The HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE is small for Android smartphone standards with a 4-inch screen. It is $149 with a two-year contract with Verizon Wireless.The HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE could easily be mistaken for the past two Incredible series of phones offered on Verizon, but as the name implies it is the first to offer access to Verizon's snappy LTE network.
With top-end Android phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S III and HTC One X growing larger in size each year, the Droid Incredible 4G LTE offers a smaller alternative and a few compromises.
The good
Performance: The phone's 1.2GHz dual-core processor isn't the fastest around, but it took care of everything I threw at it. I didn't experience any problems with crashes.
Screen: The 4-inch screen is small by Android phone standards, but it is a high-quality 960 by 540 pixel display that is sharp and performs well in sunlight.
The mediocre
Custom tweaks: HTC is one of the more aggressive phone makers when it comes to changing the Android operating system, but I liked fewer of the decisions (such as several annoying WiFi notification alerts) they made with the Incredible 4G compared to its flagship HTC One X smartphone.
Camera: The 8 megapixel camera is a solid performer, but the image quality is a step behind phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S III and iPhone. Indoor shots were disappointing. The Incredible 4G does a decent job record 1080p video.
Keyboard: The autocorrection on the default keyboard is excellent, but on the smaller screen I found myself too often hitting the text-to-speech button accidentally.
Design: The plastic covering doesn't exactly feel cutting edge, but the phone is easy to handle. At nearly a half inch thick, it is bulkier than larger top-end phones such as the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III. The phone only has 8 GB of storage but also has a microSD memory card slot.
Battery life: While not the best Android phone when it comes to battery life, the Incredible 4G got me through about half the days during my weeklong testing period without needing a trip to the battery charger.
The bad
Volume buttons: Adjusting the volume was harder than it needed to be thanks to volume buttons that barely stick up over the edge of the phone.
Buying advice
At $149 with a two-year contract, the latest Droid Incredible offers a decent option for someone looking for a smaller Android smartphone, but I would be tempted to wait for the next iPhone this fall if a smaller size is an important factor. While nearly an inch larger screen size, the Samsung Galaxy S III at $199 offers Verizon customers a better camera, screen and hardware.
Other reviews
• The Verge
• Wired
E-mail Jeff Haywood: jhaywood@mlive.com or subscribe to his updates on twitter.com/jeffhaywood or facebook.com/jeffhaywood