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Within the past 24 hours we have heard two new rumored release dates for the HTC Thunderbolt: March 17th and March 21st. Depending on how HTC responds to Verizon’s conditional final approval of the device, we may or may not miss those anticipated dates. According to an inside source, Engadget is reporting that Verizon has finally deemed the Thunderbolt ready for primetime, but the actual release of the phone hinges on HTC agreeing to requested fixes and updates to be included in future firmware updates following launch.
It is pointed out that this process typically takes two to four weeks. If this holds true, we may indeed see the Thunderbolt on March 21st at the earliest, though given the pressure to release the handset we don’t see why things might not move quicker for a release on the 17th. HTC rep Imran Shahid seems to agree with the earlier date based on a recent tweet, though it was retroactively removed after being picked up by media outlets. See the original tweet below.
[via 
Has the $249 subsidized price been pretty much confirmed?
If verizon had any class they would allow this device to be sold at 99.00 just like the Htc inspire 4g on at&t for all the BS they put everybody through but we know they are CLASSLESS.. THUNDERDUD
This is great news for the 69 people that still care
The tweet has been pulled…so has our leg (again)…and Mr. Shahid has probably been pulled from his paper route…damn Supermoon…
Pfff…I’ll believe it when I see it. As far as I’m concerned it is all just rumors and conjecture until these things are actually in people’s hands. The only reason I still want one at this point is to get locked-in to non-tiered data. I can always buy something different down the road (dual-core, qwerty, unlocked bootloader, LTE) for full price when it comes out.
i agree with keller. im tired of all the bull**** release dates. im looking to change my phone and im start to thinking about a change is service if verizon acts like this. unprofessional
Fortunately for HTC I have been too sick all week to research and buy a new phone. If it goes past March 27th, I see little reason to not just wait for the Iphone 5.
Problems already with the info from today:
1. The tweet was apparently pulled and not verified real
2. The Engadget article shoots itself with the infamous “on of our trusted resources”
3. The memo “leaked” for operations exists only in the cropped article and not one store contacted is aware of that product update memo. They should, considering it would be for stores.
Will people stop listening to all this likely BS if next week does not pan out?
At this point does anyone still care? NEXT…
All evidence points to the 17th and BMX/Ben5 think it’ll drop then as well. So if Verizon moves their ass it looks good. Otherwise it’ll drop the 24th.
The wait caused me to buy a refurb Droid X instead. I’m very happy with it, and once I get true SIP / VOIP from Google Voice and I can drop my voice plan with VZW, I’ll be happy… can’t imagine what else I’d need out of my phone.
1-year contract for me whenever the hell it comes out.
Verizon is a joke. This was supposed to be released last month, but they were too incompetent to get it done.
That means I will NEVER be choosing them as my cell phone company. If they are this bad at getting out a new phone, what do you think customer service will be like? And the undoubted problems that are sure to come up. Good luck with that.
You can see how inept they are when they can’t even announce when a phone is coming out, so willingly sticking with them as a company is asking for problems and headaches in the future.
If the phone wasn’t ready, they shouldn’t have put out a release date for a MONTH AGO. Like I said earlier, What A Joke!
Hey that’s awesome now they can get off there lazy ass & update the samsung fascinate… If I was the CEO of verizon I would have updated it already
I think that people should relax before they post things. First of all, where and when did verizon ever give a release date? They didn’t. If anyone is being unprofessional its best buy. They were the ones who “leaked” all of the false dates and are now telling people verizon did it. Verizon has said nothing about the release except that its coming soon. So chill.
Note on the phone above, there is no longer a Skype icon seemingly validating the rumor it won’t be available on the phone. Also, note the date is January 6, probably the real release date. January 6 is as accurate as any other date that has come and gone.
With all the new phones coming out that will blow this away theyve kinda screwed themselves with this late release… whenever its going to release that is. Iphone 5 around the corner… not looking good
I am not interested cause I am going to wait until my upgrade in July 2011 and see what VZW has on the market. With that said, I know that no matter what the people who have been bashing the phone and VZW need to stop. You will not switch services and you will be one of the people to buy this phone and complain about in the forums. So just be patient, your time to complain will come soon.
As long as htc agrees to put more bloat ware in future updates. I think that is what verizon means.
Still, this article news is apparently bogus since the tweet no longer exists and no other rep has a clue when it will launch. BS in BS out.
Since this phone was pushed back, does that mean that the rest of verizon’s lineup such as the lg revolution and droid bionic will be coming out later than they were expected at ces?
@keller lol…
I hope the thunderbolt won’t release anytime soon. My contract with tmo will be over May 15th. Good job Verizon!! Keep on waiting.
Nope. Should be less of a gap between releases now.
Over it
It’s about damn time
gave up on this phone…
This is so annoying.
@bill (12):
The date is January 6th because that was when CES was going on. Note the location of Las Vegas.
HTC says announcement coming soon so my guess is Monday they will drop the news. HTC obviously approved verizons terms otherwise they would not have released a statement. Im feeling good vibes this week. Anyone who is still reading these and posting will go out and buy the first day so quit playing hard to get the moment we have all been waiting for is “coming soon” LOL
At vw is making sure thunderbolt is 4g ready. Unlike att atrix and inspire. Lol.
HTC did not release a statement. Some rube tweeted that they did….. You folks want to buy some lake front property in the Sahara desert? ;)
Can not wait for this phone!!! It is going to be awesome ;)
shit like this is why i have been laughing for months since i dropped them for the nexus S 4 months ago
Unnamed inside source.., “conditional release” shifting blame to HTC.. This all sounds like BS.. They have had stock to sell for awhile, I am sure there were known issues for updates that were probably in the works anyway.. People are starting to say “WTF ?”, so they came out with this “We are protecting you” smoke and mirrors.. I think they are trying to get rid of more iPhones while they can.. This stall, that puts it on another company to respond and negotiate can be extended until they reduce their iPhone inventory to a level they can live with.. HTC is going to play along.. They should be pissed though.
I got this email yesterday from Best Buy:
“Thank you for your recent reservation of the Verizon ThunderBolt 4G by HTC with Best Buy.
This e-mail is an additional confirmation that your smart phone is reserved in your name. We will contact you as soon as your smart phone is available.
Thank you from your Best Buy Mobile™ Team!”
This is the first email I’ve received from them since I pre-ordered in early February (or whenever that first day was.. can’t f’n remember!)… so I’m hoping for a 3/17 release… the same day I get my ipad 2 in the mail.. lol
I have been waiting for this phone but at this point new phones are just a month away with dual cores. I really think Verizon missed the boat on this phone, but I put the blame on HTC and Verizon. They need to lower the price ($149 to $199) if to make up for bad PR.
Classless they may be Ritchie, but sprint still remains Verizon’s bitch. The sad thing is even if sprint merges with t mobile(which wouldn’t do anything for current users bc it would’ve incompatible due to gsm:tmo and CDMA:sprint) it still would not have the coverage or the number of clients that vzw has. What say u about that? I understand u don’t want the phone to drop because it is better than the EVO in every way but try to be happy for android in general and how it’s evolving and not hate on anything that is better than the EVO.
If somebody can share that sexy blades of grass wallpaper, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Verizon sells the iphone now so they want everybody to buy an iphone. That’s why they’re charging $250 for a phone that’ s outdated before it’s released and delaying it as long as possible. It’s probably part of the deal Verizon made with Apple. They have to be pricks to all the other manufacturers now.
Why would anyone be waiting for this phone anyway. It’s the same phone HTC has made already available on most carriers for almost a year now.
@Kaizzle9 or Ksizzle9 who ever you are on different days must be so hard on verizon’s ”you know what” you can’t seem to think straight…You can enjoy your outdated thunderdud on some OVERRATED UNPROVEN LTE NETWORK…Nobody has much to worry about cause your whole network has nothing at this time and when something finally joins the thunderdud will it really matter????You have a failed XOOM TABLET totally OVERPRICED guess that fits well with VERIZON…yOU HAVE THAT CRAPPY OUTDATED IPHONE4 WHICH WILL NEVER BE LTE CAPABLE ANY TIME SOON…Then that NEWLY IPAD2 now that maybe something…Generally all us avid android lovers on Sprint and Tmobile are just sitting back laughing at all you other networks peddelling all your faulty devices on your overpriced networks…You make android look bad in the first place…Get your head out of Verizon’s ass
I received a phone call this morning from Best Buy and just returned home after picking up my Thunderbolt! Though, the sales rep at Best Buy told me I had to wait until the 17th before telling anyone that I had it. Oops……
DICKARD JEWNELL… you’re a fucking tardjew. Quit spouting your faggy love of Sprint in every thread. We love it. You’d suck off every tranny who works at every Sprint store if you could. We get it.. you love your EVO. Now go crawl in a cave and die, alone.
You are right camel. I’m a complete douche. I do love Sprint with all the little sperms in my testicles. I’m a complete dick and deserve it.
I apologize to everyone. I’m a complete asshole and many times have contemplated suicide. I have lost everything and because of that, I tend to lash out at the world in the only format I know won’t fight back, the internet.
@ everyone
Just ignore the troll if he’s that annoying.
I should be ignored…. my bad. :(
Buddy of mine was in the Verizon store at the end of last week. A Verizon rep told him it was coming out on the 17th. Take it for what you will, but it helps support the information we are seeing.
Is all this for real???
What kind of forum is this ??? Does anyone like the posts on here???