP
Flash.........Dual LED.........LED................Dual Xenon
Video.........720p.............720p...............720p
Front camera..1.3MP............1.3MP..............1.3MP
Network.......4G LTE...........4G LTE.............3G
Memory int....8GB..............2GB................???
Memory SD.....32GB (32GB Max)..?? (32GB Max)......16GB (32GB Max)
Dual mike.....Yes..............No.................???
HDMI out......No...............No.................No
Audio jack....3.5mm............3.5mm..............3.5mm
Weight........6.23oz...........???................4.77oz
World phone...No...............No.................Yes
Swype.........No...............Yes................No
GPS...........A-GPS............GPS................A-GPS
Hotspot.......8................10.................5
Price.........$209.............$300...............$200
The comparison: Processors seem comparable, though I understand that processors with similar clock speeds can yield different results--tie. Screen type is another matter. Super AMOLED+ is a definite selling feature for some people, especially those who appreciate vivid colors. I'm not a fan of over-saturation though so this isn't a decider for me. Screen size is a big deal however and in that regard, the DInc2 is the loser.
Battery is also a big deal, especially for 4+" screens and LTE. Thunderbolt sucks in that comparison, but there is a 1700mAh batter available for an affordable price that doesn't extend the Tbolt chassis, so it's a small issue, weighing more on price for me. Charge wins this one and DInc is probably right there with it.
OS is the same on all. The Charge has less RAM (512 vs. 768) than the others but has 512MB ROM. I have no idea how that works out from a practical standpoint so I'm calling it a tie.
The cameras are similar, though the flash on the Charge is single and the DInc2 is described by some sources as "Xenon". Not sure if that's important to photo fiends, but it's not really to me. They all have 720p video recording and 1.3MP front-facing cameras, so the camera question comes out a draw for me as well.
4G is > 3G, with greater speeds and talk/surf options available. It isn't everything to me but it's something. DInc2 looses this one.
Internal and external storage is questionable because I haven't found definitive information on what kind of SD comes with the charge or what kind of internal memory the DInc2 has. I think Tbolt wins however.
No dual microphone on Charge and not sure yet on DInc2. HDMI out looks like no on all and all have 3.5mm jacks. Noise cancellation is important to me, so the TBolt has a slight edge, although clarification may erase that when the others release.
Weight is not a problem for me, and I like the feel of a heavy phone (Droid X owner), so the positively portly TBolt is attractive to me in that regard. YMMV.
DInc2 is the only world phone and if that's important to you, it's probably very important. If you aren't a world traveler, it probably isn't a big deal to you and I'm not.
Swype is important to me, and Charge is the only one that has it, to the extent I have read. I'm not sure of the practical benefits of A-GPS over plain GPS. The difference between 5 hotspot channels and 10 is small to me. But overall the Charge wins those three items.
Finally price. $300 for the Charge? Really? I'm not that price sensitive but I don't like being ripped off. What's driving the price? Is it the AMOLED screen?
On the intangible front, HTC has the best reputation for both updates and UI with Sense. Samsung has the worst reputation for both. This is why we hack I guess.
More importantly is quality. I've owned Samsungs in the past. They feel cheap. My wife has a Fascinate. It feels cheap. I love my solid, massive Motorola's, but I've never owned an HTC so I can't speak to them from personal experience. I've read plenty though, and people seem to have a high opinion of HTC quality. I have to say that HTC wins that consideration hands down.
Internalizing all of this information, I find that the TBolt comes out on top by a good margin for me. I like the big screen, the LTE, dual microphones, heavy weight and fat memory. If I had to live with the phone for 18 months, I would probably just wait a couple of months for some dual-core LTE devices, but since I can do both, I think I'll move on the HTC Thunderbolt.
Currently in the mix are the HTC Thunderbolt, Samsung Charge and the DInc2.
..............Thunderbolt......Charge.............DInc2
Processor.....Snapdragon 1Ghz..Hummingbird 1Ghz...Snapdragon 1GHz
Screen type...TFT..............Super AMOLED+......TFT
Screen size...4.3..............4.3................4.0
Screen res....480x800..........480x800............480x800
Battery.......1400mAh..........1600mAh............1450mAh
OS............2.2..............2.2................2.2
RAM...........768MB............512MB..............768MB
ROM...........---..............512MB..............---
Rear camera...8MP..............8MP................8MP
Flash.........Dual LED.........LED................Dual Xenon
Video.........720p.............720p...............720p
Front camera..1.3MP............1.3MP..............1.3MP
Network.......4G LTE...........4G LTE.............3G
Memory int....8GB..............2GB................???
Memory SD.....32GB (32GB Max)..?? (32GB Max)......16GB (32GB Max)
Dual mike.....Yes..............No.................???
HDMI out......No...............No.................No
Audio jack....3.5mm............3.5mm..............3.5mm
Weight........6.23oz...........???................4.77oz
World phone...No...............No.................Yes
Swype.........No...............Yes................No
GPS...........A-GPS............GPS................A-GPS
Hotspot.......8................10.................5
Price.........$209.............$300...............$200
The comparison: Processors seem comparable, though I understand that processors with similar clock speeds can yield different results--tie. Screen type is another matter. Super AMOLED+ is a definite selling feature for some people, especially those who appreciate vivid colors. I'm not a fan of over-saturation though so this isn't a decider for me. Screen size is a big deal however and in that regard, the DInc2 is the loser.
Battery is also a big deal, especially for 4+" screens and LTE. Thunderbolt sucks in that comparison, but there is a 1700mAh batter available for an affordable price that doesn't extend the Tbolt chassis, so it's a small issue, weighing more on price for me. Charge wins this one and DInc is probably right there with it.
OS is the same on all. The Charge has less RAM (512 vs. 768) than the others but has 512MB ROM. I have no idea how that works out from a practical standpoint so I'm calling it a tie.
The cameras are similar, though the flash on the Charge is single and the DInc2 is described by some sources as "Xenon". Not sure if that's important to photo fiends, but it's not really to me. They all have 720p video recording and 1.3MP front-facing cameras, so the camera question comes out a draw for me as well.
4G is > 3G, with greater speeds and talk/surf options available. It isn't everything to me but it's something. DInc2 looses this one.
Internal and external storage is questionable because I haven't found definitive information on what kind of SD comes with the charge or what kind of internal memory the DInc2 has. I think Tbolt wins however.
No dual microphone on Charge and not sure yet on DInc2. HDMI out looks like no on all and all have 3.5mm jacks. Noise cancellation is important to me, so the TBolt has a slight edge, although clarification may erase that when the others release.
Weight is not a problem for me, and I like the feel of a heavy phone (Droid X owner), so the positively portly TBolt is attractive to me in that regard. YMMV.
DInc2 is the only world phone and if that's important to you, it's probably very important. If you aren't a world traveler, it probably isn't a big deal to you and I'm not.
Swype is important to me, and Charge is the only one that has it, to the extent I have read. I'm not sure of the practical benefits of A-GPS over plain GPS. The difference between 5 hotspot channels and 10 is small to me. But overall the Charge wins those three items.
Finally price. $300 for the Charge? Really? I'm not that price sensitive but I don't like being ripped off. What's driving the price? Is it the AMOLED screen?
On the intangible front, HTC has the best reputation for both updates and UI with Sense. Samsung has the worst reputation for both. This is why we hack I guess.
More importantly is quality. I've owned Samsungs in the past. They feel cheap. My wife has a Fascinate. It feels cheap. I love my solid, massive Motorola's, but I've never owned an HTC so I can't speak to them from personal experience. I've read plenty though, and people seem to have a high opinion of HTC quality. I have to say that HTC wins that consideration hands down.
Internalizing all of this information, I find that the TBolt comes out on top by a good margin for me. I like the big screen, the LTE, dual microphones, heavy weight and fat memory. If I had to live with the phone for 18 months, I would probably just wait a couple of months for some dual-core LTE devices, but since I can do both, I think I'll move on the HTC Thunderbolt.
