Yes it is... it is incredible.. the HTC Incredible. I got one, after spending almost 3 years with iPhones.
Between the original iPhone and iPhone 3G, I've gotten used to the iPhone OS. And now with the iPad available, there's more than one way to get your dose of the iOS 4. So is there any reason you'd need a large and small iOS 4 device? I find out... kinda..
So as I've already mentioned, I've left my iPhone 3G (8GB) for the new HTC Incredible. I'm gonna go ahead and skip the side by side comparison since I didn't have a 3GS and the iPhone 4 is coming out soon.
So what comes down to it in the end is the user experience. I'm uncertain as to if Android is a better mobile phone system than iPhone OS3 or iOS4. But what I do know is that HTC's own Sense UI is what broke my camel's back. Let me break it down...
Hardware: Build Quality
If you think your iPhone is sturdy (or not), you might wanna check out HTCs phones. They're IMHO built way better than the iPhones. HTC is a Taiwanese company and their phones are Made in Taiwan. (most if not all) I would say the quality is on par with something like the Nokia N900. Very sturdy for a device that has a removable back for the battery and access to the microSD card. The phone is mostly plastic but it doesn't feel cheap to me like some of the reviews I've read. A rubber case is a must to protect not only from drops but the camera itself. Since its a 8MP camera, the lens itself is quite large and protrudes out of the back of the phone, enough so that if you put the phone down, it'll be touch the table and potentially scratched to hell after a while. The metal ring that holds the lens glass in place is red anodized aluminum. It definitely gives the phone a touch of industrial and androidness. The front of the phone also has the red trim, but just on the cover of the ear piece. The optical joystick is one of the first of its kind in a mobile phone. Since it doesn't wake the phone up from stand-by like the iPhone, I find myself not using it most of the time. It does have very good tactile feed back when you press down on it.
Camera: 8MP
It's really astonishing how much details can be captured on a 8MP camera on a phone. This is by far the best camera I have ever used on a phone. I know Steve was all defending the 5MP camera on the iPhone 4, but I know the real reason that it doesn't have a 8MP camera is cost and size. Apple is very cost and design constraint. So they go to Foxconn and tell them this is the dimension of the phone, and here's the cost, make it fit. A 8MP camera will never fit in the iPhone 4, not until the cost for smaller sensor units come down to Apple's standard. This is obviously not an issue with HTC so you have a protruding camera, not a huge problem when you slap a rubber case on the phone. I love the topographic, none symmetrical back design. They even thought of the interior so everything on the inside is red and the exterior is black. The design is really the opposite of the iPhone 4. Which is a nice change of scenery for my hands.
Software: Enclair topped with a little something extra...
You could turn off HTC's Sense UI, but why would you when it works soo well? I have had a coupe times where the app quit on me while trying to launch it. After a relaunch, its runs with no issues. Similar situations have happened to me on my iPhone before. The Snapdragon processor makes the phone run as fast as the iPad. Battery life is poor out of the box, if you nurse it, you can get a full day out of the phone with ease. That might sound like its pretty bad, but you already do that with your iPhone. Android actually has a feature in the menu that tells you your battery usage in % and time. I find it very useful and try to make things pretty even between actual usage, stand-by, and screen usage. I've never used any other iterations of Android so I can't say what the improvement 2.1 brings. I do feel that it is on par if not better than iPhone OS 3. I will do a comparison between Android and iOS 4 when its released for the iPad.
Menu system
You get 7 pages of spaces for your apps and widgets.. Each gives you a max of 16 apps. I can't stop raving about the widgets.. only wish HTC makes more of their own! You could download more from them at the moment but there's a handful and they're games and tip calculator. We're all familiar with the
Service: Verizon
This is my first time being a Verizon customer. Being a long term GSM (mostly AT&T and some T Mobile).
What can I say that you don't already know. I'm getting much better and consistant coverage than AT&T at spots that have bad reception in general. I do have to warn you tho, be prepaired to have a slower over up and down speed on Verizon's CDMA than AT&T. So far with Xtreamelab's Speedtest, my record download speed is 1.9 Mbitps. Up speed, don't even test it, don't think about it.. because it'll just make you cry. It's suppose to be about 50% the speed of download but in my experience its more like 20%. So before you go trading your iPhone in for a Incredible or a Evo, consult your next door neighbor and see if there's good coverage and reception on your block.
There is only one real test that really matters, and thats the one that you'll do on your own. We all use our phones differently and this review by no means will reflect how you feel about the Incredible. But at the end of the day, it has been quite incredible for me.
Here's the specs for the Incredible.
| CPU Speed | Qualcomm® QSD8650, 1GHz Snapdragon™ |
| Platform | Android™ 2.1 (Éclair) with HTC Sense™ |
| Memory | Flash 8GB + 512MB/RAM 512MB |
| Dimensions (LxWxT) | 4.63 x 2.30 x 0.47 inches (117.5 x 58.5 x 11.9 mm) |
| Weight | 4.6 ounces (130 grams) with battery |
| Display | 3.7-inch AMOLED touch-sensitive screen with 480 X 800 WVGA resolution |
| Network | Dual-band (800 and 1900MHz) CDMA2000 1xRTT/1xEVDO/1xEVDO rev. A and IS-95A/B voice or data with up to 1.8 Mbps uplink and 3.1 Mbps downlink speeds (Band frequency and data speed are operator dependent.) |
| Onscreen Navigation | Optical joystick |
| GPS | Internal GPS antenna |
| Sensors | G-Sensor Digital compass Proximity sensor Ambient light sensor |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth® 2.1 with FTP/OPP for file transfer, A2DP for wireless stereo headsets, and PBAP for phonebook access from the car kit Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g 3.5mm stereo audio jack micro-USB (12-pin micro-USB 2.0) |
| Camera | 8-megapixel color camera with auto focus and flash Video capture |
| Audio Supported Formats |
Playback: .aac, .amr, .ogg, .m4a, .mid, .mp3, .wav, .wma Recording: .amr |
| Video Supported Formats |
Playback: .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .wmv Recording: .3gp |
| Battery | Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery Capacity: 1300 mAh Talk time: Up to 313 minutes Standby time: Up to 146 hours (The above are subject to network and phone usage.) |
| Expansion Slot | microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible) Up to 32 GB card support. No pre-installed card. |
| AC Adapter | Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60Hz DC output: 5V and 1A |
| Push Gmail™ and Exchange | |
| Special Features | Friend Stream |
| In-Box Content | Main unit, Micro USB cable, Battery (1300 mAh), AC adapter, RF Brochure, Product Safety & Warranty Statement, Quick Start Guide |