14 DAY TRIAL // Mobile phone carrier Verizon Wireless has made available for purchase its very first Android-based 4G LTE-capable handset, the HTC ThunderBolt, only a few weeks ago, but it seems that the company is already working on the first software update for it.
A recent online report suggests that the carrier and Taiwanese phone maker HTC Corporation would be working closely on the delivery of the Android 2.3 Gingerbread platform to this device.
The estimated availability time frame would be the second quarter of the ongoing year, which should start in less than a week from now.
Apparently, HTC themselves confirmed the near availability of this software update, through an email sent to one of their customers.
“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 said email stated, a recent article on droid-life reads.
In all fairness, no specific release date for the software update was provided for the time being, and we might see the Gingerbread on ThunderBolt anywhere between the next week and the end of June.
However, it's worth noting that the leading mobile phone maker is readying the update for this new device, and we should also expect it to arrive on older Android-based HTC mobile phones, that's for sure.
The said email also contains a list of features that ThunderBolt users should expect to be included in the upcoming release, such as UI refinements for simplicity and speed, Improved power management, One-touch word selection and copy/paste, and more.
What's interesting to note is that the list mentions Near Field Communications (NFC) as well, though the ThunderBolt does not come with the necessary hardware to support this feature.
On way or the other, it seems that HTC would be on its way to announce and deliver the new Android 2.3 Gingerbread platform to ThunderBolt in the following three months, so stay tuned to learn more info on the matter.