Sprint discussion in face of 3G/4G competition (and a little GB)

[drexappeal]

That would be fabulous - but - where do you stand on the idea that HTC will be protecting the ThunderBolt roll-out on Verizon?

If the Evo 3D release is somehow far superior to the Bolt, and then the older Evo goes Gingerbread, that would create a lot of stir for Verizon customers.

Would HTC do that?

I can't tell and could see it going both ways...

From a HTC perspective, as far as strategic marketing is concerned, it would be advantageous for them to keep all their newest phones up to date as far as OS is concerned...simply to keep sales up due to product support and reliability. The hard part, if I were to look at it from HTC's view, would be to determine "priorities" as far as what product would increase sales more effectively, without losing their overall customer fan base on other providers (when a choice is made). HTC phones that are being released on both AT&T and Verizon will always have to compete with the iPhone. The question at that point, for HTC, would be if prioritizing upgrades to their phones on AT&T and Verizon would cause customers to choose their Android phones over the iPhone. Now, if you throw Sprint into the mix...Sprint doesn't have an iPhone available for their customers to potentially choose over the HTC Android phones. To a certain extent, HTC can corner the market as far as Sprint customers are concerned and truly benefit with regards to sales on that front. Currently, there aren't any Motorola Android phones on Sprint that can compete and Samsung's track record for product support (e.g. The Epic) has not proven to be as dedicated. Now, if the trend on Verizon and AT&T proves that people are more and more choosing HTC Android phones over the iPhone, that would change things dramatically, but I can't imagine that HTC doesn't take the iPhone sales, on those two providers, into consideration.

Can you imagine how much boost in sales there would be for both Sprint and HTC, if the EVO 3D is somehow better than the Thunderbolt and the original EVO is updated to Gingerbread? Even though it would probably cause a hit to Thunderbolt sales, HTC can always make a pretty good argument that Sprint can move a lot more units than Verizon, simply because Sprint doesn't have the iPhone to compete with.

Again, I'm really just speaking from a sales and marketing standpoint and this is purely my opinion, but if I were involved in HTC's sales & marketing team, I would surely point out that with Sprint (although many would view it as the lesser network to AT&T and Verizon) HTC wouldn't have any big time competition to deal with as compared to AT&T and Verizon. I think Samsung dropped the ball as far as the Epic is concerned with regards to support and HTC proved to be on top of things as far as providing support for the EVO. I just can't see HTC ignoring how many units they moved with the EVO (which was pretty much an "unknown" as far as how much it would live up to the hype) on a network that was supposed to be "inferior" to AT&T and Verizon.

 

[JunBringer]

Well said.

 

[dan330]

great points..

but you forgot tmobile...

and the saying..the squeaky wheel gets the grease... and iphone on att and verizon is the squeaky wheel. they need to spend more time and energy to battle on that front.. to not give up that battlefield and let the enemy do as they please.

but I am on sprint.. and I like your way of thinking..

 

[drexappeal]

great points..

but you forgot tmobile...

and the saying..the squeaky wheel gets the grease... and iphone on att and verizon is the squeaky wheel. they need to spend more time and energy to battle on that front.. to not give up that battlefield and let the enemy do as they please.

but I am on sprint.. and I like your way of thinking..

LOL...Actually, I left t-mobile out on purpose. Ultimately, the amount of units/customers t-mobile has still has them somewhat in the bottom dwellers as far as providers are concerned, even though they have some great quality phones on their network and their network is not as bad as people make it out to be. I do find it funny how their push for "the biggest 4g network" is going, running on HSPA+. Just shows that the general consumer really would have no knowledge of the difference.

We'll see what happens, but there could be huge strides with HTC on all of the networks if they strategize appropriately.

 

[Slice28]

From a HTC perspective, as far as strategic marketing is concerned, it would be advantageous for them to keep all their newest phones up to date as far as OS is concerned...simply to keep sales up due to product support and reliability. The hard part, if I were to look at it from HTC's view, would be to determine "priorities" as far as what product would increase sales more effectively, without losing their overall customer fan base on other providers (when a choice is made). HTC phones that are being released on both AT&T and Verizon will always have to compete with the iPhone. The question at that point, for HTC, would be if prioritizing upgrades to their phones on AT&T and Verizon would cause customers to choose their Android phones over the iPhone. Now, if you throw Sprint into the mix...Sprint doesn't have an iPhone available for their customers to potentially choose over the HTC Android phones. To a certain extent, HTC can corner the market as far as Sprint customers are concerned and truly benefit with regards to sales on that front. Currently, there aren't any Motorola Android phones on Sprint that can compete and Samsung's track record for product support (e.g. The Epic) has not proven to be as dedicated. Now, if the trend on Verizon and AT&T proves that people are more and more choosing HTC Android phones over the iPhone, that would change things dramatically, but I can't imagine that HTC doesn't take the iPhone sales, on those two providers, into consideration.

Can you imagine how much boost in sales there would be for both Sprint and HTC, if the EVO 3D is somehow better than the Thunderbolt and the original EVO is updated to Gingerbread? Even though it would probably cause a hit to Thunderbolt sales, HTC can always make a pretty good argument that Sprint can move a lot more units than Verizon, simply because Sprint doesn't have the iPhone to compete with.

Again, I'm really just speaking from a sales and marketing standpoint and this is purely my opinion, but if I were involved in HTC's sales & marketing team, I would surely point out that with Sprint (although many would view it as the lesser network to AT&T and Verizon) HTC wouldn't have any big time competition to deal with as compared to AT&T and Verizon. I think Samsung dropped the ball as far as the Epic is concerned with regards to support and HTC proved to be on top of things as far as providing support for the EVO. I just can't see HTC ignoring how many units they moved with the EVO (which was pretty much an "unknown" as far as how much it would live up to the hype) on a network that was supposed to be "inferior" to AT&T and Verizon.

unfourtanetly i just dont think that htc thinks that much into it.. not to say that they dont realize all that you just said but to the general public most people dont even know the difference between android 1.5 and android 2.3.. and in the case of 2.2 to 2.3 the differences are so subtle that only people like us would actually see a difference, now would keeping their phones consistently up to date by providing all of its phones with the latest and greatest boost sales, sure it would, but not in large numbers like introducing a new phone would, business always boils down to competition.. when apple releases the iphone 5 htc isnt going to answer back by updating all of its phones to gingerbread, its going to retaliate by introducing a brand new phone to catch the attention of the public, so it all comes down to prioritizing and htc will be more concerned about getting new costumers rather than keeping old ones happy, not to say they dont care about current costumers.. just not as much as they do about expanding and getting new ones.. however since our phone is still highly promoted and still the flagship for sprint that means its still bringing in new costumers and anything that can aid that will probably done (thus making evo 2.3 a priority), however the question of how high of a priority that is will come down to the question of how much longer will the evo be a flagship phone for

 

[EarlyMon]

HTC got a lot of positive press in the face of Samsung's US update debacle.

It will be interesting to see how that plays into things this year.

The general public venturing into our forums in the Android Lounge start a new thread for each person - and that's flooded with What Phone Should I Buy?

There, the press releases and graphs for HTC's update record became a battle-cry and a lot of people chose HTC for that reason. This has often been a factor for the educated buying public.

So - it will be interesting to see how HTC, Motorola and Samsung compete in this area, this year.

I still maintain that all things being equal, HTC won't release updates for the Evo that might make the ThunderBolt seem outdated on delivery - so whatever the date is, I don't believe it will come before that's released, at minimum.

And if the Evo 3D is truly the Evo successor, there will be plenty of differentiation there so that withholding Gingerbread will not drive Evo owners to Evo 3D, so that's in our favor.

 

[Slice28]

HTC got a lot of positive press in the face of Samsung's US update debacle.

It will be interesting to see how that plays into things this year.

The general public venturing into our forums in the Android Lounge start a new thread for each person - and that's flooded with What Phone Should I Buy?

There, the press releases and graphs for HTC's update record became a battle-cry and a lot of people chose HTC for that reason. This has often been a factor for the educated buying public.

So - it will be interesting to see how HTC, Motorola and Samsung compete in this area, this year.

I still maintain that all things being equal, HTC won't release updates for the Evo that might make the ThunderBolt seem outdated on delivery - so whatever the date is, I don't believe it will come before that's released, at minimum.

And if the Evo 3D is truly the Evo successor, there will be plenty of differentiation there so that withholding Gingerbread will not drive Evo owners to Evo 3D, so that's in our favor.

nice observations

 

[drexappeal]

unfourtanetly i just dont think that htc thinks that much into it.. not to say that they dont realize all that you just said but to the general public most people dont even know the difference between android 1.5 and android 2.3.. and in the case of 2.2 to 2.3 the differences are so subtle that only people like us would actually see a difference, now would keeping their phones consistently up to date by providing all of its phones with the latest and greatest boost sales, sure it would, but not in large numbers like introducing a new phone would, business always boils down to competition.. when apple releases the iphone 5 htc isnt going to answer back by updating all of its phones to gingerbread, its going to retaliate by introducing a brand new phone to catch the attention of the public, so it all comes down to prioritizing and htc will be more concerned about getting new costumers rather than keeping old ones happy, not to say they dont care about current costumers.. just not as much as they do about expanding and getting new ones.. however since our phone is still highly promoted and still the flagship for sprint that means its still bringing in new costumers and anything that can aid that will probably done (thus making evo 2.3 a priority), however the question of how high of a priority that is will come down to the question of how much longer will the evo be a flagship phone for

I understand where you're coming from and definitely agree that the general public doesn't know the difference. What they DO know is which phone "works better" than the other phone and "ideally" the concept of having a "newer" OS should be intended to work hand-in-hand with a phone that "works better."

A flagship phone remains just that until sales start to decrease. That model can work for any business. You ride the wave of popularity until that popularity fizzles out. Pointing out the General consumers, I can also guarantee that NONE of them know what phones are "rumored" to be coming out and probably won't know anything about those "new" phones, until they're already released. The only phone that garners that type of attention is the iPhone. Question is, has the EVO gained enough popularity to make people wait in line like they do for the iPhone? I'd love to say "yes," but realistically I say "probably not."

Right now, there's absolutely no reason for Sprint to stop the hype train of advertising on the EVO. It's still selling well, there aren't any "new" phones for Sprint, and the general consumer is not paying attention to the fact that there's a dual screen kyocera phone coming out and judging from the response after Sprint announced that phone, I highly doubt they put any advertising money into promoting the eventual release of that phone. Regardless, Sprint is doing the right thing by promoting the heck out of the EVO due to its unexpected height of popularity (which I personally believe exceeded Sprint's expectations). My thinking is, if they upgrade the EVO to 2.3, then shortly after announce the "new" Evo's release date, and then drop the price of the current EVO a month or so prior to release. I'd say it'd be a pretty good way for them to move HTC product without any competition from other phones, while still having good projections for sales of the "new" EVO.

To a certain extent, you're probably right that HTC doesn't think that deeply into the marketing strategy, simply because their main concern is moving product and being able to support those products accross the board. Again, all of that has to be taken into consideration when planning a proper marketing/sales strategy. Plan it the wrong way or be completely unprepared...that turns into a sales nightmare.

 

[Slice28]

I understand where you're coming from and definitely agree that the general public doesn't know the difference. What they DO know is which phone "works better" than the other phone and "ideally" the concept of having a "newer" OS should be intended to work hand-in-hand with a phone that "works better."

A flagship phone remains just that until sales start to decrease. That model can work for any business. You ride the wave of popularity until that popularity fizzles out. Pointing out the General consumers, I can also guarantee that NONE of them know what phones are "rumored" to be coming out and probably won't know anything about those "new" phones, until they're already released. The only phone that garners that type of attention is the iPhone. Question is, has the EVO gained enough popularity to make people wait in line like they do for the iPhone? I'd love to say "yes," but realistically I say "probably not."

Right now, there's absolutely no reason for Sprint to stop the hype train of advertising on the EVO. It's still selling well, there aren't any "new" phones for Sprint, and the general consumer is not paying attention to the fact that there's a dual screen kyocera phone coming out and judging from the response after Sprint announced that phone, I highly doubt they put any advertising money into promoting the eventual release of that phone. Regardless, Sprint is doing the right thing by promoting the heck out of the EVO due to its unexpected height of popularity (which I personally believe exceeded Sprint's expectations). My thinking is, if they upgrade the EVO to 2.3, then shortly after announce the "new" Evo's release date, and then drop the price of the current EVO a month or so prior to release. I'd say it'd be a pretty good way for them to move HTC product without any competition from other phones, while still having good projections for sales of the "new" EVO.

To a certain extent, you're probably right that HTC doesn't think that deeply into the marketing strategy, simply because their main concern is moving product and being able to support those products accross the board. Again, all of that has to be taken into consideration when planning a proper marketing/sales strategy. Plan it the wrong way or be completely unprepared...that turns into a sales nightmare.

you made some very good points.. aside from the iphone id have to say that the evo is the most popular phone on the market and maybe the droid coming in at third?.. taking that into consideration maybe sprint and htc will give a little extra attention to updating the evo.. and contrary to what i said about the general public, i do notice that more and more casual users are coming accustom to the whole android platform and how it works.. last summer when i first got the evo people would always go "wow nice phone, what is it an iphone or something" and after my best attempts to explain the all so incredible evo i would end up simply describing it as "kind of like the droid" now i see a ton of people using the evo and people usually understand what im talking about when i explain what my phone is, so i think that the android platform is finally becoming mainstreamed in the sense that the general public at least as a general idea of what the different android phones are and how things like 2.1 and 2.3 differ, thus making it more of a priority to dish out updates since more people now know when their being short changed

 

[drexappeal]

HTC got a lot of positive press in the face of Samsung's US update debacle.

It will be interesting to see how that plays into things this year.

The general public venturing into our forums in the Android Lounge start a new thread for each person - and that's flooded with What Phone Should I Buy?

There, the press releases and graphs for HTC's update record became a battle-cry and a lot of people chose HTC for that reason. This has often been a factor for the educated buying public.

So - it will be interesting to see how HTC, Motorola and Samsung compete in this area, this year.

I still maintain that all things being equal, HTC won't release updates for the Evo that might make the ThunderBolt seem outdated on delivery - so whatever the date is, I don't believe it will come before that's released, at minimum.

And if the Evo 3D is truly the Evo successor, there will be plenty of differentiation there so that withholding Gingerbread will not drive Evo owners to Evo 3D, so that's in our favor.

I think HTC and Motorola have really earned their reputations for having good support of their products. As many issues as there were with the EVO after release, HTC seemed to handle it very well (that includes providing Sprint with replacement EVO's at no additional charge, due to the glitch dual update that was bricking people's phones...mine included...LOL).

You may be right regarding the EVO update coming after the Thunderbolt release, BUT...if I were Sprint, I'd be pushing for HTC to make it happen based on the theory that dedicated Verizon customers are not likely to leave Verizon to get the EVO, just because it has the "newer" version of Android. As Slice28 pointed out, the general consumer more than likely won't know the difference and the specs on the Thunderbolt on 2.2 should lead one to believe that it will perform generally "as good" as the EVO on 2.3. From a general consumer that is currently on Verizon, I think their main thought process would be, "if Verizon is coming out with a phone that is like the EVO, it's more convenient for me to stay." Quite honestly, aside from the fact that Verizon and AT&T's coverage went to crap by my house, one of the main staying factors for me (with regard to staying with Sprint) was convenience. It just so happened that the EVO came out right at the time that I needed to get rid of my Touch Pro which was so overwhelmingly disappointing. Again, if HTC and Verizon market correctly, I don't see any reason for them to hold back the EVO from getting updated, if that means it moves more EVO's as well. Bottom line, the EVO is still a HTC phone and they still need to sell the older phones just as much as the newer phones.

 

[dan330]

sprint and htc.. really dropped a huge ball.. when they did not predict the huge popularity of the evo at release...

and then the inability to ramp up quickly to capture the demand...
they might have been double the sales.. of total evos out there

keeping the small crowd of in-the-know-users happy with updates.. translates to huge sales....and market share.
true, the general public dont know much.. but most know a friend that is phone-guy. and that person's opinion does make a difference what a niche group of friends might spend their money on.

 

[drexappeal]

you made some very good points.. aside from the iphone id have to say that the evo is the most popular phone on the market and maybe the droid coming in at third?.. taking that into consideration maybe sprint and htc will give a little extra attention to updating the evo.. and contrary to what i said about the general public, i do notice that more and more casual users are coming accustom to the whole android platform and how it works.. last summer when i first got the evo people would always go "wow nice phone, what is it an iphone or something" and after my best attempts to explain the all so incredible evo i would end up simply describing it as "kind of like the droid" now i see a ton of people using the evo and people usually understand what im talking about when i explain what my phone is, so i think that the android platform is finally becoming mainstreamed in the sense that the general public at least as a general idea of what the different android phones are and how things like 2.1 and 2.3 differ, thus making it more of a priority to dish out updates since more people now know when their being short changed

Thanks. Majority of my takes are just from a business/marketing strategy perspective. My disadvantage there is I really don't know the in's and out's of the mobile product industry, but I do have a TON of experience with Marketing and Sales from a corporate business standpoint.

Yup...I remember when I first got my evo on release. I was an Android newb. People would ask if it's an iPhone and I'd say, "No, it's an EVO. It's basically Sprint's version of the Droid." At that time, all people knew was the term "Droid" when it came to Android phones. They didn't know what the heck an Evo was. Nowadays, people hear EVO, they see EVO ads, a lot of the talk is EVO vs. iPhone.

I'm still banking on the majority of the general consumer not knowing what the difference is between a earlier version of android vs. a newer android os. It's that same general consumer that LOVES the iPhone. If you ask them what version of the iPhone OS they have...majority would probably say, "uh, I don't know. Apple?"

That's one thing I didn't address that makes it additionaly tough on HTC. The android OS is spread across the board to different manufacturers, as supposed to the iPhone which has 3 different version of the same product. At that point, it all comes down to which Android phone really appeals to what the general consumer is screaming for - Convenience and ease of use, combined with great looks.

 

[drexappeal]

sprint and htc.. really dropped a huge ball.. when they did not predict the huge popularity of the evo at release...

and then the inability to ramp up quickly to capture the demand...
they might have been double the sales.. of total evos out there

keeping the small crowd of in-the-know-users happy with updates.. translates to huge sales....and market share.
true, the general public dont know much.. but most know a friend that is phone-guy. and that person's opinion does make a difference what a niche group of friends might spend their money on.

Well, they had to take a "calculated" risk with the EVO and you're correct that they did not make the proper prediction. The problem is, do you remember what happened to Sprint when they took a bigger risk with the Samsung Instinct?...They crashed and burned with that. Honestly, Sprint even had me buy into the hype and get one of those for the same person on my account that currently has an Epic. Sprint couldn't really afford to take the same "leap" with the EVO because the competition for Android phones available on the market was greater. From that standpoint, I completely understand why Sprint/HTC went about it the way that they did. Short term, yes...they probably lost a good amount of sales because of that. Long term, the EVO is still just as popular and still has a buzz around with the general consumer.

And from my personal experience, even though I've raved about my phone and tried to convince others in my family to get my phone...since I'm the one that keeps up with the info, I give them advice that would be best suited for their needs, not just for them to go with the EVO, just because I personally feel great about the phone. Hence, I convinced one family member to go from iPhone4 to a Motorola Atrix. I convinced one to go Blackberry Curve to Samsung Captivate (galaxy s on ATT). I convinced 2 family members to upgrade to Samsung Epic, 2 to get the EVO, 1 to get the Evo Shift, etc, etc...

 

[dan330]

^^^ yes..

but you moved them to an android phone.. mostly.
because of your opinion/advice.. then got what they got.

so..keeping you happy.. will affect the people around you.

so if an oem spend some $$ too keep the power-user happy.. that affects more than just one sale.

 

[drexappeal]

^^^ yes..

but you moved them to an android phone.. mostly.
because of your opinion/advice.. then got what they got.

so..keeping you happy.. will affect the people around you.

so if an oem spend some $$ too keep the power-user happy.. that affects more than just one sale.

Good point. I'm sure, based on the rise in popularity of the Android OS (indicated through sales percentages), they can now strategize with a little more risk with an assumption that the reward will be greater. But they never would've been able to do that before considering that Android's popularity hadn't reached the numbers that it currently holds.

Keeping the power users happy is actually quite easier than the general consumer, simply because A LOT of power users will end up rooting their devices and customizing it to perform to the levels that they feel the device warrants. It's the general consumer that isn't going to go about customizing their devices to that extent that need to feel that the product is WELL worth the money they end up spending.

 

[dan330]

Keeping the power users happy is actually quite easier than the general consumer, simply because A LOT of power users will end up rooting their devices and customizing it to perform to the levels that they feel the device warrants. It's the general consumer that isn't going to go about customizing their devices to that extent that need to feel that the product is WELL worth the money they end up spending.

we agree .. it is easy for oem to keep the rooters happy.

all they (HTC) have to do.. is drop the code for the new android and kernel and sense... for all the new updates...
and let the developers/hackers (open sources) do all the heavy lifting..
(for at least 2 yrs for each phone).

that little would go miles in good will ....with huge communities... and create brand loyalty

 

[drexappeal]

Sorry for getting so off topic on this. Here's another article reporting the 3 new Sprint devices and HTC Tablet to be announced for Sprint at CTIA:

Sprint set to announce HTC EVO View 4G tablet at CTIA - San Francisco Gadgets | Examiner.com

HTC tablet trademark
HTC files for "HTC EVO View 4G" trademark

 

[EarlyMon]

You may be right regarding the EVO update coming after the Thunderbolt release, BUT...if I were Sprint, I'd be pushing for HTC to make it happen based on the theory that dedicated Verizon customers are not likely to leave Verizon to get the EVO, just because it has the "newer" version of Android.

Visit the ThunderBolt forums, here and elsewhere.

People began comparing it to the Evo, and anyone owning an Evo gets a strong voice on those threads by acclamation.

The same people excited about switching to the Bolt as existing Verizon customers and new converts are the now the same people charging the town hall with pitchforks over the uncertainty of the Bolt's release.

If the Evo gets the new Sense and a GB upgrade while the Bolt delivers at 2.2, it's going to confirm everyone's worst accusation - that the Bolt will be obsolete by the time it launches.

And they're not blaming HTC - they're blaming Verizon, because all of the insider info says that the phone itself has been good to go for a while.

Of course, that's just people on forums - but - dan330 is expressing Girard's Law of 250, a marketing concept that says, statistically, people influence the purchases of 250 prospective buyers as a rule of thumb.

As for HTC not being up on marketing - well, I'm on record that no one in the cell industry seems to know where his rear-end is on advertising - however, after too long a lull when Verizon recently pulled the Bolt ads (and the iPad 2 was launching, and the Verizon website was re-tooled to give the categories: iPhone or Smartphone), HTC started running a LOT of Bolt ads, stirring the pot even further.

So - Evo getting GB before the Bolt release with Froyo won't drive people to the Evo - it'll drive them to just wait for the Droid Bionic or to just give up and get an iP4. (Many of the unhappy waiters have bought iP4s with the hope of returning them within that window when the Bolt launches, but already many of those have said the heck with Android and moved on.)

Therefore, a rapid Bolt release followed by our 2.3 update would make the best image sense.

Strictly opinions with lots of room for error.

 

[drexappeal]

we agree .. it is easy for oem to keep the rooters happy.

all they (HTC) have to do.. is drop the code for the new android and kernel and sense... for all the new updates...
and let the developers/hackers (open sources) do all the heavy lifting..
(for at least 2 yrs for each phone).

that little would go miles in good will ....with huge communities... and create brand loyalty

Visit the ThunderBolt forums, here and elsewhere.

People began comparing it to the Evo, and anyone owning an Evo gets a strong voice on those threads by acclamation.

The same people excited about switching to the Bolt as existing Verizon customers and new converts are the now the same people charging the town hall with pitchforks over the uncertainty of the Bolt's release.

If the Evo gets the new Sense and a GB upgrade while the Bolt delivers at 2.2, it's going to confirm everyone's worst accusation - that the Bolt will be obsolete by the time it launches.

And they're not blaming HTC - they're blaming Verizon, because all of the insider info says that the phone itself has been good to go for a while.

Of course, that's just people on forums - but - dan330 is expressing Girard's Law of 250, a marketing concept that says, statistically, people influence the purchases of 250 prospective buyers as a rule of thumb.

As for HTC not being up on marketing - well, I'm on record that no one in the cell industry seems to know where his rear-end is on advertising - however, after too long a lull when Verizon recently pulled the Bolt ads (and the iPad 2 was launching, and the Verizon website was re-tooled to give the categories: iPhone or Smartphone), HTC started running a LOT of Bolt ads, stirring the pot even further.

So - Evo getting GB before the Bolt release with Froyo won't drive people to the Evo - it'll drive them to just wait for the Droid Bionic or to just give up and get an iP4. (Many of the unhappy waiters have bought iP4s with the hope of returning them within that window when the Bolt launches, but already many of those have said the heck with Android and moved on.)

Therefore, a rapid Bolt release followed by our 2.3 update would make the best image sense.

Strictly opinions with lots of room for error.

You guys both bring up excellent points and again, IMO, the bottom line will depend on what HTC finds to be most beneficial to move product and increase sales. Happens all the time in business, generally speaking, where a product is held back, due to another competing product being a little 'bit better and likely easier to generate beyond projected figures. If both can be release, while still hitting projections, so be it...fantastic.

 

[drexappeal]

Just took a read through on the Thunderbolt forums. Man, there is some serious hate for Sprint! Funny thing is, majority of the complaints about Sprint are the coverage areas, but that's completely contrary for me. At my house, Sprint is the only provider that gets full signal majority of the time. All of the other providers (ATT/Verizon/T-Mobile) don't get any signal. Just goes to show you that convenience/reliability, even for tech fans, is definitely a #1 priority.

 

[EarlyMon]

Yep, Step One is definitely choose your carrier.

And who doesn't want something that just works?

The only guys I've come across rooting to fix broken out of the box on this forum are users for Moment, Huawei Ascend and those with Samsung GPS woes. All others seem - to me - to be rooting to improve what already works.

So - bottom line for me - there's already been a Bolt rom out for the Evo - whichever phone gets the rom with 2.3 + Sense 2.1 or higher, in a stock rooted rom, that's what I'll likely choose if the delay is too significant.

I'm still running 3.26 because 3.29 didn't interest me and I didn't like the defect list I came across around here for 3.70 - so - I'm kinda ripe for some kind of upgrade.

Everything basically works (ug - still living with 720/mpeg4) - but just because I want better.

 

[dan330]

i could get into so much trouble in the bolt forum... i better stay out...



(yeah right)

 

[Old Shadow]

Just took a read through on the Thunderbolt forums. Man, there is some serious hate for Sprint! Funny thing is, majority of the complaints about Sprint are the coverage areas, but that's completely contrary for me. At my house, Sprint is the only provider that gets full signal majority of the time. All of the other providers (ATT/Verizon/T-Mobile) don't get any signal. Just goes to show you that convenience/reliability, even for tech fans, is definitely a #1 priority.

My family really enjoys Sprint's America's Roaming. Don't care where we are, if the Sprint signal is weak, it hops to the strongest signal. No roaming charges! So nice!

 

[SaleenFiend]

My family really enjoys Sprint's America's Roaming. Don't care where we are, if the Sprint signal is weak, it hops to the strongest signal. No roaming charges! So nice!

I agree...although its only half of the Verizon network and not GSM or HSPA. We only have CDMA technology. People @ Verizon don't seem to grasp this though. I have Stellar Sprint coverage in my area and I get great service anywhere else. Competing with a family full of converts to ATT recently I have impressed them by destroying their service and 3G on roadtrips.


Lastly I think all of you guys make great points that are arguable either way. I have my speculations but I know that its just a crazy guessing game at this point. I hope to see 2.3/2.4 soon coupled with Sense 2.1+ bc in reality the Bolt really won't be too much more appealing than an EVO if with the same software. (Who would have thought a year later we are still very relevant to the current superphones) the EVO and Epic are great and still have a shelf life. Hopefully Apple, Android, RIM, Windows mobile and others will continue to build stellar equipment so that we can see cheaper and better technology faster than ever.

At this point I'm not really sure what superphone I'll go to eventually but I'm satisfied with my Warm Z EVO at this point. It's going to have to be something spectacular within Sprint to make me change....

 

[3volut1on]

Just took a read through on the Thunderbolt forums. Man, there is some serious hate for Sprint! Funny thing is, majority of the complaints about Sprint are the coverage areas, but that's completely contrary for me. At my house, Sprint is the only provider that gets full signal majority of the time. All of the other providers (ATT/Verizon/T-Mobile) don't get any signal. Just goes to show you that convenience/reliability, even for tech fans, is definitely a #1 priority.

Got to second that! I've had Sprint since '00 - back when they were Radio Shack only I believe - have lived all over the country, and NEVER had reception issues. Now, customer service on the other hand has been abysmal at times, but that's what the retentions dept. is for.