Wozniak: HTC ThunderBolt - one of the worst gadgets I ever paid for

One fine day back in January 2011, HTC and Verizon unveiled Big Red’s first ever 4G LTE-enabled smartphone, the ThunderBolt. More than two months later the exciting and much anticipated 4.3-incher finally saw the light of day, but didn’t quite get the expected warm welcome.

The phone’s bulkiness, frequent network outages, overheating and battery issues were only some of the downsides quoted by many regular tech users when returning the HTC ThunderBolt to retailers. The not very “sensible” pricing surely didn’t help the “beast” overcome all these problems, not to mention the ICS update delays.

If all those things weren’t enough to drive users away from the ThunderBolt (not that anyone would be crazy enough to purchase the phone now that it’s also outdated), Steve Wozniak came and pounded the last nail in the phone’s coffin.

Answering to a Gizmodo “Chatroom” question, The Woz said that the HTC ThunderBolt was one of the worst gadgets he actually paid for. Ever. Ouch! That’s got to hurt, especially given the fact that Apple’s co-founder had mentioned in an interview a few months ago that he preferred Android over iOS from a couple of points of view and that he wished the iPhone could do all the things his Android did. Also, you can probably imagine how many phones and gadgets someone like Wozniak has owned in his lifetime.

In fact, the only other gadget Wozniak mentioned when answering to Gizmodo’s question was an “early Iridium phone” from the “dark ages” of technology, so the HTC ThunderBolt really seems to have made a terrible impression on the San Jose-born scientist and engineer.

Whether you agree with the guy or not, you can’t fault Wozniak for openly voicing his opinions (as he has always done) and not avoiding answering any question out of “diplomatic” reasons. Do you agree with him? Is the ThunderBolt the absolute biggest pile of rubbish you have ever owned? How about those of you who haven’t purchased HTC and Big Red’s 4.3-incher? What would be the gadget you most likely regret spending money on?

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