Droid Razr vs HTC Thunderbolt: And the Winner is?

HTC Thunderbolt was Verizon's first 4G phone and Droid Razr is the newest entry in that category. Perhaps this isn't a fair fight, but given the Razr is double the price of Thunderbolt, perhaps there is room enough for Thunderbolt to pull off the upset. After all, Thunderbolt doesn't have a dual-core processor, super thin design or 960x540p resolution, but for $150 on contract, it might have enough for consumers to decide the $300 Razr isn't worth the high price.

So, both devices have 4G capability, eight megapixel cameras and large 4.3-inch screens, but Razr has a Super AMOLED screen compared to the Thunderbolt's WVGA. That gives Razr the edge in display contrast, brightness and color reproduction. Razr will also be one of the first devices to get the Android 4.0 update. Thunderbolt may or may not get the update, however. It actually ships with Android 2.2 installed, so it would need two updates to get Ice Cream Sandwich. In fact, the Android 2.3 update only came to Thunderbolt in October, 2011. Like many smartphones, particularly those that run on high speed networks like Verizon's LTE, battery issues are a concern. Being that Thunderbolt was Verizon's first 4G device, it may not have been quite ready for the battery drain. On the other hand, if you live in an area where 4G coverage is spotty, then it might not make as big of an impact.

The final comparison is between the software. Droid Razr does have some Android tweaks courtesy of Motorola, but they aren't too intrusive. Thunderbolt comes with the HTC Sense software, and some users may like its approach while others want more of the Android experience. Sense is meant to be easy to use and convenient, so you should go down to the Verizon store and try it out first. Droid Razr wins this smartphone smackdown, but at $300 it is prohibitively expensive for many people. Thunderbolt at $150 is a bit of a stretch though, as well. For being nearly a year old, the price is a tad high. It seems there is a $50 fee for Verizon's LTE network. Tell us in the comments if you've tried out the Droid Razr and what you think of it.