HTC DROID Incredible

All articles on this site are by Harry Skevington unless otherwise noted with another byline

JUNE 24 2010

HTC Droid Incredible from Verizon Wireless
A Great Android Phone
wenfrontdroidincredible During my product evaluation of the HTC Droid Eris with Verizon service I received the New HTC Droid Incredible another Verizon wireless phone. This made my work difficult but gave me a good look at how quickly Android phones are changing so fast it makes it hard to sign a 2 year contract. I am not kidding. The 5MP camera/video that I felt was topnotch in the ERIS was totally over run by the 8MP Camera/video in the Incredible. Since I was overly verbose in my coverage of Android Phones in the ERIS Article I will go right to my experience with the Droid Incredible.

IN THE BOX
HTC Incredible Phone
USB cable
Battery
AC adapter
Quick start guide
RF brochure
Product safety and warranty brochure

Note: A 206 page manual is available for download at Verizon online. It is very helpful as there are many options to setup and work with.

The Droid Incredible is a larger then the ERIS at .63 x 2.30 x 0.47 inches. It weighs slightly more at 4.6 ounces. The positive part of the enlargement is the Touch Screen. It is a 3.7 inch AMOLED touch-sensitive screen with 480 X 800 WVGA resolution. This gives you more work area with crisp colors and good readability. On the other hand the Incredible fills my pocket much more then the ERIS.

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The 8MP camera/video unit is quite remarkable for a cell phone. I took more photos than I would usually as I found the photos and even videos were as good as many standalone digital cameras. Click here to see more photos on my Flickr site. The zoom was easy with the touch screen and the included Flash helped in all but the darkest or distance shots.

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Bluetooth Testing
I forgot to install a MicroSD storage card (not included in the Incredible) before I started to use the camera/video. All my photos were stored on the internal phone memory. Oops! This omission gave me a chance to setup and work with the Bluetooth connection. I paired the phone Bluetooth to the Lenovo ThinkPad R400 and easily copied the files to the ThinkPad. I then deleted the files on the Incredible, installed a 4GB card, and continued testing.

Touch Screen

The screen is vivid with 7 screens for additional functions. They are accessed with a flick of a finger. You can dedicate any screen for any special work area you wish. For a messy guy that is a big help. One od the screens will show all screens in miniature at once so you can then touch the one rou need so it will fill the screen. To see how this works just pinch the home screen and there it is. There are also may ways to customize these screens so you can better organize your life.

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Auto switching from vertical to horizontal and back again worked fine. There is no solid keyboard so you must use the virtual QWERTY touch keyboard. I am most comfortable using the horizontal version. I did have to rotate to vertical to access the save button most of the time as it is hidden under the horizontal keys. You will need a cleaning cloth as the screen shows fingerprints and will pick up any smudgy stuff around. This includes sweat on your face when talking on the phone.

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The touch Screen was so easy to use that I seldom need to work the Optical Joystick to move around the screen area. There is the usual volume rocker and a USB connecting port on the left side. To go to sleep mode you press and release the on/off button at the top of the Incredible. To turn the Incredible off or on you press and hold it down until things go blank.

It is best to set up all your business functions first as there are too many options on the fun side of the Incredible and most Android phones for that matter. Once you start fooling around with the Apps, Games, and Verizon options you may find your interest in the business functions to be less interesting.

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Removing the back to insert a MiniSD card was a little difficult for me. I admired the red enclosure while inserting the storage.

Email and messages are handled so that you can track them by contact. I set up my Gmail account but you can use Exchange ActiveSync or POP3/IMAP message areas.

Interesting Capabilities (To Me)
WiFi – I connected to Wi-Fi and it did seem to speed things up some.
Bluetooth – great when I needed it to get photos from the phone storage after I forgot to insert my microSD card
Weather Forecasts that show rain or flying clouds on screen when it is raining or cloudy outside. It may not do it for you but I am impressed by small things.
Group Contacts Widget – separates work and friends and other messages into areas that make it easy to keep track of stuff.
Friend Stream – Collects Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter additions in one place.
To see more Services, specs, and functions CLICK HERE

Current retail pricing for the HTC DROID Incredible is $529.00. With a two year contract and a $100.00 rebate the final cost is $199.99. Check with Verizon for monthly costs as they very with your needs.

After using the Droid Eris and the Droid Incredible for over a month I feel the ERIS was a fine phone but the HTC DROID INCREDIBLE is the better, broader product. The Incredible was so good that I did not care that it took too much room in my pocket.

For more details on this and other Verizon products CLICK HERE


	Harry Skevington has been involved with electronics since 1981. He has taught, written for, and provided support to, computer users since 1985. Information that will help consumers with buying decisions is more important than ever due to the current convergence of computers and other consumer products . Harry attends CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas on assignment as a working press writer each year to find and write about emerging technology that seems to fit the needs of his readers. Contact Harry

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