The HTC ThunderBolt strikes Verizon's web site

It was only a matter of time, as the HTC ThunderBolt has officially been released and is avaliable for purchase on the Verizon Wireless web site.

As many of you know, the HTC ThunderBolt is Verizon's first 4G LTE smartphone, with ones from Motorola, LG and Samsung due out over the next few months. The Android 2.2 Froyo smartphone comes with a 4.3" 480x800 WVGA resolution touch-screen display, 1GHz Snapdragon processor (Qualcomm MSM8655 and MDM9600), 8MP autofocus rear camera with dual LED flash, 1.3MP front camera, 720p HD video recording, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 8GB of internal memory, and comes with a 32GB SanDisk Class 4 microSDHC memory card pre-installed.

When the ThunderBolt was first posts to the Verizon site earlier tonight, it showed a 2-year contract price of $249.99, but the full-retail price was shown to be $444.99. Since then, the non-contract price has been "fixed" and is now $599.99 ($150 more). Let us know if you happened to snag one at the $444 price.

You can also view our hands-on videos of the HTC Thunderbolt (unboxing, 4G data speed test, benchmark results, and web browsing). We will also have a full in-depth review of the HTC ThunderBolt.

source: Verizon Wireless