HTC Thunderbolt Release Date Delayed Due to Verizon iPhone 4 Sales?
![HTC Thunderbolt Release Date Delayed Due to Verizon iPhone 4 Sales? [HTC Thunderbolt 4G LTE Android Smartphone to Start Selling on February 28 for $249.99 on Contract? CDMA iPhone 4 to Blame]](http://tftscdn3.nexus404.com/Blog/thumbnailimages/alt/HTC-Thunderbolt-4G-LTETFTSThumb220153.jpg)
Just yesterday we told you that Best Buy has revealed launch dates for the HTC Thunderbolt and the Motorola Xoom via Facebook and today we’re back with some bad news, at least for Thunderbolt future customers.
The Thunderbolt will be available for pre-order with Best Buy starting tomorrow and, up until now, we thought that both Verizon and Best Buy will start selling this 4G LTE Android phone in stores starting on February 14.
But in the mean time something happened, Verizon offered the iPhone 4 for pre-order and due to the tremendous success of the first CDMA iPhone 4 sale day in the USA Big Red is now said to be interested in postponing the Thunderbolt to February 28.
The iPhone 4 will be available in stores on February 10 and we can only anticipate that Verizon will sell quite a lot of CDMA iPhones. Having the Thunderbolt in stores four days later, on the 14th would certainly hurt both devices so postponing the Thunderbolt sounds like a decent thing to do.
Looking back at the various Thunderbolt release date rumors we’ve seen in the recent weeks, we noticed quite a few times that Verizon might not want to sell the LTE phone right after the iPhone 4 hits stores and that might prove to be a valid argument.
All hope is not lost though, potential Thunderbolt buyers, as this news comes from an Android forum admin and not from Verizon. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for more Thunderbolt launch news so stick around for more updates. In fact, we expect Best Buy to share some more Thunderbolt information starting tomorrow as the phone is supposed to be available for pre-order for just $50 of your precious cash.
Anyone still undecided between the iPhone 4 and the HTC Thunderbolt? Speak now or forever hold your peace!
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I can wait… I think the THUNDERBOLT will be worth it. Let the iphone have it’s glory days…. they are short lived… don’t get me wrong. I am an APPLE person. 4 APPLE items owned. And I love them…. just want something different!
Its all kind of complicated when you consider the Best Buy offer for their “Buy Back” program. Rumor has it that this program will be FREE (instead of $60) for phones until Feb 26. Wow, that means no free program for the Thunderbolt, or for the Xoom tablet either. The dates are just too much for coincidence, so my cynicism is fired up. I wonder if this delay is actually supported by Apple. If not, then sneaky extra rip off, Best Buy. Spend $3 million for Super Bowl ad, force android customers to miss its “free offer”.
I get what this article is saying, but I still think there is a good chance that the thunderbolt will be sold on the 14th. The reason is because Verizon “tweeted” on Feb 4th that the phone would be released “sooner that expected.” And the expectation at that time was the 24th for some people and the 14th for others. Nobody was talking about the 28th.
I pre-ordered my Thunderbolt today in a Best Buy store with a $50 deposit, no online pre-orders. Paperwork says the phone will be available for pickup on Feb 13, therefore the free Buy Back program WILL be applicable for the Thunderbolt. Don’t know about the Xoom, though :-( The salesperson in the store said the Buy Back program would be free through Feb 23, not the 26th.
I also ordered on Sunday. My store wasn’t able to tell me the delivery date for my thunderbolt and just said they would call me when released. Whole point of selling Iphone at VZW stores and not bb along with release on 24th will do the following
No return of iPhone after 14 days without purchasing LTE phone at full price so forget buyers remorse.
Don’t sell iphone at bb until after the 24th so they can’t get iPhone with buy back program. Point is to lock them on 3g while those selecting thunderbolt move to 4g network where available to decrease congestion on network.
Thunderbolt release on 24 would still allow buy back program for free but I thought the free offer was only for this week again makes no sense to get you on tbolt thenet you move to bionic next month for like 250 DOLLARS. (BUY BACK IS OFF RETAIL PRICE SO for those upgrading plan you’ll pay 250 and technically be able to get 300 back if you trade in. Of course the program starts after first 30 days since buyback being after the 30 day return period expires.
These are of course just my thoughts on the matter. Hey I just want my new LTE thunderbolts as soon as they arrive just like a kid at Christmas I guess. Lol.
Pretty sure I do not mind waiting a couple extra weeks to get my hands on the Thunderbolt from an actual Verizon store. I pre-ordered my Thunderbolt from Best Buy on Sunday morning without much knowledge about their insurance policy regarding their phones. HORRIBLE. With Verizon–I pay $5 a month, have never paid a single deductible, and always leave the store with a brand new phone in hand regardless of the technical issue. Best Buy, on the other hand, wants $10 a month–totaling an extra $60 a year–so that I can bring my phone in store when I have technical problems, if they cannot resolve the issue they have it shipped off to the manufacturer and in return I get a basic loaner and a bill for a $150 deposit that I get back when I return their crappy phone and get my expensive phone back. What the? Seriously? I will wait patiently, and keep the extra $120 in my pocket by the end of my 2-year contract. I promptly returned the gift card deposit the day after purchase.