Upgrade to the Thunderbolt or wait for something better?

[DisgruntledVirus]

I have ~6 months left on my contract, and can upgrade to the Thunderbolt for $250. I have the Droid 1, rooted and oced, with custom roms on it and I said I wouldn't upgrade to a phone that wasn't rootable and able to have custom rom's.

The only issues with the Thunderbolt that are making me wonder are:
1- not dual core, and while faster than Droid 1 (even oc'ed) a dual core would be even faster I'm sure
2- battery life. My current Droid lasts about 8 hours, and that's kind of low. I would like to go with more but that's not realistic, so is it at least ~8 hours with moderate/heavy use (texting primarily but also surfing internet)


Any thoughts?

 

[bucwylde23]

Thunderbolt battery life is horrible after seeing my co-workers phone.

Personally unless you need something now i'd wait.

 

[Phobic9]

I'd wait if I were you. I'm holding out for the Droid Bionic personally.

 

[SunnyD]

Do you want one? If so, get it. That's the ONLY question you need to ask yourself.

1- not dual core, and while faster than Droid 1 (even oc'ed) a dual core would be even faster I'm sure

And you'd be dead wrong. Same thing as the PC world - until mobile apps/os's are developed to take advantage of multiple cores, you won't see a damn bit of difference in performance.

 

[rcpratt]

I have no complaints, battery included.

 

[Cruisin1]

I have the thunderbolt and can't see how anyone can't complain about the battery life. It's definately worse than I was expecting. I'm probably going to return the phone next week and get the Stealth when it comes out. Worried the Bionic won't be out in time to have unlimited 4G data plan...

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Do you want one? If so, get it. That's the ONLY question you need to ask yourself.

And you'd be dead wrong. Same thing as the PC world - until mobile apps/os's are developed to take advantage of multiple cores, you won't see a damn bit of difference in performance.

I don't want dual core as a "speed increase" in single app situations. I run a decent amount of apps at the same time, and it can definitely take it's toll on my phone. Dual core should help with running multiple apps at once.

I have no complaints, battery included.

Seeing as my Droid needs to be charged at work to last through classes, so having a charger with me isn't unusual as is since my days are 730 AM to unplug it until 9-10 at night to plug it back in so any smartphone with a big screen will not like ~14 hour days.

I have the thunderbolt and can't see how anyone can't complain about the battery life. It's definately worse than I was expecting. I'm probably going to return the phone next week and get the Stealth when it comes out. Worried the Bionic won't be out in time to have unlimited 4G data plan...

Any rumors about unlimited 4G being nixed?

Guess I can hold off in hopes the Bionic is as awesome as it sounds. And hopefully they crack the bootloader and enable custom roms to be used (or at least root access). I can live with a lot of faults in a phone if I can root it and install custom rom's on it, which was the reason the Thunderbolt got me excited.

 

[s44]

If you can wait, wait... Unless you think Verizon will pull unlimited LTE without announcing it beforehand.

 

[SunnyD]

I don't want dual core as a "speed increase" in single app situations. I run a decent amount of apps at the same time, and it can definitely take it's toll on my phone. Dual core should help with running multiple apps at once.

I wouldn't count on it. At least not until a new release of android is out. Your bigger concern will be memory (read: RAM).

 

[Geekbabe]

I've currently got the Droid 2, I'm waiting for Droid Bionic before upgrading.

 

[boomhower]

I wouldn't expect the battery situation to be much better in forthcoming devices. 4G uses a ton of battery. Until battery technology improves the situation isn't going to dramatically improve.

 

[Cruisin1]

I don't want dual core as a "speed increase" in single app situations. I run a decent amount of apps at the same time, and it can definitely take it's toll on my phone. Dual core should help with running multiple apps at once.



Seeing as my Droid needs to be charged at work to last through classes, so having a charger with me isn't unusual as is since my days are 730 AM to unplug it until 9-10 at night to plug it back in so any smartphone with a big screen will not like ~14 hour days.



Any rumors about unlimited 4G being nixed?

Guess I can hold off in hopes the Bionic is as awesome as it sounds. And hopefully they crack the bootloader and enable custom roms to be used (or at least root access). I can live with a lot of faults in a phone if I can root it and install custom rom's on it, which was the reason the Thunderbolt got me excited.

Pretty much verizon said they plan on going to tiered data plans this summer.

 

[rcpratt]

Seeing as my Droid needs to be charged at work to last through classes, so having a charger with me isn't unusual as is since my days are 730 AM to unplug it until 9-10 at night to plug it back in so any smartphone with a big screen will not like ~14 hour days.

Do you have WiFi available during class or work or anything?

 

[MoxJr]

The dual core issue is irrelevant at this point.

 

[rcpratt]

15.5 hours and counting on my Thunderbolt today, still at 23% charge.

 

[Soccerman06]

I wouldn't count on it. At least not until a new release of android is out. Your bigger concern will be memory (read: RAM).

IIRC 2.3 supports multi core, maybe 2.2.1 but I cant remember.

 

[ultimatebob]

I just got an HTC Inspire 4G for work, which is basically at&t's GSM version of the Thunderbolt. It's an impressive piece of hardware! The UI is very polished, and the battery life is actually pretty good.

 

[Strk]

IIRC 2.3 supports multi core, maybe 2.2.1 but I cant remember.

You are correct on both. Android has supported multithreading since 2.2.1

 

[Bibble]

You can wait forever for "something better" as the next big thing will always be on the horizon. I first heard of the Thunderbolt (Mecha at the time) around October and eagerly anticipated its arrival starting around Thanksgiving. That's 3.5 months of waiting with my Storm 1. Do I regret waiting? Not at all; this phone is awesome. Would I probably have been satisfied with the Droid X? Yes.

We know now that the phone is fully rootable/customizable. Given that it seems HTC took a few more steps to prevent this this time around, I think it is safe to say it will only become more difficult to root on future devices.

The battery is decent after adjusting some settings and getting past the first few days when you are constantly playing with your phone.

I'm not sure what you plan on doing on your phone but the Thunderbolt is plenty fast for my purposes (internet browsing, e-mail, texts, facebook, 2D games).

 

[s44]

If you can wait, wait... Unless you think Verizon will pull unlimited LTE without announcing it beforehand.

OK, now I suspect this is on the table and you should just grab the TB... preferably from Costco so you can swap for a better model w/in 90 days. (Droid Charge coming *really* soon, Bionic in some months.)

 

[boomhower]

I just got an HTC Inspire 4G for work, which is basically at&t's GSM version of the Thunderbolt. It's an impressive piece of hardware! The UI is very polished, and the battery life is actually pretty good.

You don't have an LTE chip eating the battery.

 

[Unheard]

If you enjoy modding your phone with custom roms and such, the TB is already rooted and S-OFF. The Bionic has a signed, encrypted bootloader, so don't expect any custom roms for it...

Yes, battery life blows on the phone (I have one). But the speeds justify it, and if you are like me, whenever I am at my desk (work or home) I am plugged up anyways. Extended batteries are available (gigantic one from HTC, or the slimline 1600mAh from SEIDO).

 

[Unheard]

You don't have an LTE chip eating the battery.

Nor does he have real 4G.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

If you can wait, wait... Unless you think Verizon will pull unlimited LTE without announcing it beforehand.

Judging by the other thread on here with the XDA link, I doubt the Bionic will be out before they get rid of unlimited 4G.

Do you have WiFi available during class or work or anything?

Not at work, but in class I can use the school WiFi. I don't usually because it's a PITA to deal with setting up (although I suppose I can do it once lol) and the larger issue of eating more battery since the TB can't turn off the 4G radio (AFAIK).

If you enjoy modding your phone with custom roms and such, the TB is already rooted and S-OFF. The Bionic has a signed, encrypted bootloader, so don't expect any custom roms for it...

Yes, battery life blows on the phone (I have one). But the speeds justify it, and if you are like me, whenever I am at my desk (work or home) I am plugged up anyways. Extended batteries are available (gigantic one from HTC, or the slimline 1600mAh from SEIDO).

The Bionic seems like the better hardware, but not as much of a "fun" phone. What about the Stealth? Any info on if it has a signed/encrypted bootloader?

I'm like you with the charger. I have one in my bookbag which is always with me, along with a car charger. I'm used to charging it at work right now anyways so it wouldn't be much of a change. Only problem is the long days when I'm not around a charger which happen every so often.

 

[mvbighead]

For those with battery issues, I recommend some sort of CPU clock speed adjuster if your phone is rooted. I am using CPUBoost (free version) which down-clocks my phone when not in use. I have a Droid 1 and I use several times throughout the day and have 90% of battery life left after 8 hours. My use is likely lighter than most, but the battery seldom needs to be charged.

Running Pete's LV 1.0GHz kernel and Build GPA13.