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Played with a Thunderbolt, not impressed

V

Vance

Android Enthusiast
OK, first I must point out that we don't have 4G in our area, so I could not be wowed with the speed. And, the hardware is awesome. But the software was just entirely meh.

After living with a rooted Gingerbread Droid 1, the Sense feels constricted and "bound" for some reason. Maybe just in my head. A music aficionado might understand the analogy if I called the OS "overproduced".

And the UI did not feel any faster or smoother. In fact, scrolling through the tray even felt a bit rougher. And no root? Grrr.

I really want more memory, more internal storage and a larger screen, but this one isn't it. Maybe the Bionic? Luckily, I am happy enough with my Droid that I feel the luxury of being able to wait for more "superphones" to come.
 
Just keep in mind that most of the new Android phones (let me know if I am wrong) are going to be more difficult to root. the Droid 1 is probably the easiest phone to root. Everything that is coming out nowadays (thunderbolt, bionic, etc) includes programs like Sense and Blur. Its always going to be more difficult to get past those programs. Also, I dont know if HTC and Motorola will do this, but I know the Droid X has a locked bootloader. From what I understand, more companies are throwing different roadblocks for those who want to root.

The Thunderbolt should make a different speed-wise if you are in a 4G area. I might look into that one, I'm moving to Charlotte soon and will be starting a new plan with my soon-to-be wife.
 
Congratulations on the upcoming wedding! And you are right about the new clampdown on rooting, and the prevalence of skinning. What I am hoping for is that the next Nexus will come to Verizon (they have been making the rounds of carriers with each one) and it will be vanilla Android, at least.
 
solo65impala said:
I hope that the Nexus comes to VZW as well, but at the rate things are going it would be locked and bloated too!
Click to expand...

So far, I thought the Nexus phones have been clean Android so that Google can present them as their ideal of the "pure" experience. Have any of the manufacturers skinned them? But you are right, I am sure they WILL if Google doesn't stomp on them! :0)
 
Dowdy_Ficklen said:
Just keep in mind that most of the new Android phones (let me know if I am wrong) are going to be more difficult to root. the Droid 1 is probably the easiest phone to root. Everything that is coming out nowadays (thunderbolt, bionic, etc) includes programs like Sense and Blur. Its always going to be more difficult to get past those programs. Also, I dont know if HTC and Motorola will do this, but I know the Droid X has a locked bootloader. From what I understand, more companies are throwing different roadblocks for those who want to root.
Click to expand...
Check here:
Thunderbolt - All Things Root - Android Forums
They already have root and multiple custom ROMS for the TB.
 
Vance said:
So far, I thought the Nexus phones have been clean Android so that Google can present them as their ideal of the "pure" experience. Have any of the manufacturers skinned them? But you are right, I am sure they WILL if Google doesn't stomp on them! :0)
Click to expand...
Yeah so far they have been vanilla and I hope they stay that way. If one was to come to Verizon, and wasn't locked and bloated, I would probably have a Thunderbolt for sale;)
 
Vance said:
OK, first I must point out that we don't have 4G in our area, so I could not be wowed with the speed. And, the hardware is awesome. But the software was just entirely meh.

After living with a rooted Gingerbread Droid 1, the Sense feels constricted and "bound" for some reason. Maybe just in my head. A music aficionado might understand the analogy if I called the OS "overproduced".

And the UI did not feel any faster or smoother. In fact, scrolling through the tray even felt a bit rougher. And no root? Grrr.

I really want more memory, more internal storage and a larger screen, but this one isn't it. Maybe the Bionic? Luckily, I am happy enough with my Droid that I feel the luxury of being able to wait for more "superphones" to come.
Click to expand...

How can I load gingerbread?
My phone is rooted. I had some issues and I did a factory reset, however, I am still rooted.
thanks.
 
You can install launcher pro if you do not like sense. My biggest problem was the screen was not very bright compared to my Droid. In the browser, white backgrounds looked gray and not white. I found the phone to be very responsive and not laggy at all. Couldn't buy it knowing the Charge with a SuperAmoled+ screen is around the corner.
 
Britney said:
How can I load gingerbread?
My phone is rooted. I had some issues and I did a factory reset, however, I am still rooted.
thanks.
Click to expand...

If you look in the Root section above, there is a ROM sub-forum. In there is the GPA 14, by Peter Alfonso (just look for the thread with GPA in the title), which is a great Gingerbread rom for the Droid. There is also a tutorial on how to install a custom rom, what other software you will need to walk through the process, etc. I am very happy with it!
 
gwlaw99 said:
You can install launcher pro if you do not like sense. My biggest problem was the screen was not very bright compared to my Droid. In the browser, white backgrounds looked gray and not white. I found the phone to be very responsive and not laggy at all. Couldn't buy it knowing the Charge with a SuperAmoled+ screen is around the corner.
Click to expand...

I had not thought about Launcher Pro at all! Good call, that is what I am using now. The jerkiness I saw was on the app tray scrolling, which is a problem with almost all stock Android phones, but is very smooth in some of the custom roms. Other than that, it seemed pretty standard speeds.
 
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