HTC ThunderBolt Matching iPhone Sales at Verizon Stores

Posted Mar 31, 2011 at 1:09PM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: News Tags: apple, HTC ThunderBolt, ios

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Could the newly-released HTC ThunderBolt phone be outselling the iPhone? According to BTIG Research analyst Walter Piecyk, the two are running neck-in-neck. Based on his calls to 150 Verizon Communications stores in 22 cities, Piecyk reports that at 61% of the stores surveyed, employees stated sales of the two phones were about the same. The iPhone was ahead at 11%, while the Thunderbolt took the lead at 28%. Piecyk drew these conclusions: “Clearly the strong sales of the ThunderBolt could be a result of the hype following the recent launch of the ThunderBolt, but the qualitative feedback we received from sales people was an expectation that the ThunderBolt would keep pace with the iPhone. Salespeople indicated that customers are very interested in the fast speeds offered by the ThunderBolt’s 4G capability and in some cases they indicated that they had received returns based on the battery life of the ThunderBolt.” What advantages does the ThunderBolt have over the iPhone? The major ones are blazing speed—some testers have called it the fastest smartphone yet—and the extra-large screen. So is the ThunderBolt a threat to the iPhone? Definitely, and also to every other smartphone out there. The prices of the ThunderBolt and iPhone are comparable—$249.99 for the Thunderbolt with a two-year contract, $199.99 for the 16GB iPhone or $299.99 for the 32GB with contract. Verizon customers have given the ThunderBolt mostly glowing reviews except in one area—battery life.

This could be the deal-killer for many customers, and as Piecyk mentioned, Verizon salespeople are reporting returns due to the short battery life of the ThunderBolt. This could cost the ThunderBolt a lot of sales in the long run, because it doesn’t matter how fast your phone is if the battery keeps dying on you.

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