Wow. This thing IS "Incredible"... when the worst thing about a device is its name!

[GoldenTiger]

Wow... just... wow...

I used an XV6700 (Titan), XV6800 (Mogul), then Touch Pro 2 all with WinMo for the past several years, just as background.

I just grabbed my HTC Incredible (lol @ the name still)... all I can say is, when the worst thing about a device is its name, you KNOW you have a winner!

Some quick impressions, and if anyone has random questions throw them my way...

1) Web browser is fast as hell... it's like browsing on my Core 2 Duo notebook with the cell tethered, in terms of loading speeds: it's just EXTREMELY quick. Scrolling is smooth just like a normal PC, extremely responsive, tapping stops scrolling mid-scroll if you see something you wanted to stop at, whole thing is great!

Flash works, pages load, pinch zoom is very nice (I was skeptical at first), very customizable viewing settings.

2) Make sure you calibrate the keyboard under the system settings, stock calibration stunk, but once calibrated it's nearly as easy to type on as my HTC Touch Pro 2's hardware keyboard. I'll adjust to it in a day or two's time easily, and this was a major point of concern for me prior to buying.

3) SNAPPPPPYYYYYYYY!!!! This thing is just ridiculously responsive... it's instant, provides perfect feedback, and is REALLY well optimized for thumb/pointer-finger usage. Screens load instantly, animations are smooth and not choppy/laggy/delayed/anything bad at all. Very customizable home screens.

4) It locks automatically when powered off, a quick flick of the touch screen downward and it unlocks. Very nice to prevent accidental dialing.

5) It's REALLY light and thin, I can hold it comfily in my right hand and browse, thumb-tapping away to different links, and scrolling just fine, or any other task on the device. One-handed use is really easy, unlike my TP2.

More to come... still playing around with it and charging . I've had it for around 4 hours now.

Anyone on the fence... if you have your contract available, UPGRADE... this phone is indeed Incredible except for the crud-tacular name . It is really what I always dreamt of in terms of UI and how darn well everything works together on it, for a smartphone. I have honestly never seen/used a phone so good, and I have tried many of them .

[milesnapue]

Pretty much agree 100%, wonder after a few days use and the new battery is broken in, how long it would last with normal (not new phone day) use.

[NCX Designs]

I have to disagree about the name, everyone seems to like it, even the reviewers say it stands out because of "droid" being attached to it

call it by its code name then if you don't like its real name

"Bravo"

as far as the battery goes, for the first charge you need to have it connect for a good many hours to get it fully charged, don't go by the "charge complete" info, to truly break in a battery, you need to fully charge for a few hours then when its close to completely drained, charge, but don't charge between for a while, this can kill the battery quicker and give you less recharges.

on a side note, if you have a Touch Pro 2 or an Imagio, those batteries work in the Incredible too, and they have an extra 200mAH over the Incredible's battery

[qwho]

I think the Bravo is technically the desire. Though I have heard this is a variant of the desire, so it's not too far off. I am sure there is another code name for this device though.

[dcweiser]

Great review! Great summary: "This thing IS "Incredible"... when the worst thing about a device is its name!" Thanks. I've got mine, but I won't have any time to activiate and play for awhile.
--Dave

[NCX Designs]

Originally Posted by qwho

I think the Bravo is technically the desire. Though I have heard this is a variant of the desire, so it's not too far off. I am sure there is another code name for this device though.

if you haven't already take a look at my review of the Droid Incredible, complete with screencaps!

your right this is the 2nd variant of the Desire, with the first being the Nexus One.
Nexus One and Incredible have no code name, but Desire does and thats "Bravo"

take a look at the Bravo spec sheet, there are a few differences but the Droid Incredible has higher camera specs and 8gb internal memory
& Android 2.1, but given that version only launched in January, this spec sheet is a little outdated


The Incredible is pretty much a Nexus One in a new body with a few upgrades, this is also why some hackers/modders/rooters have found a way to root the Incredible already and its only been out for about a week (for pre-order purchasers that is)

[jbh00jh]

Really enjoyed using voice search in car panel while I was driving today.
Lot easier to talk than key in info while driving.

[quest7]

This thing a beast, had it since it first came out. And the only thing that has slowed down so far...is me, lol. I can't keep up with it.

[dsteinschneider]

I just got a replacement TP1 because the screen became unresponsive. While doing that Verizon told me I could do the new every 2 early (rep said that being with them over 10 years qualifies me). I can get the Incredible for $150 with a two year renewal. One drawback is it's activesync doesn't sync tasks but I can get by with either a google solution or don't forget the milk.

I was thinking about waiting to see what WM7 is like as professionally I'm very involved with Microsoft but its appears they are emulating Apple too closely regarding control of the platform and the last thing I want is an iphone type environment.

I use TomTom on my Touch Pro very successfully, it looks like I'll need to move over to iGo for the Incredible. I want the maps to be on the device as I rely on GPS for work. I also use ICS quite a bit, I am a former user of PDAnet (on my Treo 600) so maybe I'll go that route if I can't wait for the other root I've been thinking of ditching the hardware keyboard as TouchPal was working well for me on the TP1.

As a person who's had fun with WM and alternative ROM's am I correct in my decision that the Android environment will be more to my liking than WM7?

[Donatom3]

I just took my friend to Best Buy. He wanted a phone that does email. After owning the Evo for a week I knew that I'd be able to teach him to use Android. I found him an Incredible. I have to say its a very nice phone. The size is incredible. It's really small. It reminds me of an Evo shrunk by about 20%. It really was snappy felt solid and was just as fun as the Evo to use. If I was a Verizon subscriber it would definitely be my phone no questions asked. I like it better than my Friend's Nexus One. The camera seems to take pictures on par with the Evo, they just need to get 720p into that bad boy. This is a great year for Android.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk