The power-packed Android-powered Thunderbolt, with a 4.3-inch display and one-gigahertz processor, will receive improvements to data connectivity, call history view, power cycling, Bluetooth discovery and app menu. The smartphone, which uses Verizon's new long-term evolution network, will also gain people search as well as backup assistant in the All Apps menu, among other improvements.
Hold All Calls
The over-the-air update takes 12 to 15 minutes to download once users receive a notification from Verizon, followed by another seven to 10 minutes for installation, during which time the phone won't be able to send or receive calls. The update won't be available while a Thunderbolt is roaming, unless it is switched to wi-fi mode.
The Thunderbolt was Verizon Wireless's first LTE smartphone, launched in March at a steep price of $249.99, with two added incentives: Unlimited data for $29.99 and free free wi-fi tethering of up to eight other devices. But both those promotional perks have now been phased out.
Last week Verizon announced that the data plan rates for new customers using both 3G or LTE phones will be $30 for two gigabytes, $50 for five gigabytes and $80 for 10 gigabytes, with $20 added on for two gigabytes of tethering, and $10 per gigabyte of overage.
But don't expect an LTE-ready iPhone from Apple soon, if researcher's at IHS iSuppli Market Research estimates are correct.
LTE iPhone Seen Costing More
The firm's teardown of the Thunderbolt suggests that, based on the price of components like the 4G baseband, 4G frequency transceiver and 4G power amplifier module, an LTE iPhone would cost 23 percent more to build than the current CDMA version of the iPhone 4, estimated at $171.35 based on a prior IHS teardown. The basic model iPhone sells for $199.
The teardown suggests that the Thunderbolt cost $39.75 more per unit to build than would a comparable 3G device, and the bill of materials of $262 is more than the current subsidized cost of $249. All Verizon's LTE phones cost more than 3G devices, with the Samsung DROID Charge topping the list at $299, followed by the Thunderbolt and LG Revolution for $249. Motorola's DROID Bionic is due next month at an undisclosed price.
However, iSuppli notes that Apple is not likely to take the same design approach to an LTE phone as HTC, since Qualcomm has developed a new version of its Snapdragon processor that was not available when the Thunderbolt was made. That chip is equipped for three different standards: LTE, HSPA or EVDO.
But with Apple focused on making the iPhone thinner, it may well choose to hold off on LTE rather than add the necessary power and frequency components to make the chip work, iSuppli noted.
Current Analysis wireless analyst William Ho said an LTE iPhone isn't likely until 2012 or 2103, but not necessarily because of the cost.
"LTE chip sets need to be more battery efficient and carriers' LTE footprints need to be more substantial," said Ho.
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