HTC ThunderBolt vs Apple iPhone 4

Conclusion:

So here comes the tough part…is there a clear winner between these two smartphones? If you go by specs alone, the winner would be the HTC ThunderBolt, due to its larger display, higher resolution camera, and 4G data connectivity. We agree that there is a lot to like about the ThunderBolt, but its downfall is the not-so-hot battery life, occasional 4G dropping, and lower than expected call quality. On the other hand, the iPhone 4 seems to be better made, call quality is very good, and battery life is better, but at the cost of using a smaller screen and 3G data. So with all things being considered, we’d suggest the iPhone 4 if you are in a 3G area and use the phone a lot to talk on, but if you are in a 4G area and want the faster data speeds, then the ThunderBolt is the only way to go – or wait for more 4G smartphones to come out.

Software versions of the reviewed units:

HTC ThunderBolt: Android 2.2.1, Build 1.12.605.6, Kernel 2.6.32.21 Sat Feb 19 2011

iPhone 4: Version 4.2.6 (8E200), Firmware 1.0.005

HTC ThunderBolt Review

GENERAL             

2G Network           CDMA 800 / 1900

3G Network           CDMA2000 1xEV-DO / LTE 700

SIZE       

Dimensions         122 x 66 x 13 mm

Weight                  164 g

DISPLAY               

Type       TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors

Size        480 x 800 pixels, 4.3 inches

                - Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate

               - Proximity sensor for auto turn-off

               - HTC Sense 2.0 UI

               - Multi-touch input method

SOUND 

Alert types             Vibration, MP3, WAV ringtones

Loudspeaker        Yes

3.5mm jack           Yes

                               - DNSe (Dolby mobile sound enhancement)

MEMORY              

Phonebook           Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall

Call records          Practically unlimited

Internal                 8GB storage, 768 MB RAM

Card slot               microSD, up to 32GB, 32GB included

DATA               

GPRS                   No

EDGE                   No

3G                         Rev. A, up to 3.1 Mbps, LTE

WLAN                   Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot

Bluetooth               Yes, v2.1 with A2DP, EDR

Infrared port          No

USB                       Yes, microUSB v2.0

CAMERA               

Primary                 8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED flash

Features                               Geo-tagging, face detection

Video                     Yes, 720p

Secondary             Yes, 1.3 MP

FEATURES           

OS                        Android OS, v2.2 (Froyo)

CPU                     1GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8655 Snapdragon

Messaging            SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM

Browser                                HTML

Radio                    Stereo FM radio with RDS

Games                 Yes + downloadable

Colors                    Black

GPS                       Yes, with A-GPS support

Java                        No

                                  - Video Skype & SNS integration

                                - built-in kickstand

                                - Digital compass

                                - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic

                                - Google Search, Maps, Gmail

                                - YouTube, Google Talk, Picasa integration

                                - MP3/AAC+/WAV/WMA9 play

                                - DivX/Xvid/MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV9/player

                                - Organizer

                                - Document viewer

                                - Voice memo/dial/commands

                                - Predictive text input

BATTERY             Standard battery, Li-Ion 1400 mAh