The HTC Thunderbolt holds a special place in many Android users’ hearts. It was of course the first LTE smartphone to hit the U.S. airwaves. And while it certainly had some weaknesses, it is an infamous handset that will forever be remembered. That said, old it is, dead it is not. VZBuzz received an email reportedly from VZW seeking a limited number of beta testers for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on the HTC Thunderbolt. For HTC to be looking as far back as the Thunderbolt is a testament to their credibility and previous promises to bring future updates to as many “legacy” devices as possible. The Thunderbolt is about as “legacy” as it gets at this point.
The testing will supposedly begin next week and run through April, though no mention of any public release actually happening, let alone when, was mentioned. Still, the mere fact that ICS could very well be coming to the HTC Thunderbolt should make owners of said device quite happy.
The other unknown: What version of Sense will the Thunderbolt run? We’re going to say it won’t be the all-new Sense 4.0. Some newer devices like the Sensation series of phones are getting a Sense 3.6/”Lite” and are, in terms of hardware, much more advanced than the Thunderbolt. In short: Don’t hold your breath for Sense 4.0 on the Thunderbolt. But hey. This new revelation is certainly better than other possible outcomes, like, no update at all. No?
