14 DAY TRIAL // Following rumors of a possible delay of the HTC Thunderbolt launch at Verizon, the popular retailer has announced via Twitter that it will also move the release of the highly anticipated smartphone to March 4.
Verizon has apparently delayed the launch of Thunderbolt until February 28th invoking Skype-related issues. However, the device was initially set to be launched without Skype, which was to be introduced at a later date.
According to ongoing rumors, HTC Thunderbolt may be launched at the beginning of next week along with Samsung's yet-unnamed 4G LTE smartphone.
On the other hand, Best Buy was expected to launch the Thunderbolt this week, but a tweet from Roseville California Best Buy revealed that the device has been delayed:
“HTC Thunderbolt launch has been delayed:( It looks like it may launch on Thursday, March 4th. Stay tuned for more info.”
Even though the release date is mentioned in the tweet, the tone of the message suggests that the device might be postponed further.
Regarding the Thunderbolt's price, it seems that Best Buy will be retailing the device for $299 with a new two-year contract, but Verizon and HTC have both avoided disclosing any information regarding the smartphone's price.
Announced at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, HTC Thunderbolt has a 4.3-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen with 16 million colors support and a native 480 x 800 pixels resolution.
The Thunderbolt will be the first Verizon 4G-enabled device, and “one of the first” 4G smartphones on the market. In terms of hardware, the Thunderbolt is quite tempting, as it features a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 Snapdragon processor complemented by an Adreno 205 GPU, as well as an 8-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash.
Unfortunately, the smartphone is not Gingerbread-enabled. Instead, it comes with Android 2.2 Froyo, but a future software upgrade might be possible.
