YEAH baby! My Demo will be here today!

[WorldOfJohnboy]

(snip)If you had to choose which feature of the TB that sets in apart in your own opinion, and what you personally like best about this device, what would it be?(snip)

From a physical standpoint, the kickstand is my favorite feature to this point. Secondly, the processor/memory make this phone really smooth and FAST!

From a software standpoint, (since Skype video is not yet functioning, nor is htcsense.com, and since I haven't tried LTE), I guess I really like the way the phone ties together all my email accounts, social networking accounts and keeps me updated on everything. My Droid X tries to do this all well, but there are a lot of flaws with their software (Exchange email used to have issues, the Social Networking app doesn't update photos of your contacts/friends, etc.).

 

[tgyberg]

Yes, big thanks! I hope you trained for a marathon and not a sprint!

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

They have 90* USB cables, but it would still interfere way too much.

I ordered a right-angled Micro USB cable in hopes to test it out to see if that will resolved the issue with the Kickstand use while charging. They are supposed to arrive on the 8th, so I will report back after testing. (Still, it is frustrating that they did not think about this in design plans.)

 

[shortsxit]

They have 90* USB cables, but it would still interfere way too much.

I ordered a right-angled Micro USB cable in hopes to test it out to see if that will resolved the issue with the Kickstand use while charging. They are supposed to arrive on the 8th, so I will report back after testing. (Still, it is frustrating that they did not think about this in design plans.)

Yeah, I don't understand why the charging port wasn't put at the top. It seems like an obvious design flaw.

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

Yeah, I don't understand why the charging port wasn't put at the top. It seems like an obvious design flaw.

The only thing I can think of is that they put it there for a Car and/or Home Docking station like the Droid X. The software Docks on the DX are activated by a magnet in the bases.

Even if that were the case, I would have put the USB cable on the right side (the top of the phone when the kickstand is used in landscape mode). That way, you can use the kickstand and charge at the same time, then if you want to dock the phone, you would simply flip the phone 180 degrees and use it in landscape mode on the opposite side.

 

[guitarchris123]

The port placement is encouraging in that a car and desk dock will be available. If those were not forthcoming, the placement would make no sense, it would have been the bottom or other side.

As for DLNA, if you do not have devices with that functionality then you can get a separate attachment called HTC Media Link. However, I think it will be over $100 when it finally goes on sale. There are some videos of it online.

Johnboy, I have heard that you have to have the sim card inserted to use this device as a phone. Can you take it out and still make phone calls over 3G?

 

[shortsxit]

Yeah, I don't understand why the charging port wasn't put at the top. It seems like an obvious design flaw.

The only thing I can think of is that they put it there for a Car and/or Home Docking station like the Droid X. The software Docks on the DX are activated by a magnet in the bases.

Even if that were the case, I would have put the USB cable on the right side (the top of the phone when the kickstand is used in landscape mode). That way, you can use the kickstand and charge at the same time, then if you want to dock the phone, you would simply flip the phone 180 degrees and use it in landscape mode on the opposite side.

Exactly. You could have easily had the charging port in place for a docking station while still keeping it out of the way of the kickstand.

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

The port placement is encouraging in that a car and desk dock will be available. If those were not forthcoming, the placement would make no sense, it would have been the bottom or other side.

As for DLNA, if you do not have devices with that functionality then you can get a separate attachment called HTC Media Link. However, I think it will be over $100 when it finally goes on sale. There are some videos of it online.

Johnboy, I have heard that you have to have the sim card inserted to use this device as a phone. Can you take it out and still make phone calls over 3G?

I agree with the port placement being encouraging, but even still, I think they should have moved it to the opposite side and still had a dock.

I have a PS3 that should have DLNA, I may give it a whirl to see if it can easily be set up. The TBolt's DLNA sharing seems simple enough to use.

I confirmed that the SIM card is required for phone use on both 3G and LTE use. The cool thing is that if you ever have to change phones in the future (either permanently or just as a temporary swap), your phone number stays on the SIM card so you no longer need to go through Verizon to swap devices. This is one feature that I did like about the AT&T service, so it is nice to see VZW go with it.

Also, in case you weren't aware, you can do simultaneous Voice & Data on the 3G network with the TBolt.

 

[imdaShiy]

The port placement is encouraging in that a car and desk dock will be available. If those were not forthcoming, the placement would make no sense, it would have been the bottom or other side.

As for DLNA, if you do not have devices with that functionality then you can get a separate attachment called HTC Media Link. However, I think it will be over $100 when it finally goes on sale. There are some videos of it online.

Johnboy, I have heard that you have to have the sim card inserted to use this device as a phone. Can you take it out and still make phone calls over 3G?

I agree with the port placement being encouraging, but even still, I think they should have moved it to the opposite side and still had a dock.

I have a PS3 that should have DLNA, I may give it a whirl to see if it can easily be set up. The TBolt's DLNA sharing seems simple enough to use.

I confirmed that the SIM card is required for phone use on both 3G and LTE use. The cool thing is that if you ever have to change phones in the future (either permanently or just as a temporary swap), your phone number stays on the SIM card so you no longer need to go through Verizon to swap devices. This is one feature that I did like about the AT&T service, so it is nice to see VZW go with it.

Also, in case you weren't aware, you can do simultaneous Voice & Data on the 3G network with the TBolt.

Hi Johnboy, if it's not too much to ask, can you try testing out whether the data speed is slower when simultaneously on a voice call versus when you're not on a call? I'm not sure something like speedtest.net will work on the mobile browser, so it might involve tethering to your laptop. This info would be helpful for those of us who are on web conference calls -- I currently have an iPhone 3G + Verizon MiFi and would love to switch to a single device with the ThunderBolt. Thanks!!

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

Hi Johnboy, if it's not too much to ask, can you try testing out whether the data speed is slower when simultaneously on a voice call versus when you're not on a call? I'm not sure something like speedtest.net will work on the mobile browser, so it might involve tethering to your laptop. This info would be helpful for those of us who are on web conference calls -- I currently have an iPhone 3G + Verizon MiFi and would love to switch to a single device with the ThunderBolt. Thanks!!

All I can tell you with that is that when I was on a call and browsing the web with the phone, the web pages loaded at the same speed as they did when not on a call. I know that isn't "statistical" proof, but there is not a noticeable fall off.

 

[Rotas]

I don't know if anyone has asked this or not, hell I might have its been on my mind lol.

I will shoot again, do you think its worth the price tag?

 

[2001400ex]

Hi Johnboy, if it's not too much to ask, can you try testing out whether the data speed is slower when simultaneously on a voice call versus when you're not on a call? I'm not sure something like speedtest.net will work on the mobile browser, so it might involve tethering to your laptop. This info would be helpful for those of us who are on web conference calls -- I currently have an iPhone 3G + Verizon MiFi and would love to switch to a single device with the ThunderBolt. Thanks!!

All I can tell you with that is that when I was on a call and browsing the web with the phone, the web pages loaded at the same speed as they did when not on a call. I know that isn't "statistical" proof, but there is not a noticeable fall off.

I read somewhere that someone was complaining that voice quality suffered while browsing. Did you notice the same?

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

I don't know if anyone has asked this or not, hell I might have its been on my mind lol.

I will shoot again, do you think its worth the price tag?

Without knowing for sure what the cost is, (nor if there will be additional charges for LTE), I would have to say that I have paid more than $300 for other phones that didn't offer as much as this phone. Think about it like this: The VZW iPhone 32GB is going for $299 with a 2 year contract. With the TBolt, you get more memory (adding the internal to the 32GB card it comes with), plus you have 4G LTE capabilities for the same price (reportedly). Easy math for me to do.

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

I read somewhere that someone was complaining that voice quality suffered while browsing. Did you notice the same?

Not at all true in my experiences. The only thing I can think of is that the person was on the move and the signal strength degraded.

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

Just a note, I may get the chance to drive to my nearest 4G LTE city next Saturday, bad weather aside. If it comes out on the 10th as heavily rumored, then I may just let someone else report back on LTE connectivity.