HTC ThunderBolt Price and Release Date Confirmed 3/4 $249.99 Interactive Demo

BestBuyHTCThunderBolt.JPGFinally there appears to be confirmation of the price and release date of the HTC ThunderBolt - the first 4G smartphone on Verizon.  Last week Best Buy began taking preorders for the HTC ThunderBolt without a price or release date.

Update 02/24/11 5:56 pm- At a Verizon VIP event a launch date of 3/3 or 3/4 was mentioned as well as an unlimited 4G LTE data plan for $29.99. A tweet from Roseville Best Buy store suggests a March 4th launch date.

Today's Best Buy weekly ad shows, with a free enrollment Buy Back program, a free Droid Incredible and a $99 HTC Inspire.  A leaked Best Buy circular showed the HTC ThunderBolt
with a February 24 sale date and a price of $249.99.  We still don't
have official word on how much the 4G LTE data plans will cost

The Best Buy mobile phone shopping website offers an interactive demo of the HTC ThunderBolt that claims "blazing fast speeds plus large 4.3-inch screen equals
unlimited entertainment."  Skype can make video calls from anywhere without Wi-Fi.  The 8MP camera has flash and ability to quickly share
photos over 4G LTE.  The phrase that is often repeated is "blazing fast
speeds."  The leaked ad reports "download a song in less than 4
seconds."  The simulator shows how to ad premade widgets, such as
calendar.
Cases for the HTC ThunderBolt are showing up in Verizon stores, suggesting an imminent release.  Meanwhile, HSPA+ Android smartphones are coming to AT&T today,  You can read the latest review of reviews of the HTC Inspire 4G here.

HTC ThunderBolt is a 4G LTE Android 2.2 smartphone with HTC
Sense,
4.3-inch touchscreen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, Skype video calling,
mobile hotspots, GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.  Other features include a
built-in kickstand, Dolby/SRS surround sound, and DLNA support.

Google buzz factor is higher for the HTC ThunderBolt than other smartphones releasing around the same time.

  View more HTC ThunderBolt news and HTC ThunderBolt unboxing video.