HTC Incredible Review: Flavor of the Month

  • Share
  • Read Later

It wasn’t that long ago when your choice of Android-based devices was limited to two or three models. Nowadays each carrier has at least two (AT&T: 2, T-Mobile: 6, Sprint: 3, Verizon: 5). And HTC is leading the charge with the likes of the Nexus One, Hero, Evo and now, the Droid Incredible for Verizon. I’ve had one for the last few days and I can say that it truly is incredible. Assuming you’re on Verizon and you’re looking for an Android device.

With a 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen, Android 2.1, 8-megapixel camera, Sense UI and a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, the Incredible is another impressive Android device from HTC. In fact, it’s probably the best Android device available on the market right now.

(More on Techland: Nexus One Review)

It isn’t perfect but is anything ever perfect? No.

Hardware
The Incredible is an unassuming piece of hardware until it’s flipped over and undressed. I’m not sure which shade of red HTC went with, but it’s real nice. You notice hints of it around the camera lens and on the front headset speaker grill. The rubber battery cover is contoured to the internals of the device giving it a bit of extra flair.

Unlike the Nexus One, the Incredible sports an optical joystick rather than a trackball. I can’t say that I like it, but I honestly can’t say that I hate it. I used it pretty sparingly.

Let’s talk about the screen for a second. I imagine the surface of the sun is just as bright as the 3.7-inch AMOLED screen. But it’s a shame when they go head-to-head and the fiery ball of gas wins. With screen brightness cranked all the way, the Incredible is usable under direct sunlight, but not great.

I’m going to throw call quality under hardware for this review. It makes and receives phone calls with both parties hearing one another just fine.

The FM transmitter works pretty well, but you’ll have to plug in headphones for reception.

Battery Life
This can be hit or miss. The first day off a full charge didn’t last very long – about 10 hours. And that didn’t include Exchange ActiveSync. The second go around was much, much better. With Exchange ActiveSync running, screen brightness cranked all the way up and sporadic use of Wi-Fi and GPS, the Incredible managed to go a full day with moderate Web browsing, Twittering and random phone calls.

As is the case with most 3G smartphone devices, your mileage will vary. And lest we forget that Android runs apps in the background.

(More on Techland: Sprint’s HTC EVO 4G Has Kitchen Sink Appeal)

Camera
Without a dedicated hardware key for the camera, you’re relegated to firing up the 8-megapixel camera with the software shortcut. But it starts up and auto-focuses in less than 2 or 3 seconds. Picture quality is acceptable and so are videos.

Camera controls are extensive and sort of mindblowing for a camera phone.

• ISO up to 1250
• Adjustable metering mode: spot, center area, average
• Contrast, Saturation and Sharpness can be adjusted
• Shutter sound can be turned off
• Flicker adjustment: Auto, 50Hz, 60Hz
• Adjustable exposure: ±3
• Adjustable Image Properties: ±2 Contrast, Sharpness, Saturation

Software
Should Google release the next pastry themed update to Android in the near future, it’s unclear whether or not Incredible will be upgradeable. It’s running HTC’s Sense UI and features Leap, which is reminiscent of OS X’s Exposé. Leap is a shortcut to one of seven screens should you have widgets or programs residing on any one of them. You can pinch the homescreen or tap the home button (from the homescreen) to launch Leap.

A few other Sense specific apps include Car Panel, Desk Clock, and Friend Stream.

• Car Panel: Provides a shortcut to Footprints, Navigation, Voice Search, View Map, Search and Make a call while you’re driving with oversized icons.
• Desk Clock: It’s exactly what you think it is.
• Friend Stream: Aggregates status updates, photo uploads and links from your friends on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, etc.

Unlike devices with the “Google Experience” aka vanilla Android aka Nexus One, your previously purchased Android apps will not automatically sync on the Incredible. Bummer.

Dislikes
The following are personal nitpicks about the Incredible and shouldn’t sway your vote one way or another until you’ve played with one yourself.

• Battery percentage indicator would be awesome
• HTC Peep is a wonderful built-in Twitter client but I wish it were more like Tweetie or Echofon for the iPhone. It would be nice to know which updates are new and which ones I’ve already read. Retweets or mentions embedded within a message don’t show up under @s.

Should You Or Shouldn’t You
If the Incredible were a girl (or boy depending on your preference) then you may have found yourself the perfect mate. For now. It’s super lightweight and it’s the best smartphone and Android device available on Verizon. The Droid Incredible will be available 4/29 for $200 after a $100MIR and two-year contract.

Verizon Wireless

  1. Previous
  2. 1
  3. 2