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HTC ThunderBolt Extended Battery Review: The Best ThunderBolt Accessory Ever

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The HTC ThunderBolt is an impressive phone, as long as it is powered on when you want to use it. I detailed all the reasons I bought it earlier this year, but I failed to take into account the horrible battery life that it has become known for.

How bad is battery life on the ThunderBolt? Well, on an average day I would be lucky to go from breakfast to the end of dinner without losing a charge, and that was on days where I worked from home with a computer for checking twitter and surfing the web. I’m not running a million background services, but for whatever reason I was lucky to go half a day with a charge.

Finally, fed up with losing power when I needed it the most, I decided to buy the official HTC Extended battery for the ThunderBolt. The battery retails for $49.95, but I had a $10 off note on my account. I never asked for this discount, but I think Verizon realized that ThunderBolt owners were fed up and was trying to make good on at least one issue.

HTC ThunderBolt Extended Battery

HTC ThunderBolt Extended Battery

HTC ThunderBolt Extended Battery Use

Usage statistics for ThunderBolt Extended Battery.

The extended battery adds some bulk and weight to the phone, but not much more than the Mophie Juice Pack Air that iPhone owners tote around everywhere they go. In my experience, the additional bulk and weight are well worth it, so much so that I think HTC and Verizon should have shipped the phone with both the standard and extended batteries, like they have with other battery destroying smartphones.

While I was lucky to near the 12 hour mark in 3G coverage, now I can go 14 hours before the battery hits 50%. I expect that this will drop a bit when 4G gets turned on in the area, but I’m no longer looking for power connections anytime I am on the move.

You can see a sample of my battery use on the HTC ThunderBolt while using the Extended battery to the right. It’s pretty impressive given how fast those activities would have eaten through the standard battery.

If you rely on your HTC ThunderBolt, and have trouble making it through a workday, you should seriously consider the HTC ThunderBolt extended battery. You can still fit it in your pocket with the extended battery, but the difference is, at the end of the day, you’ll still have a charge. I haven’t been able to make the battery drop below 40% yet, which makes me think I might be able to go a night without charging if I had to.

My Advice to Motorola Droid Bionic owners, pick up the extended battery before it sells out.

HTC Thunderbolt Extended Battery v. iPhone 4 w/ Mophie Juice Air

HTC Thunderbolt Extended Battery v. iPhone 4 w/ Mophie Juice Air

10 Comments

10 Comments

  1. Jay Money

    09/02/2011 at 1:24 pm

    I have the battery and 13 hours is about the half-life its awesome 

  2. Anonymous

    09/02/2011 at 3:40 pm

    I have had the extended battery for well overheated two months & I love it.

  3. Willem Evenhuis

    09/02/2011 at 10:32 pm

    I’d much more prefer the the bulkiness of a mophie juice pack for a htc device than the hump of a battery as we have come to see since the HTC HD2. It influences not only the ergonomics, but also influences the fixture in carkits, cases and perhaps other accessories. The extra bulk could then be used to increase the extendend battery’s capactiy even more.

  4. Jbk7890

    09/03/2011 at 12:15 am

    Install Juice Defender, set it to extreme and enjoy the standard Battery all day.  Not with 4G, however, that will  run down even the large Battery. 

  5. Ptsjhen

    09/03/2011 at 2:02 am

    Thanks for sharing. I have been looking for a review on the extended battery. I was wondering if it is worth the bulk. Not real excited about the bulk, but really don’t need the hassle of constantly having to recharge. Getting mine this weekend!

  6. Markmark57

    09/03/2011 at 1:41 pm

    I got the Mugen Power 4500mAh Extended Battery for Verizon HTC ThunderBolt 4G ADR6400 with Battery Door.   This  battery is even thicker than the one mentioned hereand will last over 24 hours,    But it  costs $108.95, with free delivery from Mugen Power.      

  7. Jasonftwayne

    09/07/2011 at 8:16 am

    Some say bigger is better…I say they are right! Bigger screen a bigger battery with bigger memory. Just a bigger constitution this phone has tiger blood man.

  8. Charlie

    09/07/2011 at 8:18 am

    The extended battery does get hot only bad thing. It heats up it can’t cool down my situation goes round and round!

  9. egc52556

    09/13/2011 at 8:05 pm

    I’ve had an extended life battery for my HTC Thunderbolt on back order for weeks via Verizon.

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