# Thunderbolt Worst Gadget of the Year?



## grimez (Jul 20, 2011)

Just saw this over at Engadget, and I feel that they are mistaken.

http://www.engadget....11editorschoice


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## ShogunWithAShotgun (Oct 12, 2011)

If you didn't root it in the beginning it did have major issues. The rezound battery fixed the battery life though.

For the majority I'm sure the thunderbolt turned a big handful of first time Android buyers back to their trusty iPhone.

The phone is perfect nowadays.


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## Xanth (Sep 15, 2011)

I didn't think it was that bad, but it definitely suffered issues out of the box. But if the Thunderbolt was really _worst _gadget of the year, that means everything else must have gone pretty smooth.


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

I thought everyone knew that engadget was in the business of linkbaiting/flamebaiting for adserver hits. They're owned by AOL after all, same owners of such media gems as Huffington "linkbait headline + one paragraph summary and a link" Post


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## rajuabju (Jul 12, 2011)

I'm in utter shock.

First 4G LTE device / most of amount of RAM (when it was released) / large memory capacity when factoring in the included SD card.

The battery issues are easily resolved with the Rezound battery.

I would say the Bionic was the bigger disappointment. Months and months of delays, and was almost immediately overshadowed by other phones released right afterwards, while the TB had all the 4G glory for MONTHS by itself.


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## Money Mike (Jun 14, 2011)

rajuabju said:


> I'm in utter shock.
> 
> First 4G LTE device / most of amount of RAM (when it was released) / large memory capacity when factoring in the included SD card.
> 
> ...


Coming from a droid charge I must disagree with engadget. Charge gets my vote.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk


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## sk3litor (Oct 3, 2011)

I think people just like to complain. They'll moan about a couple bugs but wont consider themselves lucky to be the first with lte speeds

sent from Michael jacksons' doctors' cell mate


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## mfinlay04 (Jun 8, 2011)

Althought the Bolt does suck on stock kernel and stock rom with the community support my.phone is rocking. I would agree that the Droid charge should have gotten.this award. Basically a fascinate with a bigger screen and lte radio. Battery life on my bolt is far better than anyone I know with a charge!!

Sent from my ADR6400L using RootzWiki


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## Money Mike (Jun 14, 2011)

I gave my wife my charge for her thunderbolt and she wants her bolt back lol. I'm a heavy user compared toher light use and we get about the same life to a charge. Not to mention the charge needs rebooted throughout the day or it boggs down due to the little ram. A stock bolt beats a charge any day.

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## mobitote (Jul 13, 2011)

Tbolt was and is a monster ahead of its time. Period! Rooted or otherwise


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## pmdied (Jun 24, 2011)

I'm so happy with my tbolt; and I got in on release date back in March of 2011. There has been nothing released since that has piqued my interest so you can suck it, Engadget!

Sent from my ADR6400L using RootzWiki


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## number5toad (Sep 13, 2011)

the Bolt is my first personal smartphone, and my upgrade came in a sort of unfortunate window of time where the Bolt was the best thing available on Big Red, and Big Red was about to kill their unlimited data plans. I didn't have a whole lot of options if I wanted unlimited data, which I did, so I jumped on the Bolt. if my circumstances were different I might have waited for a different phone, but I was never really disappointed before rooting, and since rooting I'm basically in love.

I think it's funny that the link they embedded in their Worst Gadget blurb leads to their review, which was....really pretty accurate and overall favorable.


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## theMichael (Aug 26, 2011)

number5toad said:


> the Bolt is my first personal smartphone, and my upgrade came in a sort of unfortunate window of time where the Bolt was the best thing available on Big Red, and Big Red was about to kill their unlimited data plans. I didn't have a whole lot of options if I wanted unlimited data, which I did, so I jumped on the Bolt. if my circumstances were different I might have waited for a different phone, but I was never really disappointed before rooting, and since rooting I'm basically in love.
> 
> I think it's funny that the link they embedded in their Worst Gadget blurb leads to their review, which was....really pretty accurate and overall favorable.


Pretty much exactly the same story for me. No regrets at all, my bolt overclocks like no other and has tons of development options
Sent from my ADR6400L using RootzWiki


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## DeathGrind (Jun 30, 2011)

If I'm not mistaken, isn't the thunderbolt the only phone on vzw that does simultaneous data and voice on a 3G connection? That's a huge plus IMO.

If there is another phone that does simultaneous data and voice on vzw please inform me. I'm not talking about on 4g, but on 3g.

I use my phone as my internet for all my devices, as I live off grid. I can browse the web, download files, etc, without it being interrupted when someone calls.

I was going to get a galaxy nexus, but I heard it does not do simultaneous voice and data on 3G. So I refrained from purchasing one.

I don't understand where all the negativity comes from for the thunderbolt. It is a relatively easy device to root, can have a unlocked bootloader, plenty of aosp and sense 2.1, 3.0, and 3.5 roms to choose from. Plus it also has the ability to do voice and data simultaneously on 3G, which I don't think any other phone on vzw can do.

I enjoy my thunderbolt.....just wish the ril could get sorted out so I could feel some ics love.

Sent from my ADR6400L


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## amaury48 (Jul 15, 2011)

The combination of Thunderbolt phone + excellent developers with their wide range of rom offerings is the best combination out there. For someone that just uses their "smartphone" for just making phone calls and texting it may be just another phone. But for those of us that text, browse, call, surf and love to "tinker" with their smartphone, there is no other choice in my opinion. This is the first phone I have owned that I am not longing for my 2 year upgrade to come due so I may upgrade to another phone. The Galaxy Nexus tempted me, but didn't impress me enough to give up my Thunderbolt. When the dev's break the ICS ril situation for the thunderbolt, that will give us another toy to play with for a while. It's going to take a helluva new phone or I break this one before I'll get another type of phone..... I am totally satisfied with my T-Bolt.


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## recDNA (Oct 25, 2011)

When deveopers quit supporting roms for tbolt I'm gone. I was worried that it was the beginning of the end butbsime great new developers and the race for the first stable ics rom keep me here.
For now the ics-ish roms like thundershed keep me very happy.


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## DeathGrind (Jun 30, 2011)

+1 for thundershed 

Sent from my ADR6400L


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## number5toad (Sep 13, 2011)

DeathGrind said:


> I don't understand where all the negativity comes from for the thunderbolt. It is a relatively easy device to root, can have a unlocked bootloader, plenty of aosp and sense 2.1, 3.0, and 3.5 roms to choose from.


remember that popular tech sites need to review any phone for the mass market, meaning they won't take things like ease of rooting or developer support into account. and if we're being objective, the Thunderbolt did have a LOT of issues early in its life. I was lucky enough to never have to deal with any of them, but I read enough horror stories to know it wasn't pretty if you did.


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## cowisland (Jul 24, 2011)

number5toad said:


> remember that popular tech sites need to review any phone for the mass market, meaning they won't take things like ease of rooting or developer support into account. and if we're being objective, the Thunderbolt did have a LOT of issues early in its life. I was lucky enough to never have to deal with any of them, but I read enough horror stories to know it wasn't pretty if you did.


On the second day after I got my TBOLT, it drained the whole battery in a couple of hours (one of these early day horrible bugs) while sitting on my desk with screen off, just when I was going out to meet someone for lunch. It is stories like these that earned our phone that unfortunate title. Of course the battery life is good now. With a rezound battery it easily lasts me all day.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk


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## Dark Jedi (Nov 3, 2011)

I guess they never heard of the Samsung Droid charge. It was a pain to root and laggy as sin. It have very few devs making roms and they all jump ship pretty quick. Not to mention Samsung didnt know if they was releasing gingerbread on the phone. One weeks they said yeah. Next week no. It flipped back and forth for months and owners didn't know if they ever would get it until the OTA came through to their phones. Also it was plauged by Sammy's GPS bug and they took their dear old sweet time. Only thing that all charge owners could agree on was the phone had a beautiful screen. This was the failure of the year phone.

The bolt yeah sure had its problems. My first bolt back in April of last year had a problem of every time the phone went to 4g the phone would lock up. Pretty shitty if you ask me being in Disney world. I learned if I had the phone charging then I could use 4g without it locking the phone up. So I thought to my self I don't need 4g walking around the park. So I just disabled the 4g radio. Got my replacement when I got back home and didn't know if the 4g worked right or not till 4 months later when I went to DC and worked fine. I think its a solid phone and sure it has its quarks but all phones does. This one you learn to live with them and with them.

Plus this phone by far is the easiest to root and get s off then I think any phone ever made. I am not talking about that one click root crap. Caused more harm than good just like rom manager lol. Which I think kept many devs on this phone and brought many more from other phones .like moto locked down boot loaders. So I think if the gal nex didn't come out I feel that many of the bolt devs would of stayed on the bolt for awhile longer. We still have some of the major players still tinkering with the bolt and trying to get us ics. Plus we have one of the largest rom library than most phones. Plus kernels and themes so the bolt was loved and it showed us what it could really do when we took Verizon out of the driver seat.

So compare the Droid charge to the bolt. You then decide which phone is the worst 4g phone of the year. Won't mentioned the revolution as that sputterd out before it got started. Anyone remember that phone? Lol.

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## sk3litor (Oct 3, 2011)

I understand that most people don't root and rom. But it is an option, and I think that tech sites should make this known. Its not illegal (yet...;-) ) the only ones that don't like it are the carriers. I think if people knew what their phones were actually capable of it would drasticly change things. They compare a 1.2 g raze against a 1.5 resound with sense. But what they don't say is that sense makes your phone swim through pudding and if you want you can take sense off and it would be twice as powerful as it already is. Imagine a desensed resound against a raze. No contest. I'm just saying its a shame that OEM skins and carrier BS hurt android. I'm not trying to bash sense just saying that their are options that people don't even know about. And isn't that the beautiful thing about android....options? I just think its a shame that these tech sites would say "worst gadgat of the year" when they could say "unless of coarse you root it then its quite possibly the best phone of the year.

sent from Michael jacksons' doctors' cell mate


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## Dark Jedi (Nov 3, 2011)

This phone is the best phone of the year. It can be classified with the original Droid and the Dinc as some of the best phones ever. Why I never read that crap. I doubt the person never owned a bolt and just read what haters said. Even now I would recommend this phone to anyone looking for a good used phone to root and play with and pick up pretty cheap...

I will keep my bolt even after I upgrade in Nov. Only if there a phone that can wow me like this one has. Gen nex doesn't wow me. Think its more gimmic hype for being first ics.

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## xbdarkman (Feb 19, 2012)

tbolt rocks even without a rezound battery. i got 29 hours with stock battery. what else can you ask for lol

using imoseyon 5.1 (on demand)
thundershed 1.1 cm7.2.0rc1

but i do agree that tbolt stock is garbage compared to this


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