HTC’s Thunderbolt will soon have some competition in the Droid Charge from Samsung, Verizon’s second 4G LTE phone.
The Droid Charge will cost $300 on contract when it launches April 28. That’s a steep price for a phone with a single-core 1 GHz processor — dual-core is where it’s at for today’s top-shelf handsets — but Verizon’s limited-time offer of free Wi-Fi hotspot capabilities helps soothe the burn. There’s also an 8-megapixel camera in back, a 1.3-megapixel camera in front and a funky shape that, at the very least, doesn’t resemble an iPhone. The AMOLED Plus screen measures 4.3 inches.
For software, the Droid Charge packs Android 2.2, following a long line of phones that cheerily ignore Google’s latest operating system version. Samsung’s iPhone-like TouchWiz interface, a source of rage (and a lawsuit) for Apple, makes its triumphant return, providing a similar experience to the Galaxy S phones of last year.
The speed of Verizon’s 4G LTE network has been well-received, but critics note that the fast connection drains the Thunderbolt’s battery in a hurry. I’m concerned that the Droid Charge will suffer a similar drawback, as Verizon’s Droid Charge press release makes no mention of battery life. When I tried to find more information on Verizon’s website, all I got was this terrifying splash page.
There’s no pre-order information, but Verizon’s doing some weird promotion where you can try to hunt down a free Droid Charge by visiting this website. Good luck with that.
