Verizon HTC ThunderBolts's

Verizon has announced the availability of its first 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) smart phone, the ThunderBolt, made by HTC. Verizon is the only major carrier to roll out LTE 4G wireless services in the U.S. so far. The company has more than 40 major markets covered now, and more on the way.

True, MetroPCS offers LTE in its coverage areas. Sprint and Clearwire offer 4G WiMAX service in the U.S. as well. Up to now, Verizon didn’t offer an LTE cell phone. 4G service was via a laptop data card or dongle. The ThunderBolt, though, lets customers access the LTE network with a handset.
The ThunderBolt is somewhat similar to the HTC EVO 4G WiMAX model used by Sprint/Clearwire (see the figure). It has a larger 4.3-in. WVGA screen and offers two cameras, an 8-Mpixel rear camera with video record capability, and a 1.3-Mpixel front-facing camera. Also, it boasts 8 Gbytes of on-board memory and a pre-installed 32-Gbyte microSD card. The processor is Qualcomm’s 1-GHz Snapdragon, and the operating system (OS) is Android 2.2. Support software and services include Google Mobile Services such as Gmail, YouTube, and Android Market.

Performance varies with the environment, but in general, you should be able to see download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbits/s and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbits/s in LTE coverage areas. If no LTE service is available, service drops back to Verizon’s reliable CDMA/EV-DO network. A cool feature on the ThunderBolt is Mobile Hotspot, where up to eight Wi-Fi users can connect through the handset to the network. The ThunderBolt sells for $249.99 with a two-year contract.
According to Wirefly, a major reseller of cell phones, the ThunderBolt has broken its sales record for pre-orders. Maybe Verizon underestimated the pent-up demand for an LTE handset.
This is the first of a number of new LTE phones that should be available later in the year. It’s about time.