For the dedicated few that have still held onto the HTC Thunderbolt through all of the broken promises and the infamous declaration from HTC USA that the long-expected Android Ice Cream Sandwich update would be coming soon in August of 2012 after countless delays only to be nearly forgotten about until now, Verizon has officially confirmed the update rollout with the expanded rollout beginning next week.
The HTC Thunderbolt has its place in the history of Android devices owing to it being the first Android smartphone to launch in the US with support for LTE on Verizon’s then nascent LTE network in late 2010. The high-end phone originally launched with Android Froyo, and its specifications allowed it to be updated all the way up to to Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich.
Not long afterwards, Verizon and HTC launched successors to the Thunderbolt also powered by newer versions of Android, but both companies would always dodge valid concerns by owners of the Thunderbolt on when the long-expected update would be rolled out as HTC infamously tweeted that it would be rolled out “soon”, only to be nearly forgotten about in the face of newer devices last year.
With the rollout beginning next week, one has to wonder if the update is being rolled out to avoid any legal claims against either company, as the phone is 24 months old now and has been succeeded by four generations of high-end Android smartphones from various manufacturers such as Samsung and Motorola. Realistically, the delayed rollout also demonstrates how far HTC has fallen from its once prominent position as a trusted manufacturer of Android smartphones as the HTC One debacle demonstrates that a change in direction can backfire without the proper planning and execution.
As a result of the One series not being able to compete against Samsung, Motorola and the increasing visibility of other local Chinese competitors such as Huawei and ZTE, HTC has posted loss after loss after multiple attempts to recover lost marketshare, with every attempt never gaining the expected attention that was necessary and falling behind Android flagships as a result.
The HTC Thunderbolt Android update debacle should serve as an example of how not to handle an Android update, and both Verizon and HTC have blame to share between one another for letting the update situation get to this point, both in terms of communication and expectations.
One can understand taking 6 months to develop and test an update to account for carrier needs in early 2012, but an additional 6 month delay with no explanation from the last communication on the issue in August 2012 means that there are internal issues that need to be solved on both sides, regardless of whether newer devices are available to upgrade to as a consolation. Most of the the people that would have cared about the update have already bitten the bullet and swapped to other devices by now, most likely not made by HTC.
For this reason, this update should be treated as Verizon and HTC wanting to get the update out to close the book on the issue once and for all, rather than it demonstrating that both companies still care about keeping devices updated in a timely manner when it’s plainly obvious that neither does.
Humberto,..Do you know why Straight Talk doesn’t offer a better smart phone other then the Samsung S that works on the Verizon net work? It seems all the other big companies offer almost all their smart phones except Verizon to Straight Talk.. If I were to go with ST and get a smart phone on the VZ net work is it the same as having VZ service that I now have? I know VZ is a cdma.
Thank you for your input and knowledge…
Larry
To avoid confusion the Thunderbolt did NOT launch with Gingerbread, it launched with Froyo 2.2.
I remember waiting months for gingerbread to come through and fix the phone, which it never fixed anything.
Larry,
The Straight Talk lineup of iPhone devices also are powered by Verizon Wireless’s network:
https://phone.news/confirmed-straighttalk-iphone-lineup-powered-by-verizon-wireless-22190/
“Most of the the people that would have cared about the update have already bitten the bullet and swapped to other devices by now” — really? I would think most of us that care are the ones that do still have the phone. Where is your source for that statement? I have the phone because Verizon has decided to screw us out of unlimited data if we get a “subsidized” phone. So, I am holding on to it, and my wife’s and kids’ phones until our contract is up. Then it will be good-bye to Verizon. I have called BS on the subsidized pricing for years. If those prices are real, then how come the tablet prices don’t differ from the over the counter prices?
David,
A Droid Bionic can be had on eBay for at/around $100. Most of the people that wanted ICS, myself included, swapped to another device a long, long time ago. Verizon’s subsidy rules on unlimited data plans do not prevent you from swapping to an unsubsidized/preowned device.
If I had advice for a Thunderbolt owner, it would be to upgrade to a used Galaxy Nexus.
Not to sound dumb… But when you say beginning of next week do you mean like this Monday or next Sunday?
Too late!!! I sold my Thunderbolt and got a Samsung S3.
I swapped my Thunderbolt, for an, Ebay purchased, Galaxy Nexus almost a year ago and never looked back. My wife still has her Thunderbolt, and is getting fed up with it, and she’s jealous of how much faster and more stable my GNexus is. If this ICS update doesn’t add stability to her phone (I don’t expect it to), then I’ll be buying her a new phone on Ebay.
David – I would suggest looking at Ebay for your next phone and sticking with Verizon and unlimited data and the best network. I will never get a subsidized phone from them again to avoid moving to shared data (which I estimate will cost me an extra $50 a month). I have four phones on my account and I’m letting all the contracts expire and I’m going month-to-month. When I need a new phone, I’ll just buy one on Ebay that is a few months old for the same price as a subsidized one (I think I got my GNexus for about $250, 4 months after release).
I’m just waiting for page plus to finally allow Verizon Lte phones on there network.I know they allow it now if you know how to fix it,but I’m not that phone savy to say the least.
Sage advice Jon. I’m still holding my TBolt and waiting for the update to see if it was worth it. If not, I’ll get a used phone and keep my unlimited data.
I’ve been struggling through TBolt ownership for almost 2 years. My VZW contract expires in June. Though I’m happy to hear that I’ll finally get a somewhat modern OS, I’ll more than likely be switching to a Samsung phone and moving to T-Mobile. Sick and tired of Verizon’s crap. After many crappy TBolt ROMs, I flashed back to stock last night in preparation for the OTA update. Hoping it’s worth it and helps me more than hobble along until June. :: fingers crossed ::
Christopher and Jon,
I appreciate both of your responses. Yea… I’ll probably pick a Samsung of some sort off of ebay eventually and keep the unlimited plan. I do about 5Gb a month and my teenage son gets closer to 10Gb. My wife and daughter use much less, but between us all, the “shared data” would cost more.
Thanks again,
David.
Not that anyone is too hyped about this (except for me). The OTA is currently downloading on my phone. I’ll post a little later and let you all know how it goes…
The OTA finished a while ago for me. I cannot wait to give this a spin and see how it goes. Never again will I buy an HTC. I got the phone the first week it came out and the debacle of even the original update to Gingerbread was terrible. Remember how they started to roll it out and then stopped because of issues and we didn’t get Gingerbread until November. The phone was so unstable prior to that update.
Well, 4.0.4 official is now running on my TBolt. When I tried to update, at first was getting Download Failed messages. Had to do a factory reset and then try again. I highly recommend making sure you have a WiFi connection when updating because it’s huge (~400MB). Everything seems to be working great…as much as can be expected from Sense. Animations are smooth, screen unlocking is fast, new lockscreen features. The face unlock works great and is very snappy. Let the app loading begin!!!