There's one thing I've learned since we started Tag Team Tech and that's the fact that people can get very set in their cell phone ways. Especially in their smart phone ways. There's the whole iOS vs. Android argument. And within Android, there are several flavors of the operating system for people to choose from. Once you get acclimated with one version, it is often hard to switch to another.
I've never been a big fan of the HTC Sense UI in the past. It was one of the reason I didn't care for the HTC Incredible. Well, that and its weird topographic back. As a Droid X owner, I guess I like my Android OS Moto Blur. Oh, and how the phone feels in my hand is a major consideration.
We recently got the opportunity to test out a HTC Thunderbolt. I can tell you the first thing that bugged me and still bugs me is the loud, annoying thunderstorm simulation every time you start up the phone. Yes, there are ways to make it go away or change it, but they usually require putting your phone on silent or rooting your phone.
One thing I have always liked about the HTC Sense UI is how pretty it is right out of the box. It comes with the Verizon "Scene" as default which isn't bad, but I've used enough Sense phones now that I can switch it to the HTC Scene with just five taps. (Full disclosure: I've got a widget that puts a HTC Sense like flip clock on my Droid X. Would love to find a widget that looks exactly like it.)
The form factor of the Thunderbolt is very much like its older sibling the HTC Evo. The actual phone is a bit wider and a bit shorter than the Droid X. Also like the Evo, it comes with a "kickstand" on the back to prop the phone up in horizontal mode. It does pass the "I like how it feels in my hand" test.
The Gallery interface on the Thunderbolt is much nicer than the equivalent on the Droid X. It's much more intuitive and responsive. Another feature I'd love to have on my Droid X where the Gallery and I are often at war.
There are some things to watch out for. I will never understand why HTC feels the need to swap the positions of the Home and Menu buttons. Okay, I also don't know why Motorola thought the order of the buttons should be Menu, then Home, then Back and then Search. All I'm asking for is some consistency on this. I was always tapping Menu when I wanted Home and vice versa on the Thunderbolt.
Another thing to watch out for is that the difference in time between waking the phone up from sleep and shutting it down seems to be incredibly small. This is especially true when compared to how it is set up on the Droid X. I turned this unit off many times when I was just trying to wake it up. But there were also many times that, after trying to wake it up repeatedly, I had no choice but to make the phone re-boot. Not good.
Part of the reason for the wake up/shut down problem was the fact that the battery life on the Thunderbolt is short. 4G LTE is a very nice thing, but it kills the battery life. If I was going to buy one of these, I would definitely think hard about investing in an extended battery for it. Unfortunately, the extended battery for the Thunderbolt is very fat and the required cover for it juts out quite a bit ruining the nice hand feel of the phone.
All in all, the HTC Thunderbolt is a very good phone, especially for Sense UI fans. If I weren't already so acclimated to my Droid X, I would definitely consider it.
