YEAH baby! My Demo will be here today!

[tgyberg]

A new annoying habit I have adopted is "flicking" the kickstand (pulling it out and then letting go of it so it "clicks" against the back of the phone). My wife is thrilled.

My wife may thunderblock me from getting the phone for that reason alone...

Thunderblock?! Sounds painful!

 

[Rotas]

I think the only problem with that is they advertised it with Skype capabilities from launch, so if it doesn't have it they'd be guilty of false advertising. I personally don't care if it's not there at launch, but needs an update soon after launch would be fine with me.

That is not true to my knowledge. They announced at CES the Thunderbolt and Skype video idependently, but never said blatantly "the Thunderbolt will have video Skype at launch." They did show a slide on the big screen of the TBolt using Skype, but never said anything about shipping with Skype video.

Maybe not, but I thought someone at the Thunderbolt release date thread(s) posted a pic at least from Best Buy saying it would launch with Skype. Also I thought the reps at CES said the same thing. The Best Buy manager I know said the same thing, but I could be wrong. I couldn't care less if it's not there at launch, but comes with it in an update afterwards.

I think Best Buy has said enough, lol

It will most definitely come with video skype at some point, it was one of the big things with the phone.
Even Verizon had it on their website as it would have it.

 

[robrecht]

I think the only problem with that is they advertised it with Skype capabilities from launch, so if it doesn't have it they'd be guilty of false advertising. I personally don't care if it's not there at launch, but needs an update soon after launch would be fine with me.

That is not true to my knowledge. They announced at CES the Thunderbolt and Skype video idependently, but never said blatantly "the Thunderbolt will have video Skype at launch." They did show a slide on the big screen of the TBolt using Skype, but never said anything about shipping with Skype video.

Maybe not, but I thought someone at the Thunderbolt release date thread(s) posted a pic at least from Best Buy saying it would launch with Skype. Also I thought the reps at CES said the same thing. The Best Buy manager I know said the same thing, but I could be wrong. I couldn't care less if it's not there at launch, but comes with it in an update afterwards.

Verizon did do premarketing about Skype video chat being available on the Thunderbolt. For example, it was on their 'coming soon' website, but removed a couple of weeks ago. There was an announcement that the app was being delayed until Feb 28th. A couple of weeks ago, Best Buy also issued a correction mentioning no Skype video. Haven't heard anything since then. Some think with the 'delayed' launch maybe it will be ready. It would be nice if it's baked into the OS/UI, but I'm kind of doubtful.

BTW, here's the current 'Coming Soon' page (no Skype now):
4G LTE Network | Verizon Wireless

 

[dominick_7]

Hmm ok guess so. When you put it on the loudest volumes do you find it is pleasant sounding still with Mp3s, Pandora, or does it hurt your ears a bit? True. I wished Pandora had an even higher quality setting.

When listening to my MP3s, I have to turn it down to about 50% volume to be comfortable to me, so there is a nice wide range on the volume. To me, Pandora at about 75% sounds good, so there is still wiggle room even with the less high quality sound.

Sounds basically the same as with the Droid X. It's pretty fine at two notches below the top, but beyond that it hurts and is uncomfortable to listen to, especially on Pandora.

Hmm shorter load times than the DX, but no lag during game play then?

None that I have seen so far.

Interesting, I guess the CPU and more (faster?) ram helps then without the need of better graphics as the Droid X has?

Since you don't have Slingbox (great device/app btw), have you gotten a chance to try to play videos on it and see how it compares to the Droid X? I really love video playback on the Droid X, very nice with the larger screen size and quality of the screen. While a lot of people seem to like LED and OMLED it really bothers my eyes. So I'm really liking that there are still LCD screens like these that haven't gone that route.

I've never needed to watch stuff when away from home... usually if I am not home to watch it, I am too busy doing something else!

As far as the screen and video quality, I spoke about it earlier in this thread. I too, hate AMOLED screens. (Way too much oversaturation in the colors, makes all people look like they have hit the tanning beds more than the Jersey Shore cast.) I can't quite explain it properly in words, but to me, the TBolt's screen "pops" a bit more than the DX's screen. It's crisp, yet smooth. I guess a good metaphor for it would be like the difference between a 42" LCD 120Hz 1080p TV and a 42" LED-LCD 240Hz 1080p TV... not an enormous difference to the naked eye, but just a bit better.

Lol good analogy, it looks fake as any of them. Between the LCD TV, the 240hz is the better one then? I havent done an exhaustive in person comparison of hdtvs just yet. When I get the money I need for the one I want I'll go to Worst Buy or PC Richards or what not.

 

[robrecht]

Hey, like all the others before me here, thanks for helping us keep our sanity. On the car dock thing, in your app drawer, is there one called Car Panel? I know it's not an app that opens automatically when you place it in a dock (you have to select it), but that is there correct?

App Drawer>All Apps: No "Car Panel."

Some people have noticed that on Verizon's developer website, it does mention that a car kit is one of the supported accessories. Not definitive proof, note also that there are some errors in a couple of the specs, but I will remain hopeful.

See last bullet under Specifications:
HTC Thunderbolt

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

I do remember seeing a video from the CES with some big-wig from Skype... he said that the first Android phone on Verizon to have Skype video call would be from HTC (and VZW showed a "rendering" of the Thunderbolt with Skype. The caveat is that I don't think anyone ever said the words "at launch."

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

Thanks for the reply, just one more if ya don't mind. On video calling, have you tried an app called Tango for the video calling? From what I've read it works with almost anything. It wouldn't be integrated (no video calls from the contacts or dialer screen) but it would show that it can do video calling.

Tango worked like a charm between the TBolt and my wife's Incredible (though obviously her phone didn't record video on her end, she can see me calling her).

 

[aodmisery]

hey worldofjohnboy heres a question i havent seen an answer too. on the stock unlocking slider can it be disabled? i usually have a lock on my phone, (you know the one with the 9 dots and you gotta put in a pattern) so i dont need the stock unlocking slider is there an option that can disable that.

 

[dominick_7]

A new annoying habit I have adopted is "flicking" the kickstand (pulling it out and then letting go of it so it "clicks" against the back of the phone). My wife is thrilled.

Lol thats awesome.

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

hey worldofjohnboy heres a question i havent seen an answer too. on the stock unlocking slider can it be disabled? i usually have a lock on my phone, (you know the one with the 9 dots and you gotta put in a pattern) so i dont need the stock unlocking slider is there an option that can disable that.

I can definitely set the 9 dots as the unlock code. I don't see a way that you can totally disable the unlock slider (which on the HTC phones is a swype downward). I setup a 9 dot pattern and rebooted, but the phone still required me to swype down to unlock it.

 

[dominick_7]

That is not true to my knowledge. They announced at CES the Thunderbolt and Skype video idependently, but never said blatantly "the Thunderbolt will have video Skype at launch." They did show a slide on the big screen of the TBolt using Skype, but never said anything about shipping with Skype video.

Maybe not, but I thought someone at the Thunderbolt release date thread(s) posted a pic at least from Best Buy saying it would launch with Skype. Also I thought the reps at CES said the same thing. The Best Buy manager I know said the same thing, but I could be wrong. I couldn't care less if it's not there at launch, but comes with it in an update afterwards.

Verizon did do premarketing about Skype video chat being available on the Thunderbolt. For example, it was on their 'coming soon' website, but removed a couple of weeks ago. There was an announcement that the app was being delayed until Feb 28th. A couple of weeks ago, Best Buy also issued a correction mentioning no Skype video. Haven't heard anything since then. Some think with the 'delayed' launch maybe it will be ready. It would be nice if it's baked into the OS/UI, but I'm kind of doubtful.

BTW, here's the current 'Coming Soon' page (no Skype now):
4G LTE Network | Verizon Wireless

The 28th would make the most sense since it would pretty much be the end of the 1st quarter which is when they all said it would be out by and the Best Buy manager told me today that it was pushed till the 28th... Anything after that and it would officially be delayed.

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

The 28th would make the most sense since it would pretty much be the end of the 1st quarter which is when they all said it would be out by and the Best Buy manager told me today that it was pushed till the 28th... Anything after that and it would officially be delayed.

He was talking about Skype's release on February 28th, he was not speculating on the TBolt's release as that is forbidden in these threads (please and thank you)!

 

[vzwuser76]

Thanks for the reply, just one more if ya don't mind. On video calling, have you tried an app called Tango for the video calling? From what I've read it works with almost anything. It wouldn't be integrated (no video calls from the contacts or dialer screen) but it would show that it can do video calling.

Tango worked like a charm between the TBolt and my wife's Incredible (though obviously her phone didn't record video on her end, she can see me calling her).

Sweet, thanks! U da man!

 

[Blackcharger06]

Thanks for the reply, just one more if ya don't mind. On video calling, have you tried an app called Tango for the video calling? From what I've read it works with almost anything. It wouldn't be integrated (no video calls from the contacts or dialer screen) but it would show that it can do video calling.

Tango worked like a charm between the TBolt and my wife's Incredible (though obviously her phone didn't record video on her end, she can see me calling her).

yea tango is the way to go.. I'm ok with not having skype. Did you see this post.

http://www.droidforums.net/forum/dr...working-through-lte-tech-issues-4g-tbolt.html

Looks like you might have the sickest 3g phone on the market. I have no idea when this phone is going to come out now, but I got a feeling that the phone you have won't work on 4g.

 

[CsonkaBear]

This isn't looking good:

Prepare To Groan: Verizon Exec Says HTC Thunderbolt To Arrive "By The End Of The Second Quarter" | Android News, Reviews, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets, Tips, Mods, Videos, Tutorials - Android Police