I got a new phone this week, the HTC Thunderbolt. I’m trading up from the original Droid, which I’ve had for almost 2 years.
The phone works on Verizon’s new 4G (“LTE”) network, and it is FAST. Speed tests show that I’m getting between 10 and 20 Mbps down, and between 3 and 4 Mbps up. This is comparable to my home cable connection. Verizon has the fastest 4G network by far right now, but that may change as they start selling more 4G phones.
The result is web browsing that is about the same experience as on my computer, except for the small screen.
Though small compared to a computer, the screen is larger, and the processor faster than on my old Droid, so the overall experience is much improved. The downside is that battery life seems limited, especially when using 4G. It doesn’t look like I’ll get a full day out of it if I use 4G a lot, but hopefully with a charger in my car it won’t be a problem.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Dale // Mar 21, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Will it drop to 3G outside of 4G coverage, or can you force it to to save battery life?
2 Donna // Mar 21, 2011 at 5:06 pm
Cool name and cool ad. Hope the phone is as cool. I’m surprised you have had your Droid almost 2 years. I thought I got my iPhone before you got your Droid, and I’ve only had it for 19 months. Five more months and I can get an iPhone 5 on Verizon. (hopefully)
3 Daryl // Mar 21, 2011 at 5:34 pm
Dale,
It drops to 3G outside of 4G areas. You can force it to use 3G instead of 4G even in 4G areas, but I can’t imagine doing that. 4G is so much faster.
Donna,
I guess it’s closer to 18 months on the Droid. I got a 1-year contract with the Droid. I wanted a one year with the new Thunderbolt too, but it was twice as expensive ($500 vs $250 for 2 years). I think this phone should last me that long, anyway.
4 Daryl // Mar 21, 2011 at 9:13 pm
Here is my speed test result:
The download is as good as anything I see on my desktop cable connection, but the upload is actually faster!.
5 Don // Mar 22, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Now that’s nice!