HTC Thunderbolt - Unboxing my FIRST smartphone!

My First Smartphone: A Blast from the Past

I recently had the chance to get my hands on an old HTC Thunderbolt, a smartphone that was released back in 2011. As I picked it up and started navigating through its interface, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia wash over me. The phone's sleek design and physical buttons were a far cry from the sleek, all-screen smartphones we're used to today.

The first thing I noticed when I turned on the Thunderbolt was how it vibrated when my hand was placed near it. It was like a gentle wake-up call, reminding me that this was a phone that was meant to be interacted with. As I continued to explore the device, I found myself missing the physical buttons that were once so ubiquitous in smartphones. The home button, menu button, back button, and search button were all present and accounted for, and it was almost nostalgic to see them on the screen.

I also remembered how my mom had initially hesitated to get me a smartphone when Google Maps first came out. She was hesitant to give up the simplicity of our old flip phone, but I convinced her that having access to maps and GPS would make it impossible for us to get lost. That was the final straw that allowed her to finally agree to let me get a smartphone, and I got the Thunderbolt on the same day that unlimited plans stopped being offered at Verizon.

The first thing I noticed when starting up the phone was how slow everything was compared to today's standards. The Android 4.0.4 operating system felt clunky and outdated, but it was also kind of charming in a retro sort of way. I remembered using the Android Market (which is now known as the Google Play Store) to download apps, and how thrilled I was to have access to new content at my fingertips.

As I continued to explore the phone's features, I came across some of the classic software that was present on older smartphones. There were built-in apps like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, which seemed quaint compared to today's social media landscape. The screen itself was pretty nice, with a resolution that was impressive for its time.

One feature that stood out to me was the kickstand. Oh, how I miss having a phone with a kickstand! It was always so convenient to prop up my phone and watch videos or browse the web without having to hold it constantly. And of course, who can forget the front-facing speaker? It was like having a personal music system built right into your phone.

As I continued to use the Thunderbolt, I realized just how far smartphones have come in the last 10 years. The camera capabilities are so much better than they were back then, and apps like Google Maps and YouTube have evolved to become seamless and intuitive. Even the interface itself has changed dramatically, with gestures replacing traditional button inputs.

But despite all the advancements, there's one feature that I really wish modern smartphones would bring back: the kickstand. There's something so satisfying about being able to prop up your phone and watch a video or browse the web without having to hold it constantly. It's almost like a throwback to an era when phones were designed with practicality in mind, rather than just aesthetics.

As I continued to use the Thunderbolt, I was struck by how loud the speaker was, even when the kickstand was open. And then there was the audio quality – it was surprisingly good, especially considering the phone's age. But what really blew my mind was when I started using the web browser and realized that YouTube videos were still playing in their entirety. It was like a blast from the past, reminding me of a time before streaming services became so ubiquitous.

The UI itself was also pretty impressive for its time, with Android Sense UI taking center stage. It was sleek and modern, if a bit dated by today's standards. But hey, at least it was trying to be different – I remember being blown away by how futuristic it seemed back then.

As I powered down the phone and put it away, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia for the early days of smartphones. It was like looking through an old photo album, remembering all the good times and bad. The Thunderbolt may not be the most powerful or modern smartphone out there, but it's definitely got character – and that's something that can never be replicated.

In conclusion, using the HTC Thunderbolt was a blast from the past. It brought back memories of older smartphones and their quirks, but also reminded me just how far we've come in terms of technology and design. If you're feeling nostalgic for your old smartphone or want to relive some classic moments, I'd definitely recommend giving this device a try – even if it's just for a few minutes.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey guys so i don't know about you but the beginning of the year makes me feel a little bit nostalgic i think back on all the things that happened this year and all the things that happened in the past and i kind of think about what started me in this career in general and if i think all the way back i can remember my very first smartphone and i thought about this a couple weeks ago and decided maybe i should just buy that smartphone so i went on ebay i looked up the htc thunderbolt and lo and behold i got one for five dollars so without further ado i'm gonna unbox my very first smartphone the htc thunderbolt so i remember this packaging it's kind of like this dual layered packaging that has the top casing and then you've got this and it's very basic obviously just black fun fact this is the first 4g smartphone that was ever released i believe at least in north america um it was on verizon and it was awesome now obviously htc used to do this like big black and red packaging thing that was very poppy very vibrant um wow but i haven't really opened this since i originally had one back in like 2009 so this is pretty nice to see oh man okay there we go now i think this thing has like a 4.3 inch display or something like that but it honestly does not feel that small in my hand uh the kickstand here was something that i really really enjoyed and obviously if you open up the kickstand you've got those speakers in the back and that's something that htc was famous for for a really long time was having awesome speakers you got a headphone jack up top you've got this camera and now you can actually take the back off you know back when you can actually swap out the back of your phone um just so you could replace the battery if you wanted to so let's get this thing booted up if it boots up i hope it boots up oh did it vibrate hey okay now you've got the home button the menu button the back button and the search button here i kind of miss having those hard buttons to actually navigate your phone with now it's just all screen and you know there's gestures and then we also have the cabas the fake capacitive buttons that are on the screen but i kind of miss having those physical buttons you know they're a little fun ooh thunderbolt yes okay so i originally was able to convince my mom to let me get a smartphone when google maps came out because i convinced her that i would be able to know where i was at any given time so it was impossible to get lost and that was kind of like the straw that broke the camel's back that allowed her to finally want allow me to get a smartphone before then i had this like you know dumb flip phone it was a motorola kind of like a knockoff razor but so when i originally got the thunderbolt i got it basically the day that the unlimited plans stopped being offered at verizon so i was grandfathered into an unlimited plan for a very short period of time but i just wanted to have unlimited data because i wanted to use the android market which is what the google play store was called back then oh man look at this look at these old youtube app sucker radio adobe reader facebook geez already built in rock band that's strange there's htc sense ui the very very classic sense ui i don't know if you guys use this but like back then it seemed like so futuristic what is this running i'm gonna see what this is running i probably have to find a settings app software information android 4.0.4 oh man remember friend stream you can log into social networks through here and just have everything in one stream so like facebook and twitter and the screen really isn't that bad you know let's try to take a selfie and see what happens um wow look at these buttons thick phone but like i mean kickstand like come on like why don't modern phones have kickstands anymore like that was always a really really nice feature to have in a phone like if you can just have your phone sitting there and look at it now i know that a lot of cases have kickstands at this point but i would love it if like another phone would just bring back the kickstand so you could just watch content like this because it's annoying having to hold it all the time so that's awesome that front-facing speaker i wonder if we can play any music honestly this is more advanced than i remember it being but there's a music app ah no pre-loaded songs seems like playing android authority youtube i video know i don't think i need a longing yeah oh yeah look at that ui whew that's old i wonder if this will even work can it play it back oh there's an t-mobile hector rules all right come on pixel this year the pixel of five and it might be kind of hard to stomach for something oh man he is having trouble even decoding this video oh there's definitely audio coming out of the back okay it's definitely louder when the kick stands open i think that's who google is making the pixel wow this web ui is awful oh my gosh too by the youtube app doesn't work but all right let's take a photo with the camera and see what happens here all right i'm gonna try to take a selfie switch look at that toggles mode high resolution we'll try with the we'll try the back camera i wonder if the volume down button still works oh got one okay yeah cameras have definitely improved in smartphones i'll tell you that but i mean look at these hardware buttons this one's a little worse for the wear but still is a pretty nice form factor i really wish the htc would like recreate this phone in some way honestly the screen was pretty nice it's getting a little warm already which is very reminiscent of what happened to me before when i got this phone when i first bought this phone i remember i was multitasking like crazy on it i was using skype at the same time as like running some other app or something and it got so hot it almost burned my hand um i ended up replacing it and turning it in for a droid charge which is probably the worst mistake of my life because this phone is so much higher quality than a droid charge yeah big old verizon logo at the top there too but overall i think uh phones have definitely come pretty far in the last 10 or so years alright guys well i think that'll just about do it for this phone what was your first smartphone and does it bring back any specific memories are there any features from that phone that you wish modern phones had let me know in the comment section down below obviously and i'll talk to you later youhey guys so i don't know about you but the beginning of the year makes me feel a little bit nostalgic i think back on all the things that happened this year and all the things that happened in the past and i kind of think about what started me in this career in general and if i think all the way back i can remember my very first smartphone and i thought about this a couple weeks ago and decided maybe i should just buy that smartphone so i went on ebay i looked up the htc thunderbolt and lo and behold i got one for five dollars so without further ado i'm gonna unbox my very first smartphone the htc thunderbolt so i remember this packaging it's kind of like this dual layered packaging that has the top casing and then you've got this and it's very basic obviously just black fun fact this is the first 4g smartphone that was ever released i believe at least in north america um it was on verizon and it was awesome now obviously htc used to do this like big black and red packaging thing that was very poppy very vibrant um wow but i haven't really opened this since i originally had one back in like 2009 so this is pretty nice to see oh man okay there we go now i think this thing has like a 4.3 inch display or something like that but it honestly does not feel that small in my hand uh the kickstand here was something that i really really enjoyed and obviously if you open up the kickstand you've got those speakers in the back and that's something that htc was famous for for a really long time was having awesome speakers you got a headphone jack up top you've got this camera and now you can actually take the back off you know back when you can actually swap out the back of your phone um just so you could replace the battery if you wanted to so let's get this thing booted up if it boots up i hope it boots up oh did it vibrate hey okay now you've got the home button the menu button the back button and the search button here i kind of miss having those hard buttons to actually navigate your phone with now it's just all screen and you know there's gestures and then we also have the cabas the fake capacitive buttons that are on the screen but i kind of miss having those physical buttons you know they're a little fun ooh thunderbolt yes okay so i originally was able to convince my mom to let me get a smartphone when google maps came out because i convinced her that i would be able to know where i was at any given time so it was impossible to get lost and that was kind of like the straw that broke the camel's back that allowed her to finally want allow me to get a smartphone before then i had this like you know dumb flip phone it was a motorola kind of like a knockoff razor but so when i originally got the thunderbolt i got it basically the day that the unlimited plans stopped being offered at verizon so i was grandfathered into an unlimited plan for a very short period of time but i just wanted to have unlimited data because i wanted to use the android market which is what the google play store was called back then oh man look at this look at these old youtube app sucker radio adobe reader facebook geez already built in rock band that's strange there's htc sense ui the very very classic sense ui i don't know if you guys use this but like back then it seemed like so futuristic what is this running i'm gonna see what this is running i probably have to find a settings app software information android 4.0.4 oh man remember friend stream you can log into social networks through here and just have everything in one stream so like facebook and twitter and the screen really isn't that bad you know let's try to take a selfie and see what happens um wow look at these buttons thick phone but like i mean kickstand like come on like why don't modern phones have kickstands anymore like that was always a really really nice feature to have in a phone like if you can just have your phone sitting there and look at it now i know that a lot of cases have kickstands at this point but i would love it if like another phone would just bring back the kickstand so you could just watch content like this because it's annoying having to hold it all the time so that's awesome that front-facing speaker i wonder if we can play any music honestly this is more advanced than i remember it being but there's a music app ah no pre-loaded songs seems like playing android authority youtube i video know i don't think i need a longing yeah oh yeah look at that ui whew that's old i wonder if this will even work can it play it back oh there's an t-mobile hector rules all right come on pixel this year the pixel of five and it might be kind of hard to stomach for something oh man he is having trouble even decoding this video oh there's definitely audio coming out of the back okay it's definitely louder when the kick stands open i think that's who google is making the pixel wow this web ui is awful oh my gosh too by the youtube app doesn't work but all right let's take a photo with the camera and see what happens here all right i'm gonna try to take a selfie switch look at that toggles mode high resolution we'll try with the we'll try the back camera i wonder if the volume down button still works oh got one okay yeah cameras have definitely improved in smartphones i'll tell you that but i mean look at these hardware buttons this one's a little worse for the wear but still is a pretty nice form factor i really wish the htc would like recreate this phone in some way honestly the screen was pretty nice it's getting a little warm already which is very reminiscent of what happened to me before when i got this phone when i first bought this phone i remember i was multitasking like crazy on it i was using skype at the same time as like running some other app or something and it got so hot it almost burned my hand um i ended up replacing it and turning it in for a droid charge which is probably the worst mistake of my life because this phone is so much higher quality than a droid charge yeah big old verizon logo at the top there too but overall i think uh phones have definitely come pretty far in the last 10 or so years alright guys well i think that'll just about do it for this phone what was your first smartphone and does it bring back any specific memories are there any features from that phone that you wish modern phones had let me know in the comment section down below obviously and i'll talk to you later you\n"