Even as the big smartphone makers trot out their new signature models, some of their old favorites still continue to sprout sequels.
One such example is the (get ready for it) HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE from Verizon. It’s OK, you can breathe now.
To keep things simple, I’ll just call it the Incredible 4G from here on out.
It’s the sequel to HTC’s Incredible and Incredible 2, and its main upgrade is the ability to access Verizon’s very fast 4G LTE network.
Why do this, though, if newer franchises are appearing?
Well, I would say it’s all about size, specifically, not everyone in the phone-buying public wants a huge phone – and most of the hot new phones are pretty huge.
LOOKS It’s amazing how fast perceptions change. Not long ago, a 4-inch screen was considered large on a phone.Now, it’s tiny in comparison to the 5-inch-plus screens on some new phones like the Galaxy Note. The thing is, some people still like this smaller size.
It might be they want to put the phone more comfortably in their pocket, or just don’t have big hands, but whatever the reason this size still has a place in the market and should attract some buyers.
The downside of the 4-inch screen, though, will be a cramped keyboard for people with big fingers. I would personally opt for a bigger screen, but I am not everybody.
The official size specs on this phone are 4.82 inches high, 2.40 inches wide and 0.46 inches thick (that’s pretty slim). The weight is a light 4.66 oz.
The design is pretty similar to the previous Incredible.There is a nice grip on the back of the phone, and overall I was not disappointed with the quality of the materials used.
SOUND The phone touts that it features Beats Audio, which promises richer detail in the music. I didn’t hear too much improvement, though, and this is a bit of a gimmick in my view. HTC is hyping this on all its phones, but it’s nothing to really consider when deciding whether to buy. It may be a little better sound, but nothing to write home about.
SCREEN The Incredible 4G features a 4-inch SuperLCD screen with 540 x 960 resolution. This is not the best resolution you’ll see on the market, but it’s not terrible either. The size will be either loved or hated by potential buyers, though it obviously targets those who don’t want a ginormous phone.
The responsiveness to touch on this phone was pretty good, but not the best I’ve experienced.
CAMERAS The camera and video features on the Incredible series have been impressive all along.
That trend continues on the Incredible 4G. I took a lot of pictures on this phone and they pretty much all turned out sharp and crisp, though maybe a tad less so than on more higher-profile, new releases.
You get an 8-megapixel, rear-facing camera, which does its job well and features autofocus, LED flash and a 28mmwide-angle lens.
The front-facing camera is basic VGA, but good enough for video chat.
Video from the rear-facing camera meets the expectation of new smartphones – the ability to shoot in 1080p full HD. Videos I shot looked on a level with most of the other top new smartphones released recently.
ANDROID 4.0 The good news regarding the Incredible 4G’s operating system is that it ships with Android 4.0, the latest version of Google’s smartphone OS. You won’t need to be waiting around for an upgrade like some other new phones.
The system is very easy to use, even for first-timers, and very user-friendly. You get all sorts of Google apps preinstalled, including Play Store (with access to hundreds of thousands of apps and games), Google Maps for navigation, Play Books, Gmail, Google Search, Google+, Latitude, Messenger, Play Music (upload all your music to the cloud and listen on your phone; great feature), and more.
VOICE CALLS, MESSAGING Calls I made on the phone sounded clear, with no major concerns about quality of drops.
In terms of messaging, you have all the usual options – including threaded messaging – but the virtual QWERTY keyboard is a bit small for those of us with larger fingers.
PROCESSOR The most important aspect of any phone, in my view, is that it operates fast and smooth.The Incredible 4G delivers on this – due to the performance of its 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor. Even when doing heavy multitasking, I experienced no major slowdowns.
You get 8GB of internal memory on the iPhone, but that can be expanded via microSD card up to 32GB if you want to store more media files on the phone.
4G The biggest complaint about the Incredible 2 is that it wasn’t 4G capable. In a sea of 4G phones, that one didn’t take advantage of the superfast upload and download speeds on Verizon’s 4G LTE network, and I wasn’t sure why it didn’t. Well, that’s no longer a problem, and users will love the speed with which they can obtain and send files.
BATTERY LIFE I was not very impressed with the battery life of the incredible 4G. It was average, just getting through the day.
OTHER FEATURES For an extra monthly fee, the phone can serve as a Mobile Hotspot with support for up to 10 devices.
HTC Sense 4.0 is the user interface on this phone. I still prefer stock Android with no UI on top, but at least it’s not a distraction like some other phones’ user interfaces.
Android 4.0 features Face Unlock technology, which is very cool.
You can share content instantly with other users via Android Beam; and content can be streamed wirelessly from your phone to DLNA-compatible TV or device
There is quite a bit of Verizon-branded stuff pre-installed on this machine. If you don’t want it, some can be uninstalled, but not everything. Most people won’t even notice, but those who do might get a bit annoyed.
When browsing the Web on the Incredible 4G, you will have the ability to view videos in Adobe Flash, which means no black boxes you can’t access.
PRICE The Incredible 4G will cost you $149.99 with a two-year contract. I wouldn’t be surprised if it drops even lower at some point soon. This is not quite low enough to attract a huge number of buyers when so many better phones are just $199.99 – only 50 bucks more.
BOTTOM LINE The HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE is a solid upgrade to the Incredible line if you want Verizon’s 4G speeds and a fast processor, but not a huge phone. But just know that, overall, it’s nowhere near being the best Verizon phone and it’s blown away in some areas by some of the hot new phones. But it will meet a certain niche due to its 4-inch screen size.
Matt Myftiu can be reached at matt.myftiu@oakpress.com or 248-745-4617. Follow him on Twitter @MattMyftiu or become a fan of the Facebook page ‘OPTechTime’. Check out his blog at realtechtime.blogspot.com.
