Best Buy to have "retail exclusive" on the HTC Thunderbolt launching mid February

Best Buy to have “retail exclusive” on the HTC Thunderbolt launching mid February

February 7, 2011 | by Chris Smith

If the iPhone 4 on Verizon disappoints you with its lack of 4G or if you are just a strict Android fanboy with a hint of early adopter in you, then the release of the first LTE phone, the HTC Thunderbolt, will definitely be your cup of tea. Best Buy announced today that they will have a “retail exclusive” on the Verizon HTC Thunderbolt which will be available sometime in the middle of February.

Best Buy is pushing the idea of just how fast this phone is with its LTE support by giving the following examples:

Download a song in less than 4 seconds
Download 20 photos in a minute
Stream TV shows from your computer (huh?)

That’s all well and good, but there is still no final word on just how much that speed is going to cost Verizon customers per month, and with the tightening of the Verizon network recently it’s looking like they are going to charge a premium and possibly put some data caps in place.

Best Buy failed to mention how much the device will cost but my guess is that it will be $299.99 with a $100 instant rebate on a new 2-year contract. Full retail is always higher at Best Buy than at Verizon, so it will probably be around $599.99. So, if you are aching for a brand new device and on a brand new technology just hold off a little longer for this one. Besides, that iPhone 4 is sooo last year.

Via [Business Wire]

4g, Best Buy, HTC, htc thunderbolt, LTE, LTE 4G, verizon

6 Comments

Vaderizkool said: On February 7, 2011

the phone will be $249.99 for two year contract, and it will be released on February 14th at best buy. The 4g price will be revealed on Sunday Feb 13th. I already pre-ordered mine.

gordon said: On February 7, 2011

Best Buy told you it will be $249.99 and out on the 13th but Verizon had not actualy released the info on price or release date yet. Best Buy is going off speculation and Rumors. VZW is the only entity that knows the true facts.

Moe said: On February 7, 2011

i was told $249 also but i saw on other sites people were told $199. the rep also told me a date of feb 17th and not the 13th or 14th. as a former employee, some of these reps don't know unless they were a manager or dept head. when the evo was coming out, they were clueless and i knew more about the release date than they did just from online rumors. just a heads up!!

kandice said: On February 7, 2011

Best buy does know the prices already and the release date is February 14th. Best buy's prices are different from Verizon store and are usually cheaper. Best buy mobile does not do any mail-in rebates so the price you see is the price you get. The highest the thunderbolt will be is 249.99 but I anticipate it being 199.99 with a new 2 year contract of 2 year upgrade.

EdDroid said: On February 7, 2011

Since the iPhone4 is not an LTE (or, if you insist, 4g) device, nor has it ever even been rumored to be, who but an imbecile would be disappointed by the fact that it is what it is? If you want an LTE phone, you might want to wait until they actually come out.

The rush to iPhone4 on Verizon baffles me for that exact reason. In all probability, it will be less than 6 months until Apple announces the iPhone5, and it should be reasonable to anticipate it will include LTE on Verizon. So the fanboys and fangirls who spent their dough and their upgrade just to get the device right away will have to wait til their next upgrade, or pay retail. If they're that clueless about the wireless industry (and likely, most Apple devotees are), that's their own fault.

- Brad said: On February 8, 2011
  
  … likely, most Apple devotees are
  
  Nice overarching generalization there.

Android Apps and News

Thoughts on the Samsung Galaxy S 4 and Unpacked 2013

Diztronic case review for LG Nexus 4

Why I decided to purchase the Nexus 4

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 - Verizon Remix Version

HTC DROID DNA Review

Samsung Galaxy Note II Review

Android Phones