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Thunderbolt design flaw?

N

Neera

Well-Known Member
I've been in love with this phone from the first pics I saw and was going to get it till I noticed this:

The Micro USB port is located on the bottom left side of the phone, so with the kickstand out and the phone on its side in landscape mode, it looks like it is not possible to use the port....
No watching movies while the phone is plugged in?
This definitely concerns me :(


Anyone else put off by this? Or does this design flaw not bother you?
 
It's an irritation, but it doesn't completely put me off. The kickstand is a bonus for me. I've never had one, so I could live without it.
 
Neera said:
I've been in love with this phone from the first pics I saw and was going to get it till I noticed this:

The Micro USB port is located on the bottom left side of the phone, so with the kickstand out and the phone on its side in landscape mode, it looks like it is not possible to use the port....
No watching movies while the phone is plugged in?
This definitely concerns me :(


Anyone else put off by this? Or does this design flaw not bother you?
Click to expand...

Why would you want to watch movies for an extended period of time on a 4" screen in a location where you have access to a charger?
 
theacoustician said:
Why would you want to watch movies for an extended period of time on a 4" screen in a location where you have access to a charger?
Click to expand...


Good question, but for example when you're at work where it isn't allowed to use your PC for private purposes (during lunch for example), why run your battery down?
I usually have my phone plugged into my PC's USB port, so that at the end of the day I can leave the office with a full battery :D
 
Neera said:
Good question, but for example when you're at work where it isn't allowed to use your PC for private purposes (during lunch for example), why run your battery down?
I usually have my phone plugged into my PC's USB port, so that at the end of the day I can leave the office with a full battery :D
Click to expand...

I do that to. With my Inc battery only lasting about 3 hours, it's a must.
 
Neera said:
Good question, but for example when you're at work where it isn't allowed to use your PC for private purposes (during lunch for example), why run your battery down?
I usually have my phone plugged into my PC's USB port, so that at the end of the day I can leave the office with a full battery :D
Click to expand...
Ok, then unplug it at lunch, watch the movie, and then plug it back in. You should be full up by the end of the day.

I agree the placement isn't the best thing in the world, but I wouldn't go so far to call it a design flaw. Chances are there will probably be a cradle that will allow you to keep it plugged in while using it.
 
On international flights you can have access to an electrical outlet, and may want to watch a movie.
 
I haven't read of anyone trying the kickstand in the right-side landscape position yet - on a real device.

Someone posted after they tried on a dummy and it failed, but then they suggested trying on a real device. That suggested to me there may be a difference between real & dummy kickstands.

Regardless, for some reason this has really tweaked my ocd.
 
To me the bigger flaw is the SD slot under the battery. You have to power down the phone to swap out memory. OH and of course the biggest flaw is not having a @^#^! release date!
 
Not sue if it would work but they make 90 o angle charge cords.
 

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TxGoat said:
To me the bigger flaw is the SD slot under the battery. You have to power down the phone to swap out memory. OH and of course the biggest flaw is not having a @^#^! release date!
Click to expand...

The battery acts as a bit more protection against lint/dust/mung getting into the phone through the sd slot. Ever wonder why there's been the trend towards less accessibility to ports and such on phones? It's not just making a sleeker phone. Try cracking open a phone after a year or so of use. It's nasty.
 
theacoustician said:
The battery acts as a bit more protection against lint/dust/mung getting into the phone through the sd slot. Ever wonder why there's been the trend towards less accessibility to ports and such on phones? It's not just making a sleeker phone. Try cracking open a phone after a year or so of use. It's nasty.
Click to expand...

The SIM is under the battery, the SD card is accessible from the top IIRC.
 
theacoustician said:
The battery acts as a bit more protection against lint/dust/mung getting into the phone through the sd slot. Ever wonder why there's been the trend towards less accessibility to ports and such on phones? It's not just making a sleeker phone. Try cracking open a phone after a year or so of use. It's nasty.
Click to expand...

HAHAHAH!!! I had a BB Storm as my last smartphone, so I was cracking that BEOTCH open every other day to do a battery pull. All in all I would say it stayed really clean inside. LOL!!:D
 
Also if you are bent on using it in this fasion you could place it on a piece of board and slide the plug edge off the end and use the above angle plug.
 
theacoustician said:
I'm telling you, I bet they moved the port so that it can be used with a cradle dock like just about every other droid has.
Click to expand...


Now that I'm thinking about it that definitely makes sense :)
I still want to buy this phone, it was just something that annoyed me and dampened my enthusiasm slightly.
 
theacoustician said:
In the way he's describing, the phone would be sitting on the cord. It wouldn't work.

I'm telling you, I bet they moved the port so that it can be used with a cradle dock like just about every other droid has.
Click to expand...

Right-side landscape.. charging port would then be on top. This would work if the kickstand is angled propery, and has decent tension to keep itself open.
 
Lucidot said:
HAHAHAH!!! I had a BB Storm as my last smartphone, so I was cracking that BEOTCH open every other day to do a battery pull. All in all I would say it stayed really clean inside. LOL!!:D
Click to expand...

Really? Did you keep it in a holster or something? I had to try and crack open my OG Droid after a catastrophe in order to fix it. The battery compartment was mostly clean, but once you got into the innards, there was all kinds of mung in the headphone port, around the buttons, etc. Anywhere that there wasn't normal access to users but some crevasse where grime could get in had enough dirt to plant crops. It was foul.
 
Eudaemonic said:
Right-side landscape.. charging port would then be on top. This would work if the kickstand is angled propery, and has decent tension to keep itself open.
Click to expand...
Then how could they sell you a cradle ... ?

mischiefse7en said:
Then what's the point of having a kickstand?
Click to expand...

It works in landscape and portrait. Not everyone needs to charge the phone while they're using it. BMX even said it was a gimmick, but a cool one.
 
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