THE NETWORK IS FINE!!!!!!! 4g has been out for almost 3 months. If something were wrong with the network it would be huge news. Is the device ready? Maybe. Is all the software ready? probably not. Is Verizon making sure they can get as much working as possible before committing to a release date. Absolutely
If you liked the phone and where ready to purchase it on Feb 14, 2 weeks doesn't make any difference. You sign a 2 or 1 yr contract. A few days is just a drop in the bucket.
To piggy back off of what you just said - EXACTLY lol
It's not like the 4G LTE network was planned on being released with the Thunderbolt at launch - it's been very successful for the last three or so months with the data cards. If there is some type of "handoff" issue from 3G to 4G then sure, I can see where there may be some type of delay. However, I have known Verizon to release phones that were less than perfect at launch and they still were released in a decent amount of time.
After following these forums for a few weeks now I can honestly say the main reason why this phone was delayed, truly, was the iPhone 4. I am willing to believe that Apple put something in their contract with Verizon that said if their phone sales weren't where they needed to be they had the right to request all new handset launches delayed for "X" amount of time. I highly doubt that there are all these crazy issues or conspiracy theories people are talking about.
On a side note, you guys are talking about battery life being an issue with the Thunderbolt. Guys - it's an HTC phone - of course there are going to be battery life issues. I had an Evo 4G for a month and it had a HORRIBLE battery with 4G on all the time. I turned it off whenever I wasn't using it or if I just wanted some quick web surfing on 3G. Even then the battery barely got me through a day on 3G - on 4G it was more like MAYBE 4-5 hours at best.
In any event, it looks like all of this is coming to a close. I don't think you'll see this phone Monday - I think you will see an announcement on Monday followed by a sale on either that Thursday or the following Thursday. It is how Verizon almost always sells their handsets. I worked for them at the corporate office for almost five years - this is how they have always done things lol
Again, just my two cents - Do I think both Verizon and Best Buy dropped the ball on this? Yes. However, NEITHER of them ever gave a concrete release date - everything was speculation and possibility. In fact, neither still has. I think this debacle is going to put a bad taste in people's mouths about Verizon and Best Buy, but at the end of the day neither group gave concrete release info so technically neither did anything wrong =| (if anyone did anything wrong it was Best Buy for not changing the ads in time or having a retraction ready the day the ad launched, not days later).
In closing, I would say don't trust anyone telling you something is going to launch no matter how well you know them (myself included) - until you see a formal press release just go with the flow and try to be patient (trust me, I know it sucks
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Thanks all
