If you happen to have Verizon for your wireless provider of choice and are still holding on to that aging HTC Thunderbolt 4G handset in the hopes of finally seeing it get upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, your months of waiting for the update to land on your smartphone is about to come to an end. As it stands, the handset is slated to get out of the Gingerbread generation and get a tasty dessert of Ice Cream Sandwich before the end of this month.
This much was confirmed by the Taiwanese smartphone and tablet manufacturer via its official Facebook page where it announced that the HTC Thunderbolt 4G is still set to receive the Android 4.0 refresh and will get the said update before the end of August. This is good news for users of the HTC Thunderbolt 4G on Verizon because there were previous rumors that the handset might get stuck in the Gingerbread generation and not get a treat of treat of Ice Cream Sandwich. These rumors started circulating after the HTC Desire HD, which shares the same specs DNA with the HTC Thunderbolt 4G, was confirmed to be not getting upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich due to user experience issues.
As for the ICS update for the HTC Thunderbolt 4G, it is great to see HTC to give users of its handsets some indication of when they can expect the update to land. Although no exact timeframe was mentioned, knowing that your handset will get the Android 4.0 refresh in a couple of days’ time is still a whole lot better than rocking a handset which will be on Android 2.3 Gingerbread for the rest of its smartphone life.
As for the HTC Thunderbolt 4G, the handset is no longer a spring chicken and has been around for quite some time now. The handset reached official status when it was announced back in January of 2011 and it hit the shelves of Verizon in March of the same year. The handset is one of the first LTE-capable handsets added on to the Android lineup of the wireless provider and has a design aesthetic that makes it look like a slab of black plastic.
As for its internals, the HTC Thunderbolt 4G still packs an impressive resume despite its aging status. It has a QualComm MSM8655 SnapDragon chipset under the hood which powers its operations while its snappy performance is courtesy of its Scorpion processor clocked at 1 GHz and 768 MB of RAM. The storage space onboard the HTC Thunderbolt 4G is a bit measly at just 4GB but the handset has an expandable memory so this shouldn’t be an issue at all. The handset comes with a 4.3-inch TFT display with a 480 x 800 resolution and it has an 8MP autofocus shooter with dual-LED flash at its back panel while its front bezel is home to its 1.3MP video call and self-portrait camera.
August 13, 2012 at 12:43 pm
What’s with the “still holding on to that aging HTC Thunderbolt 4G handset” comment? I bought my Thunderbolt during the pre-release and had it in hand on the very first day it was available (March 17, 2011). I am not eligible for an upgrade through Verizon until Nov. 19th. “Still holding on to” is a pretty loaded comment that doesn’t reflect the reality of the lifecycle of the phone. It may not be available through Verizon anymore, but that doesn’t mean that Thunderbolt owners aren’t very interested in their next phone and just waiting for their contracts to expire.
August 15, 2012 at 12:59 am
Nothing wrong with my Tbolt and never had problems…. OK the battery does suck but other than that it’s a champ.