Thunderbolt (Mecha) - 5/10 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Apr

Relax, Older HTC Phones Will See Sense 3.0 ... Sort Of

Posted by Cameron Summerson in HTC, Incredible 2 (Vivow), News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

We first showed you HTC's 3.0 version of Sense UI earlier this week, and the next logical question from a lot of people was "when am I getting this?" Well, one man went straight to HTC via Twitter with that same question in mind and the response he got back was not exactly what anyone had hoped to hear: never.

Before you get too upset, a little clarification is in order. Initially, it was thought that only the devices mentioned in the above Tweet would end up with the new UI, leaving behind the newly released Thunderbolt, Inspire, and the yet-to-arrive Incredible 2.

Apr

Deal Alert: $50 Off HTC Thunderbolt At Wirefly

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Deals, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

There's no doubt that the HTC Thunderbolt is a hot commodity if you're on Verizon Wireless, and if you've been considering picking up this blazing fast 4G LTE device, now might be the best time hop on it. Wirefly is offering up a special deal on the TBolt if you use coupon code THUNDER0418 at checkout, which gives you $50 off (bringing the total down to $150), free shipping, and a month of free mobile hotspot (expires on May 15th).

I'm sure that most of you are very familiar with the Thunderbolt and how awesome it is, but just in case, here are the specs:

1GHz Snapdragon processor
768MB RAM
8GB Storage
4.3 Inch screen
8MP rear camera, 1.3MP front camera
4G LTE

If you plan on taking advantage of this deal, you better move quick because it ends on Monday, April 18th.

Apr

[Download] Skype With Video Chat For The HTC Thunderbolt

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

Well, well, well, look at what we've got here - it's none other than the elusive Skype for the HTC Thunderbolt! If you remember, Skype was supposed to be pre-installed on the Thunderbolt but didn't actually make it onto the final product. We also told you that Skype Mobile for Android with video was coming to all VZW LTE devices back in January, and it looks like we're finally getting what was promised. I don't have a Thunderbolt myself, but from what I've heard from our own Justin Case, it works flawlessly on 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi, all with superb video quality.

Mar

HTC ThunderBolt Gets Overclocked To A Mind-Blowing 1.8GHz, Achieves Stunning Quadrant Scores

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Development, HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

In an awe-inspiring display of the ThunderBolt's raw horsepower, Derek Rodriguez (@drod2169) has thrown together a kernel which enables CPU speeds of up to 1.8GHz - a figure to which even the mighty Motorola XOOM can't lay claim. What's more, when @TheRealBeesley ran the kernel through Quadrant, he was met with (nearly) unprecedented results - have a look:

The kernel has not yet been released, which is simultaneously fortunate and tragic for ThunderBolt owners - on one hand, 1.8GHz is an undeniably crave-worthy speed; on the other, well, you know you don't want to leave your handset at such high velocities when even Derek notes that "you think I'd really let my phone sit at that?"

Nevertheless, this is a fantastic example of what the ThunderBolt's hardware is capable of and what we can expect from future mods (especially now that we have the necessary resources) - developers, go, go, go!

Mar

HTC Releases Thunderbolt Kernel Source Code, Let Custom ROM Development Begin!

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

After bickering back and forth with the Android community about the terms and timelines of kernel source releases and getting flooded with emails, HTC finally put together the source code for the Thunderbolt kernel and uploaded it to their developer portal.

The file weighs in at 87MB and will enable ROM developers to finally do some proper work on custom ROMs, including improving battery life, over- and under-clocking, and implementing other tweaks (hopefully, it includes LTE drivers so that CyanogenMod devs don't have to reverse engineer the protocol and write their own).

Download the kernel v2.6.32 from HTC or our direct mirror below:

Source: HTC Developer center

Mar

[Updated] HTC Insists Android Kernel Sources May Be Published "When They Are Ready," Rather Than When Devices Are Released

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, Editorials, HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

Some History

Update: Linux devs are not happy about this.

Update #2: And just like that, only a few hours after this article, HTC released the Thunderbolt kernel source.

If you've been following the "drama" around Android kernel source release timelines and device manufacturers (such as HTC), you should be already aware of 2 forces pushing in opposite directions:

On one side, we have the Android community, which maintains that according to GPLv2, Android kernel sources need to be published together with a given device release. Since Android kernel sources are essential to custom ROM development, it is clearly in the interest of the community to see them released sooner rather than later.

Mar

HTC Representative: Gingerbread Hitting HTC ThunderBolt In Q2 2011

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Gingerbread 2.3, HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

Here's some news that ought to make ThunderBolt owners smile: an HTC representative reportedly told a customer that Gingerbread will be made available for Verizon's new flagship phone in - wait for it - Q2.

According to Droid Life, John (or rudyt83) emailed HTC customer support after experiencing some issues with Bluetooth on his new ThunderBolt. HTC's (rather lengthy) response included this little nugget of information:

We are excited to announce that the Thunderbolt will receive the Gingerbread (Android 2.3) update in Q2 2011. Stay tuned for details as we get closer to the update availability.

The rep proceeded to list features added in Gingerbread, though the similarity to Google's own Android 2.3 changelog leads us to believe that the additions aren't specific to the ThunderBolt.

Mar

[Tutorial] How To "Un-Root" The HTC ThunderBolt And Return It To Stock

Posted by Justin Case in Development, HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Tips & Tutorials, Verizon Wireless

One of the most popular questions about rooting the ThunderBolt is how to undo the process and return to stock, which renews your eligibility for customer support. Well, here you go:

Instructions

Please read the whole tutorial first, and pay attention to every detail. Note that your battery needs to be charged to at least 40% at the beginning of the process, and remember to check the MD5 sums of all downloaded files before diving in. As always, neither Android Police nor Team AndIRC are responsible for any damage this may cause to your phone, and, needless to say, returning to stock means you will no longer be able to use root apps like ShootMe and Titanium Backup.

Mar

Video: CyanogenMod 7 (Gingerbread) Gets Unofficially Booted On HTC Thunderbolt, Not Yet Usable

Posted by David Ruddock in Development, Gingerbread 2.3, HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Videos

DANGER: There is a link to download this unofficial, unsupported CM7 ROM in an XDA thread linked at the bottom of this post. Use of that software is 100% at your own risk, and unless you're a developer, there's not much reason to be playing with at this point. There is no data connectivity, no sound, and no Google Apps. Consider yourself warned.

A number of Gingerbread-hungry developers (including some from the CyanogenMod team, particularly Slayher) are hard at work preparing CyanogenMod 7 for its Thunderbolt debut, and progress is steadily being made. In the video above, you can see CyanogenMod 7 successfully booting up on the HTC Thunderbolt (albeit without the signature boot animation) and running through various simple tasks in Android.

Mar

PSA: Don't Blame Root And Unlock For Thunderbolt's Network Issues - Verizon Is Suffering From 3G And 4G Outage

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

Droid-Life has just confirmed what Justin's been hearing: that Verizon's network is having issues. Apparently both 3G and 4G are affected, and Thunderbolt activations are also reportedly being held up. No word on what the issue is or what areas are affected, but Droid-Life has asked readers who are experiencing issues to drop a line with the details in the comments, so that would be a good place to check.

Justin Case and TeamAndIRC have been fielding complaints/accusations/questions from angry rooted Thunderbolt owners who think their root method may be to blame. Don't worry - that's not the case; your rooted Tbolt has nothing do with it.