A frustrated HTC Thunderbolt customer trying to troubleshoot an compatibility issue with Bluetooth nearly forgot all his troubles this week. In an email reply, HTC reps responded that the Thunderbolt will be getting an update in the second quarter of the 2011 that while not addressing the Bluetooth issue, will bring Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) to the 4G handset. Of course, that’s HTCs time table. It will also have to clear Verizon before a roll out will commence, but the list of improvements look to really boost what is already a killer Android handset.

We are excited to announce that the Thunderbolt will receive the Gingerbread update in Q2 2011. Stay tuned for details as we get closer to the update availability.

The list of Gingerbread improvements include UI refinements which promise to speed up the experience, One-touch word selection and copy/paste, Improved power management,
Internet calling, better gaming performance and graphics management. It’ll also come with an open API for native audio, a new media framework fully replaces OpenCore, AAC encoding, and a host of behind the scenes network improvements. But the one thing still missing in the list of updates is improved battery life, which has been dogging the Thunderbolt since day one. HTC has addressed the issue with an optional, rather bulky 2750 mAh battery, which hopefully will ride users throughout the day. And for another $50, it had better.

The HTC Thunderbolt is a screaming fast 4G handset considering it only has a 1 Ghz single core processor. It has a 4/3″ screen and 768MB of RAM with 8GB of internal storage. And although it will be running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) after the update, it will still have to contend with HTC Sense as an overlay. For more on the Thunderbolt, check out Slashgear’s review. And get ready for a Gingerbread summer!

22 COMMENTS

  3. Come on did verizon forget about the samsung fascinate 2.2 update? Wtf… Everyone one else is getting 2.2 or higher accept the samsung fascinate which is I high end phone in september 2010.. But the experia x10 gets froyo & it’s older than the fascinate wtf dude..

    • Verizon doesn’t write the updates they just push them over their network. Samsung has not written an update for the fascinate nor almost all of the other us based galaxy series phones.

  8. Please excuse my lack of expertise, but how do the current users of 2.2 update to 2.3? Or are they not able to if the phone originally did not come out with it?

    Thanks…

    • When the update is released, on your phone go to settings then about phone then systems updates. you can download and install the update there.

  9. For anyone having batter issues with the Thunderbolt just download the app called “Phone Info” by Taiwan and you can toggle between 3G (CDMA) and 4G (LTE) Adds at least a day to your battery life.

    • I ran 3G all day today and only gained an hour. 7.5 hours. GPS and WIFI also disabled. No animations, low backlight…no video or camera use….

    • already doing that. My phone is not even picking up a consistent 3g connection. I’m either getting a nice 4g conncetion which drains me down in a matter of hours or i toggle to 3g and have data access for five minutes on and then 10 minutes off. Shouldve went with a 3g device or dare I say..An iphone??

  11. The official release said June 30, 2011 but then was delayed by Verizon for reasons unknown. Supposedly it’s been delayed till mid-July.

  12. The official release said June 30, 2011 but then was delayed by Verizon for reasons unknown. Supposedly it’s been delayed till mid-July.

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