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Thunderbolt owner Roll call

Time Bought: 6pm PST on Friday 3/18 in BB's Mtn View store (near Stanford, CA, San Francisco Bay Area)

Line: there was no line, I had an appointment b/c I pre-ordered back in February. They said they spaced their appointments so everyone could be serviced quickly.

Contract: 2 Year, got BB's Buy Back and Black Tie program (50% off for the Buy Back with the Black Tie ($30 one time charge)). One thing to note, the Black Tie has unlimited claims if you have something go wrong with your phone; it also covers accidental damage, water damage, replacement batteries and there's no deductible. Alternatively, the VZW store's insurance policy has a $160.00 deductible and there is a 2 claim limit.

Accessories: Online I had already ordered the Seidio hard plastic cover Surface II with holster combo (sapphire blue), screen protectors and 1600 mAh battery - this battery will fit in the same form factor, so there's no bulky phone bulge. In the store, I bought a car charger and windshield mount (he gave me 15% off those 2 accessories).

Supply Level: They had set aside all the pre-orders and had another 20 to 25 for walk ups.

Price Out the Door: I did the 249.99 for the 2 year plan on the TB, and I'm also getting a $50 credit from BB Corporate. Woo hoo!

It did take them longer to do the porting over from ATT to VZW b/c the system kept booting out the sales rep during the middle of the process. So he had to call the VZW center directly and have them do the porting over. He felt bad that I had to wait so long (I was there 1.5 hours, but it was ok, b/c he let me play with their demo phone.) After the activation in the store, it was super fast to convert over my phone list from my feature phone to the TB. I'm really glad I got the TB. Since I'm a newbie to Android and smart phones, it will take me awhile to learn about all the different things it can do. So far, I'm a happy camper!

Charging my TB now!
 
I've been playing with this since last night. There was some issue with getting the activation setup, even buying at the verizon store, but its been super smooth since.

I got the black silicone case and screen protector. With corporate discount and a ne2 30$ off it was 260.

There was no line and they seemed to be selling a lot but there are also multiple stores in the area.

4g is faster than wifi by a lot for me, but it does suck battery. As i can't be on the phone most of the day, i had a full charge with light to moderate usage last 12 hours. If this keeps up the included battery should be fine.
 
No waiting in line, first in the store, three others came in shortly after.

Activation process took 2 HOURS!!! Purchased at a Verizon store, employees were really nice and I was so excited about the phone, I didn't really mind the wait.

Wow.....I went to Verizon when they opened @ 9:00, the salesman was waiting for me since he had called me to inform me that the TB was coming in on Thursday. He mentioned they had received about 30 the night before, but would not let me talk him out of the geeky TB tee shirts all the salesman were wearing. lol.
There were about 20 people in the store @ 9:00 a.m. and everyone of them were purchasing or looking at the accessories for the TB.
Activation took about 20 minutes. Working like a charm ever since.
Paid about $220. with 2 year contract, case, pack of protectors and -$50. upgrade .
 
I got mine as a work device so we got it via Fedex thanks to our Verizon Business Rep. Mine was a new account with a number port from AT&T with no major issues. Loving the insane LTE speeds and overall speed of phone. Not really liking the fast draining battery. Patiently waiting for a simple root to get rid of all of the Verizon bloat.
 
My wife got the OG droid when it first came out but I've been waiting for LTE before making the move to a smart phone. After reading the first day reviews I walked into the local Verizon store around noon on Friday afternoon and a salesperson was available immediately. I played with one of two demo units and then went back to the waiting salesperson to buy mine (stock didn't seem to be an issue).

When I had checked pricing online I had both a $10 discount and a $50 ne2, but the salesman said he could only do one or the other (even after I showed him their website). I wanted to have the weekend to play with it so I went ahead and paid the $199 after the ne2. The only thing that slowed me down was the data transfer from my old phone which they had some problems with and service was activated by the time I left the store.

I didn't buy any Verizon accessories, but just ordered a sapphire blue Innocase II Surface Combo case/holster and a High Output Car Charger from Seido. Got 17% off with the St. Patty's discount and free shipping since the two came to just over $50. I also ordered a Steinheil Ultra Crystal screen protector from Amazon (also w/ free shipping). Probably would have ordered the Seido protector but they are backordered and both seem to get high praise in the forums.

Many thanks to everyone here who shared their experiences and recommendations! Here's hoping the battery performance is reasonable, everything else has been great so far!
 
I'm in! 11:20 PM CST 3/19 (my new every 2 just kicked in fully)
Purchased online
Got a car charger until I figure if I want the extended battery or not
2yr 169 for phone

:)
 
As a VZW employee, you get 1 year contracts but pay the 2 year pricing. Wondering if any one else with EPP has been able to order their TB. I'm not sure if it's just trying to block me from ordering it or if something's up with my My Verizon account. *Sigh*

*EDIT* Nevermind, started working again and got my order placed:
Order placed at 3:54 AM for $219.99 (not sure what the extra discount was for), 1 year contract and also ordered the black/blue silicone cover and screen protectors. Overnight shipping to work, should arrive Friday.

I was tempted to get the car mount but I wanna see it at the store with the cover. Also, I didn't see the desk mount, inductive charging battery cover and the wireless charging pad (it's an LG product from what I saw) but am going to call for these later. Now just the wait for tomorrow!

Also, for the record my Pre 2 is still active. I figure it will deactivate once it's sent out since the SIM is already activated upon arrival.

What kind of discounts do employees get on the plans?
 
Well I got mine today around 1pm.I didn't even know this was coming out this week.I basically walked on in looking up grade to the droid 2 or something different.Chatted with the gal for a few mins about what I was looking for.Then she points out the T-bolt ,I'm lime hm so I play with it for a few mins and was already hooked.I think the total time I was there was maybe 25 mins to set the phone up and purchase etc.My bill was like 420 but I got the buddle deal.Been messing around all day with and love it to death.I'm glad I didn't go back to a more ugly phone. I can't wait until 4g comes to my area.This phone is also faster then first generation droid too by far.For some reason I got two car chargers ha I dunno if I should return or just keep it.
 
Still FRICKIN waiting!!!! The verizon rep says I have to call the internet orders department to see why it hasnt shipped yet. I"M ABOUT TO SNAP!!!!!!!!
 
Just ordered mine! I got a special deal cut:

Called verizon and said the signal sucks where I am (it does) and also said my battery life is all jacked up since I got my Incredible when it was released. My upgrade isn't till april 30th so I was expecting to pay just about 600 out of pocket. Nope! Sales rep put me on hold, talked to some people and got me the phone for $250!!! Billed to my next month's bill. woot!!

No screen protector
no case
no extended battery

I'm going bareback old school with this baby.

It gets here on wednesday. Can't wait!
 
Give us your stats, what time you bought it, if you had to wait in line, what accessories you bought with it, no contract 1 year or 2 year contract, what price you paid out the door etc etc. Oh and if your store had a limited supply of Thunderbolts, if you picked up the last one right before someone else asked about them, post that up too! :D

1. Around 7:50am at work. Didn't wait in line got it online.
2. I didn't buy accessories when i got the phone but i bought a case the day after on Amazon.
3. 2 year contract.
4. Paid enough to get it lol.
5. Hated the fact that when i bought it online on Friday that i had to wait till Monday to receive it.
 
3/16/2011 Online - Wirefly

$219.60 - Price (Overnight Shipping included)

Received 3/18/2011 @ Noon

Didn't buy accessories online, however I scored a two piece snap on @ local Verizon store for $19.99.
 
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