HTC ThunderBolt with Verizon 4G Now Expected to Launch in Late March

UPDATE: The much-anticipated HTC ThunderBolt has been released. More information can be found in this article:

HTC ThunderBolt, Verizon's First 4G Smartphone, Now Available

The launch date for the HTC ThunderBolt, Verizon's first smartphone with 4G, has been the subject of rumor and speculation for weeks now. The most recent unconfirmed report says it's going to hit store shelves on the day before the CTIA tradeshow starts.

This cutting-edge Android OS model was announced back in January, and in addition to support for Verizon's LTE service, it will have a large display and an 8-megapixel camera.

Many people have been eagerly awaiting this smartphone since Best Buy began taking pre-orders for it early in February, and there have been several rumored launch days since then, all of which have come and gone. One of these was today, but the ThunderBolt has yet to see the light of day.

The wait is going to continue until March 21, according to the latest unconfirmed report. That's the day before the semi-annual CTIA tradeshow begins -- a popular day for new models to debut. 

HTC ThunderBolt Overview
As one of the first smartphones with the 4G standard LTE, the ThunderBolt will offer data transfer speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps for downloads and 2 to 5 Mbps upload speeds under real world conditions. For comparison, tests on this carrier's current 3G network gave download speeds of 0.6 to 1.6 Mbps and upload speeds of 0.5 to 0.8 Mbps. 

This model is going to offer a 4.3-inch WVGA (840 x 480) screen set in a bar shape with a kickstand on the back.

It is going to run Google's Android OS 2.2 (Froyo) with HTC's Sense overlay on a 1 GHz processor. It won't have a significant amount of internal storage capacity, but will have a microSD card slot with a bundled 32 GB card.

It will have an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera as well as a front-facing camera with support for video conferencing.

Other features are going to include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, a digital compass, GPS, a proximity sensor, and a G-sensor.

According to Best Buy, the HTC ThunderBolt is going to cost $300 with a two-year Verizon service contract. That's $100 above what is typical for a high-end smartphone.

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