If you’re a Verizon customer, and you’re into buying an HTC phone this month (or next month) — then there are two phones that are most likely available when you visit your local store, the HTC Thunderbolt and the HTC Trophy. According to rumors, the HTC Thunderbolt might arrive on March 16, 17, while the HTC Trophy is scheduled to hit Verizon on March 24th.
Aside from the branding, these two phones have a lot of differences. The biggest, apparently, is the operating system. HTC Thunderbolt is pre-installed with Android 2.2 version, or popularly known as FroYo with HTC Sense blended, while the HTC Trophy is packed with Windows Phone 7, Microsoft’s mobile operating system.
The next difference is the network compatibility, HTC Thunderbolt is the first-ever 4G/LTE capable device of Verizon Wireless, while the HTC Trophy is a CDMA phone. HTC Thunderbolt is obviously faster when it comes to internet activities(without WiFi connection) like watching YouTube, data downloads and uploads, mobile browsing and more. But both devices will perform almost exactly the same if WiFi is turned on because both devices was created with 1GHz Snapdragon single-core.
When it comes to camera, HTC Thunderbolt is better because HTC Trophy doesn’t have a front-facing camera for video chat (or future Skype video calls). HTC Trophy’s rear-facing camera is 5 megapixel, while the HTC Thunderbolt will sport 8 megapixel rear-facing camera, with 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera.
Another little advantage of the HTC Thunderbolt over HTC Trophy is the capacitive touchscreen size. The Thunderbolt’s screen is 4.3 inches diagonal, while HTC Trophy’s touchscreen size is 3.6 inches. Both HTC Thunderbolt and HTC Trophy have the resolution of 480 x 800 pixels.
The only possible advantage of HTC Trophy is the price tag. If Verizon will adopt the pricing of the same phone model in U.K, then it’s highly possible that the Windows Phone will sport a tag price of less than $100 with a 2 year contract, and around $400-$500 off-contract. HTC Thunderbolt is reportedly scheduled to sport a tag price of $299 with contract, and $749 without.
Windows Phone 7 (or Microsoft) obviously needs Verizon (as well as Sprint) to sell more units, and to get more market share if they want to beat iOS and Android. But launching an LTE phone first than a regular CDMA phone is a little bad news for Redmond.