Rory's HTC Incredible Review

Submitted by Rory Rezzelle on Thu, 05/27/2010 - 17:05

    Holding the Motorola Droid in one hand the HTC Incredible in the other is like driving an extended cab, diesel-fueled pickup truck one day and a Mustang the next, one was definitely made for work where looks didn't matter and the other for good looks and light work. The HTC Incredible's lightweight (weighing in at 4.59 oz) and beautiful WVGA OLED screen really show off what can be pulled off in a small package.

    The Incredible is incredible, I know that sounds cheesy but it's the truth. I'm not a huge fan of HTC's UI but it's not the end of the world if the phone uses it. It's the sheer speed of the phone that's really amazing! A Snapdragon processor makes everything run smoother than butter on warm toast and Sense UI is so lightweight that it is effortless to scroll through screens and apps.

THE GOOD
    The Incredible comes out of the box with 8GB of internal storage, of course you really only see about 6GB of that as usable, and an SD Card slot so you can bump it up if you like. 
    USB Broadband Connect (also known as "tethering") also comes stock on the phone, just plug your phone into the device you wish to tether on and choose "USB Broadband Connect" when the option menu pops up asking what you would like to do. Automatically the tethering starts and you are ready to use your other device on your 3G connection.
    The camera on the Incredible is very responsive and, like other HTC Android-based smartphones, performs well in most cases. 

THE BAD
    HTC Sense UI is great for some people but it can be a turn off for others. Other Sense UI phones have had the ability to switch to the base Android UI but this wasn't included for the Incredible. You can, of course, install another launcher like LaucherPro or Helix if you prefer them to Sense UI.

THE UGLY

    This phone is currently in great demand and most stores are selling them very quick! The average wait time to get your hands on an Incredible is around 2 weeks if you order by phone or online. So, if you call the store and they have a few in stock you better get in the car and make your way there because they are going to be gone soon.

RORY'S THOUGHTS
    Coming from the Droid and having a hardware keyboard I'm a bit spoiled, but with Swype installed this phone could be an easy-to-use, lightweight, and fast contender in the smartphone market. When Android 2.2 hits this thing, LOOK OUT, the Incredible could be the fabled iPhone killer. 

 

The Ugly........

Submitted by CDWilliams05 on Sat, 05/29/2010 - 20:42.

When I ordered my Incredible, I was told it would ship the on or around June 7th.  That agreed with the little note on the incredible product page on Verizon wireless.  I went there today and what do you know.  Its been pushed back to the 22nd.  I hope that's just the next batch that gets sent and mine was part of the 7th shipment.  But yes it is no joke about being in demand.  There are NO stores in the CSRA at the time of this comment that have the HTC Incredible.

I'm not sure its such a bad thing about having the Sense UI on the phone.  Considering as you said you can always get another launcher like, ADW Launcher, (Thanks for the find Rory by the way), or even Home++.  However you can't get a TRUE Sense UI experience on the MotoDroid.  So maybe not so bad.  

Can't wait to get mine in though, going to give it a good run through.  

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CDWilliams05 aka Tech-Daddy
Tech-Daddy Blog