iPhone “4S” Coming to All Four Major American Carriers?

The latest rumor on the next iPhone has Apple’s upcoming handset named the iPhone 4S. More importantly, it might be available on all four major American carriers. That’s the word according to Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek. Here are more details from Forbes:

“According to our industry checks, the device should be called iPhone 4S and include minor cosmetic changes, better cameras, A5 dual-core processor, and HSPA+ support,” he writes in a research note.

He also says that “industry checks indicate Apple will likely announce Sprint, T-Mobile, and China Mobile as new carriers.”

The iPhone on all four majors would be huge for Apple. It’s already killing the competition on two carriers. Being available on all four would only extend its dominance.

Are you considering the iPhone 4S? Which carrier would you want it on?

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HTC Sensation Overview Video

Here’s a slick HTC Sensation sizzle video that goes over several of the phone’s features. It wisely highlights the unique build quality (aluminum unibody, concave screen) and HTC Sense 3.0 features instead of specs. And really, that’s why I’m excited for this phone. It doesn’t have the raw power of the Samsung Galaxy S II and the GPU will likely lag behind the Nvidia chip found in the T-Mobile G2x as well, but I’m certain that it will provide a smoother Google Android experience with power that’s beyond adequate.

Check out the video and let me know what you think (please)!

New File Size Limit Should Greatly Help Android Gaming

At Google I/O 2011, the company announced an increase to the file size limit of Android apps. According to TechCrunch, the new limit is 4GB (50MB app package and two 2GB archives). This is a tremendous increase from the previous 50MB limit. Developers will be able to take advantage of the larger file sizes starting next month.

This should be tremendously helpful to game developers. The paltry 50MB limit was the second-biggest complaint I’ve heard from Android game developers. Take a game like Infinity Blade for iOS for example. That’s a 548MB file. Getting it to work on Android would have required some serious compromises that would make for an inferior experience.

While this new limit doesn’t address the difficulty of coding for different Android versions, different screen sizes, different resolutions, etc., it should give game creators much more freedom to dazzle on Android. It’s about frickin’ time Google!

T-Mobile G2x Review: Stock Android and Blazing Performance

T-Mobile was the first major American carrier to support Google Android. While the company has consistently released quality Android phones at a variety of price points, Sprint and Verizon have been getting more attention with its high-end products. The T-Mobile G2x by LG changes all of that. The G2x is currently the best Android phone available on T-Mobile and one of the best Android phones available on any carrier. Its combination of a Tegra 2 processor, HSPA+ data speeds, a high quality screen, excellent call quality, and above average build quality make it tough to beat. The Android world moves fast, but for now the G2x is an elite phone that stands at the top of this immensely competitive market. Let’s break it down!

Performance — This G2x will make you feel like He-Man. After using it for a few minutes, you’ll want to point it to the heavens and shout, “I have the power!!!” The phone’s 1GHz Tegra 2 dual-core processor is blazing. The CPU performance is stellar and the GPU performance is unparalleled. Everything feels snappy on the G2x, whether it’s scrolling through screens, launching programs, playing 3D games, etc.

The G2x is simply the most powerful phone Android phone you can buy in America. Early benchmarks indicate that it will be surpassed by the Samsung Galaxy S II, but not by much. Besides, it’s not like there are many CPU- or GPU-intensive programs available for Android (due to stupid Google limitations). This phone is a powerhouse now and will be among the top performers for the rest of the year.

Build Quality — The G2x has an understated look that some people will love and some people will find boring. Looking at the phone head-on you’ll see a large slab of Corning Gorilla Glass with a nice metal border. The top of the phone has a bit of bezel that houses the earpiece, front-facing camera, and logo. The bottom of the phone has an unusually large bit of bezel and houses the phone’s four capacitive buttons. The back of the phone is brown rubberized plastic with a metal sliver down the middle and the rear camera.

The bottom bezel is funky. Some people hate it, saying that it ruins the phone’s looks by giving it a Jay Leno-like chin. Aesthetically, I don’t mind it at all. The iPhone 4 is a beautiful phone and it has large bezels. In terms of functionality, it just seems like a waste of space. I wish LG would have made the phone a bit smaller or the the screen a bit larger.

Overall the build quality is good, but not great. The phone is an ideal size and weight for most users. For my tastes there was too much plastic and not enough metal. It didn’t have the quality feel of the iPhone 4 or the HTC Thunderbolt.

Screen — The G2x features a four-inch IPS screen with a resolution of 800 x 480. I was really surprised by the screen’s quality, but in retrospect I shouldn’t have been. LG makes the outstanding IPS display for the iPhone 4. While this four-incher isn’t quite that good, it’s one of the better displays out there. Its colors are bright and accurate — better than what most standard LCD screens produce. The blacks aren’t as deep as the ones produced by the Super AMOLED screen on my Samsung Epic 4G, but the color accuracy and text are better.

In terms of usability, most people find that four inches is the sweet spot for size and navigation. Personally I prefer 4.3-inch screens, but I was quite satisfied with G2x’s display. That said, it will look dated soon. The upcoming HTC Sensation offers a qHD resolution of 960 x 540, while the Galaxy S II features impressive Super AMOLED Plus technology. Of course the relatively small 3.5-inch display on the iPhone 4 still offers the best text on any phone. The G2x’s display is very good for now, but will be surpassed by phones slated for a Summer 2011 release.

User Interface — The G2x runs vanilla-ish Android 2.2. I don’t like calling this a stock version of Android because it’s not truly a stock version. There are programs on the phone that can’t be uninstalled (without rooting) and the camera software isn’t stock. Having said that, this is one of the few phones on the market that offers a stock-ish Android experience. The benefits are speed and faster updates.

Using the phone is what you’d expect from vanilla Android — the OS is flexible and powerful, but slightly rough around the edges compared to Apple iOS and HP WebOS. There were some odd quirks with Android on the G2X that I haven’t experienced on other stock Android phones I’ve used. For example, if the phone is locked and the screen is off, hitting the power button lets you see what’s on display before the lock slider pops up. For business users and people that engage in espionage, that’s a potential security problem. Comments on WordPress sites that use WPTouch appear, disappear, and appear again when they’re opened. From what I’ve read, these issues are a result of immature Tegra 2 drivers. They’re not true problems, but they’re definitely quirks.

There are currently only two types of Android phones that I earnestly recommend — those with stock Android and those with HTC Sense. It’s great that consumers have an incredibly powerful vanilla Android choice with the G2x.

Call Quality — This area was another pleasant surprise. The G2x’s call quality rocked. The earpiece and speaker are very clear, though the latter could stand an additional volume level. The people I spoke to on test calls were very impressed with the call quality. The four people I spoke with said that I sounded much better on the G2x than on the iPhone 4. Two of them said that I sounded slightly clearer on the G2x than on the HTC Thunderbolt, while two of them said I sounded about the same.

The G2x features WiFi calling, which is — by far — my favorite T-Mobile feature. It allows you to use WiFi in lieu of mobile signal for calls. This is fantastic for people that work in big buildings, live in areas with poor coverage, or want to use their phone in their basement. It also allows you to use your phone in other countries for “free”; as long as you’re on WiFi, you can make calls to American numbers while in other countries and it will count against your monthly bucket. Call quality on WiFi calling isn’t quite as good as regular mobile calls due to latency issues. Still, it’s better to have a tiny bit of lag than no signal at all, right?

4G Speeds — T-Mobile refers to its HSPA+ speeds as 4G. While the speeds aren’t as fast as Sprint’s WiMax and much slower than Verizon’s LTE, they’re still very good. Hopping around various parts of Los Angeles, I averaged 5 to 7Mbps down and 1 to 1.5Mpbs up. Ping rates were anywhere from 67 to 1,000 milliseconds. Naturally speeds will vary depending on your coverage.

Camera — The eight-megapixel shooter on the G2x was very good, but not great. For still images, I was happy with the picture quality. The camera produced vibrant images with fairly accurate colors. Shots in natural light were great, while indoor shots using flash were very good. As with most camera phones, the flash can be overpowering and lead to washed out images. The issue I had with the camera was that it was a little slow to focus. The HTC Thunderbolt and iPhone 4 snapped pictures much faster than the G2x.

For video, the 1080p clips I shot produced mixed results. The details were clear and the image quality was great, but the videos can be choppy. The camera can only record 1080p at 24 frames per second; if you’re filming a scene with a lot of movement then you’ll likely end up with a choppy video. Turning the resolution down to 720p at 30 frames per second resulted in smoother video that looked fantastic.

Battery Life — Initially, I was unimpressed with the G2x’s battery life. I averaged nine hours of use on my first three days with the phone. While I knew that the Tegra 2 used a lot of juice, I was still expecting more. I did notice that the phone’s radio would often fluctuate between 2G (EDGE) and 4G (WCDMA). On a lark I switched the phone to WCDMA only and my battery life increased to 13.5 hours.

The solution that worked for me will not work for everyone. Those that live in areas with sporadic WCDMA coverage will have to sacrifice battery life until a software update is available. Furthermore, I shouldn’t have to change a setting to get reasonable battery life. That’s just a sign of immature software.

Conclusion — Despite some software quirks and battery life issues, I was greatly impressed with the T-Mobile G2x. The phone is a scorcher! If you put a premium on performance then I highly recommend this phone. Its impressive Tegra 2 processor and vanilla-ish Android offer an amazingly fast experience that can’t be beat (yet). Having said that, I’m tempted by the upcoming T-Mobile HTC Sensation. While the Sensation’s GPU performance won’t be as strong, it offers a smoother Android experience with HTC Sense 3.0 and sexy aluminum unibody construction. I’m willing to give up a bit of performance for smoothness and better build quality. If speed and gaming are your top priorities then the G2x is for you.

Google I/O Day One: Music, Movies, and Sandwiches

Google kicked off its Google I/O 2011 developer conference with a keynote full of announcements. Some were exciting, some were interesting, some were meh. Here are some random thoughts on today’s announcements. Of course I want to hear what you have to say about them as well. Let’s get to it!

Android Ice Cream Sandwich — The next major version of Android will be called Ice Cream Sandwich. It will combine the phone features of Gingerbread and the tablet features of Honeycomb into one mobile operating system for all devices. The UI will receive a major overhaul and the application framework — which hasn’t been detailed — should help developers code more efficiently for multiple devices.

I’m psyched to get some Honeycomb features on a phone…but I’m bummed that I’ll have to wait until Q4 2011 to get them. The UI enhancements are completely necessary; as powerful as Android is, it still feels rough compared to Apple iOS and HP WebOS. It’s a bummer that Ice Cream Sandwich will take so long, but at least it should have a cool Nexus phone to show off its features.

I’m also praying that the new application framework truly makes things easier for developers and greatly increases the allowed file size for apps (currently 50MB). After attending numerous developer panels, I’ve come to understand what a pain in the ass it is to create games for the platform. The file size limit is just stupid. Android gaming will always be a step or two behind iOS until that restriction is lifted.

Google Music Beta — The company’s cloud-based music-service is now official. Its incredibly unexciting placeholder name is Google Music Beta. As you’d expect, it allows you to store music on the cloud and listen to songs on numerous devices. Flash is currently required to use the service. Amazon recently launched its Cloud Player service and Apple is expected to announce its iTunes cloud plans next month, so this move was expected and necessary.

I was surprised by the elegance of Music Beta’s UI. It looks smooth and intuitive, which is surprising for a company that’s known for UI that’s rough (at best) and clunky (at worst). Google will allow users to store 20,000 songs on the cloud. Several writers have pointed out that this is higher than the 5GB allowance on Cloud Player, but few of them reminded their readers that buying an online album bumps the storage to 20GB.

Music Beta looks like it’s off to a promising start. Going into the conference I was kind of “meh” about the service, but the UI really surprised me. That said, I think the company is at a huge disadvantage since it doesn’t sell music. Buying MP3s from Amazon instantly adds them to Cloud Player and I expect iTunes to behave similarly. While Music Beta looks cool and smooth, it adds an extra step. On the plus side, Music Beta offers a number of free songs to download.

Movies on Market — Movie rentals will be available on Android Market. The first Android products that can use movie rentals are tablets running Android 3.1 (released today for Xoom). Android 2.2 phones will be able to rent movies in a few weeks. Google claims that it will have “thousands” of movie rentals available for $1.99 each. Movies can be “pinned” so that they can be watched offline.

I’m positive that Google is going to mess this one up. The interface is clunky — certainly worse than what I saw from a beta of the competing HTC Watch service. Netflix is also coming to Android. One huge advantage that Netflix has is that it has a consistent feel whether you’re watching through a gaming console, a phone, or a PC. Android’s movie rental service feels awkward and competes with Google’s recently announced YouTube rental service. I think it was a mistake to launch a separate service for Android. I understand that it wants to keep all Android commerce on Android Market, but it’s an enormous waste of the YouTube brand — you know, the brand known for video.

Teaming Up for Faster Updates — Google announced an initiative that will ensure that Android phones will support the latest updates for 18 months after they’re released, as long as the hardware can handle it. Working on update guidelines and efforts to speed up the process are AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Vodafone, HTC, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericcson, and LG.

This is smart move that should have happened earlier. Although Google is slowing down the Android release schedule, it’s still fairly frequent. New Android phones are released every week (or it feels that way). Getting the latest software update is bottlenecked by hardware manufacturers and carriers. Bringing everyone together to make the process faster will keep phones competitive for a longer period of time and, more importantly, keep customers happy.

Also, that photo of Christina Aguilera is there for no real reason.

Google TV Gets Android 3.1 — *yawn* I was excited for Google TV when it was announced at last year’s show. The products have been disappointing, but not as disappointing as Google’s lack of support for the service. Hopefully new hardware and new software can help Google TV live up to its potential.

Android Accessories — Google is releasing a development kit to broaden the use of Android. It wants Android phones and tablets to be used with atypical products. It showed an Android phone being used as a heart rate monitor paired with a stationary bike. This could be fun…or it could be like the Wii heart rate monitor. *joke* I expect to see a ton of crap Android “accessories” at CES 2012. I’m positive that I could make a one-hour show about it.

Android @Home — Google is also working on ways to have Android control appliances and lights in the home. This is kind of neat in the “house of the future” kind of way…but I’m scared of a micro-Skynet scenario. I don’t want to die because I pissed off my refrigerator and it ordered my barbecue grill to roast me.

Your Turn — Those are my initial thoughts on today’s Google I/O announcements. Now it’s your turn! Please let me know what you think when you have a chance.

Skype Support Coming to Kinect and Xbox 360 Users

In case you didn’t know, Microsoft has just purchased Skype for $8.5-billion (cash!!!). Skype allows for audio and video communication using voice over IP technology (VoIP). The company plans to implement Skype in its Kinect and Xbox 360 products. Here’s a clip from the press release:

Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities. Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms.

With friends and family around the world, I’m a huge fan of Skype. The call quality is outstanding and the international rates are competitive. I use the free Skype-to-Skype service, as well as Skype Out calls to mobile phones. I’m excited to see how Microsoft implements Skype in its Windows Phone and Xbox 360 platforms…but I’m also a bit afraid of the company wrecking a perfectly good product. Let’s see how this one plays out.

Any of you excited by the Skype acquisition? What do you think it will add to your Xbox 360 gaming experience?

Win a T-Mobile G2X and a Trip to E3 2011

T-Mobile is holding a sweet contest that could snag you an LG G2X and a trip to E3 2011. Dubbed “The Battle for E3”, I’m fairly certain that the contest doesn’t contain any physical  battling. Instead, you’ll have to post a short video on T-Mobile’s Facebook page and let the fans decide if you’re worthy to win. Here are some official details:

T-Mobile is introducing “Battle for E3” – an opportunity for consumers to compete for the ultimate T-Mobile gaming phone, the G2x, and a trip to this year’s E3 Expo in Los Angeles on June 7-9. To participate in the online competition, which kicks off May 15, all you have to do is upload a video (15 seconds or less) on T-Mobile’s Facebook page demonstrating how you are the ultimate gamer and ideal E3 “correspondent” for T-Mobile.

The videos will be ranked by fans voting on T-Mobile’s Facebook page and the top 10 entrants will each win a prize. The two most hardcore gamers, however, will win a G2x and the chance to attend the upcoming E3 Expo! Armed with T-Mobile’s hottest gaming phone – the T-Mobile G2x with Google – these two winners will chronicle their trip, host gaming challenges, conduct interviews and much more.

One unadvertised prize for RPad.tv readers is that you’ll get to hang out with me at the show! If you enter the contest, I promise to vote for you. Should you win, I expect you to make sure that I don’t punch any game developers at E3 parties. I don’t need another stupid Cliff Bleszinski story. I hope some of you enter. The G2X is a great phone and it would be awesome to see you at E3.

Manny Pacquiao Videogame Coming to Android, iOS, and PC

Fresh off his drubbing of “Sugar” Shane Mosley, Manny Pacquiao is set to star in a videogame called Manny Pacquiao: Pound For Pound coming to Android, iOS, and Facebook. Set for a Summer 2011 release, the game is being developed and published by Karkadann Games. Here’s a snippet from the press release:

Created for a casual gaming audience, and developed for PC, mobile, iPad, iPhone and Facebook, “Pound for Pound” Volume 1 takes gamers through narrative arcs, intense action and addictive game play, as Manny the martial arts action hero battles through the underground world of heinous villains on a mission of justice. Gamers not only wield Manny’s legendary combination of pummelling punches, with his lightning fast hands, but also a full arsenal of kicks and martial arts weaponry. Additionally, players will be able to customize and develop Manny into the ultimate mixed martial arts defender to fight hundreds of the most infamous enemies on a high-stakes fight.

I’ve never heard of the developer, but I’m excited for the game as a Pacquiao fan, an iPad 2 owner, and a Filipino-American. Even if the quality isn’t great, I’m sure I’m going to play the hell out of it simply because of Pinoy pride. Plus, it’s Manny Pacquiao fighting like Bruce Lee accompanied by a pet wolf! Next to Final Fantasy Tactics, this is the iPad game I want the most. I’ll try to get more info from the publisher. Until then, you can follow the game’s Facebook page.

PlayStation Network Key to Sony’s Android Tablet Future?

The tablet wars are going to get super interesting. Slick hardware is not enough to compete with Apple’s wildly successful iPad tablets. Competitors realize that they need to offer slick software and services too. Recently Sony announced that it will be entering the Android tablet space later this year. Will PlayStation Network be the key to Sony’s tablet success? That’s what PC Magazine’s Tim Bajarin believes. He recently wrote:

I understand that Sony’s tablet offerings will eventually be tied to the Sony PlayStation Network, in which there are about 77 million subscribers worldwide. If I read the tea leaves right, that should mean that Sony could use this network to deliver video, music, and games, as well as potentially host its own vetted app store and even create Sony dedicated apps. Its goal is to be number two in the tablet market (behind Apple) and number one in Android-based devices.

Leveraging the backbone of the PlayStation Network would give Sony quite an edge over its competitors, right out of the box. My only concern is that it has to rely on Google for its OS. Not controlling the OS could be an issue for delivering an enhanced user experience that’s optimized for Sony customers. But having a network backbone to deliver optimized content for various Sony devices is quite a plus.

Bajarin is one of the sharpest tech analysts in the world. His opinions are almost always on the mark. I think he’s on the right track here. The infrastructure of PlayStation Network has already expanded to include Qriocity. I can see Sony going even larger to create a multimedia “walled garden” of its own, with curated movies, music, apps, and gaming.

What do you think? Will PlayStation Network be the key to Sony’s tablet success? Or will it be the key to One-Eyed Willie?

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HTC Thunderbolt Review: LTE Speeds, Battery Life, and More

The HTC Thunderbolt lacks the dual-core power found in recent phones, but makes up for it with blazing fast Internet speeds on Verizon’s LTE network, mostly great build quality, outstanding call clarity, and a smoother version of Google Android thanks to HTC Sense. As long as you’re not looking for cutting edge performance and you don’t mind carrying a spare battery, the Thunderbolt will serve you well. It’s a great phone with a few minor flaws and one major one. Cue the D-Generation X music as I “break it down!!!”

Build Quality — In many ways, the Thunderbolt looks like the HTC Evo 4G or any number of high-end phones HTC has released in the last year. The front of the phone is mostly glass, with a nice metal border and very little bezel. The back of the phone is around 80 percent plastic (with a nice rubberized coating) and 20 percent metal.

I loved the phone’s heft and found it to be comfortable. However, I can understand that some people will find the Thunderbolt too heavy and too large for one-hand operation. As I illustrated in this video, this is definitely not a small phone, but most people should find its size easily manageable.

The one issue I had with the build quality is the way the back cover comes off. Even after a month with the phone, it takes me several seconds to remove the cover and it always feels like it’s going to break. For users that keep a battery or two on deck — and I can’t recommend this phone without a spare battery — this is annoying.

Also, kickstands on phones completely rule.

Screen — The Thunderbolt sports a 4.3-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 400 x 800. Although it’s the same size and resolution as the Evo’s screen, I found it to be much brighter with better viewing angles. Having a large screen is great for usability and watching videos, but I wish the Thunderbolt packed a higher resolution for better readability. For general use, the Thunderbolt’s screen will be eclipsed by the HTC Sensation’s qHD display. For readability, the iPhone 4 is still the best phone for reading text.

User Interface — Some people love Android skins and some people hate them. I generally dislike them…except for HTC Sense. I believe it’s the only Android skin that adds usability and smoothness to the Android experience.

The Thunderbolt offers the same usability enhancements found in other Sense 2.0 phones, with a few Sense 3.0 features thrown in. The interface is smoother and snappier than vanilla Android. The web browser is smoother than the stock browser. Sense features that were new to me include pocket mode (the phone rings louder when in a pocket or purse), flip for speaker phone, and quiet ring on pickup (ring tone gets softer as you bring your phone to your head). They’re just clever features that are examples of why HTC is ahead of everyone else when it comes to Android customizations.

While I’ve been hearing nice things about TouchWhiz 4.0 on the Samsung Galaxy S II, that phone is not yet available on an American carrier. For now I believe that HTC Sense is the only Android skin worth having.

Call Quality — Call quality was outstanding on the Thunderbolt. For phone calls, it was easily the best phone I’ve used since the Droid X. The ear piece produces clear sound and the speaker is very loud. Voice transmission is aided by a second microphone for noise cancellation. The people I called said that I sounded much more natural on the Thunderbolt than on the iPhone 4. Making a few test calls from a farmer’s market, the Thunderbolt blocked out more noise than the iPhone 4.

LTE Speeds — The big hook on the Thunderbolt is its LTE speeds. As I pointed out in this 4G shootout article, Verizon LTE slaughters the competition in 4G. The data rates are wonderful for web browsing, tethering, streaming, etc. After getting used to Verizon LTE, it was tough using a phone on T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network, which is fast but not nearly as zippy as LTE.

Camera — While I was satisfied with the cameras on HTC’s Evo 4G and T-Mobile G2, neither were as good as the eight-megapixel camera on the Thunderbolt. The camera on this phone is fast, focuses quickly, and takes great stills. The dual-LED flash can be too strong for indoor close-ups, but with proper distance can light up a space nicely. Video quality was also very good, producing nice 720p video (for a phone). The phone’s camera can produce great images, but falls short of the outstanding shooters on the iPhone 4 and Nokia N8.

The 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera can be used to snap vanity shots and for video chat. Unfortunately, all the video chat software on Android produced poor quality or wasn’t (yet) compatible with the Thunderbolt. A video-enabled version of Skype will be released for the Thunderbolt soon.

Battery Life — I knew this phone would be a battery hog. It has a large screen, a fast processor, a CDMA radio, a WiFi radio, and an LTE radio. The good news is that the phone’s power management is aggressive and the battery can last a long time as long as you’re not using LTE much. The bad news is that this phone is all about LTE and using the super-fast network requires a lot of battery.

Following my normal usage patterns, I averaged 8.5 hours on a charge. That’s the worst battery life of any Android phone I’ve ever used. There were a few times where I was using the phone constantly and downloading a lot of programs; in those cases, the battery lasted a little over four hours.

As wonderful as the Thunderbolt is, I can’t recommend it unless you’re always by an outlet or willing to invest in extra batteries. For road warriors or situations like trade shows, extra batteries are necessary.

Conclusion — Aside from the battery life, I was super impressed by the Thunderbolt. It offers a smooth Android experience and the best wireless speeds in America. While the $249 price seems high, keep in mind that the Thunderbolt comes with a 32MB MicroSD card on top of the 8GB of internal storage. If you’re down with picking up an extra battery or two and don’t need dual-core performance, the HTC Thunderbolt will take care of you nicely. It’s not perfect, but the ungodly LTE speeds will help you forget about the phone’s shortcomings.