After two weeks on the shelves, Verizon's latest 4G smartphone is holding its own against the Verizon version of the popular iPhone 4. According to reports from analysts, it may even be outselling the Apple device in many locations.

The HTC Thunderbolt has been selling strong since its mid-March debut on Verizon's 4G LTE network, says technology research firm BTIG, which recently conducted a poll of 150 Verizon Wireless retail stores over 22 major cities across the United States. The results have been impressive for the Android-based device: More than half the stores say sales for the two devices are on par with each other, while a significant number are reporting that the Thunderbolt is in the lead.

BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk lays out the firm's methodology for us:

We called 150 Verizon Wireless stores in 22 major cities in the United States and asked the sales people that answered whether they were selling more Thunderbolts or more iPhones over the past week. 61% of the stores that we contacted said they sold an equal amount of both phones, 11% said they sold more iPhones (principally in the Southeast) and 28% of stores had sold more ThunderBolts.

To be fair, BTIG's research has occurred over the first two weeks that the Thunderbolt has been out, while the iPhone 4 on Verizon has been available since mid-February, so it compares a hot new product to one that's slightly less fresh.

Earlier, Verizon CEO Dan Mead made no bones about stating that the iPhone 4's release was the biggest handset debut for the network ever. "In just our first two hours, we had already sold more phones than any first day launch in our history," Mead said in a February press release.

Without the release of hard sales numbers from Verizon, there's no way to tell whether the Android handset has proven more popular than Apple's iOS device overall. But with a stellar hardware profile and reports of blazing 4G speeds on Verizon's new LTE network, it's clear the Thunderbolt is putting up quite the fight.

HTC's Thunderbolt retails for $250 with a two-year contract agreement with Verizon.

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Via BGR

See Also: