Verizon’s second flagship Droid smartphone, the HTC Incredible, is now available for pre-orders, on a two-year contract for $200. Verizon says the first deliveries should arrive on April 29, if ordered online before 4 p.m. local time by April 28.
The HTC Incredible combines Verizon’s network with the latest Google Android release (2.1) wrapped in HTC’s Sense UI. The phone runs on a fast 1GHz processor, has a huge 3.7-inch capacitive display and features an 8-megapixel camera on the back. It also comes with 8GB of internal storage, upgradeable up to 32GB via MicroSD cards. No wonder the early reviewers love it.
My PC World colleague Ginny Mies says the HTC Droid Incredible lives up to its name. She found the new smartphone speedy and thinks the display is gorgeous. Mies also liked the HTC Sense UI used on the Droid Incredible (as in not the same interface of the Nexus One), especially the Leap feature, which is an elegant way of handling multitasking and the Friend Stream, a social network aggregator.
Engadget‘s Joshua Topolsky thinks the Droid Incredible is the “the best Android device that you can purchase in America right now.” He claims it is better than the Motorola Droid or the Google Nexus One. Topolsky also found the interface of the HTC Incredible speedy, and the 8-megapixel camera on board can take “stunning photos — particularly in daylight settings.”
Gizmodo‘s Matt Buchanan also recommends the HTC Incredible as the must-buy smartphone on Verizon. He notes the Incredible is fast indeed, and that the Sense UI is an improvement over the standard Android interface. The camera on the Droid Incredible is rated decent by Buchanan, though he mentions that the phone itself can feel a little cheap and too plasticky.
Boy Genius‘ review of the HTC Incredible is also favorable, calling the smartphone his “favorite Android device to date.” He thumbs up the corporate integration, the social networking elements in the Sense UI and the Web browser. Boy Genius also makes a fair point when he reminds us that due to the use of the HTC Sense UI in the Droid Incredible, Android updates will take longer to trickle down to the device than for Nexus One users.
Over at IntoMobile, Will Park also gives the HTC Droid Incredible a glowing review. He mentions the feature set is “one of the most impressive of any smartphone currently available today,” and highlights the fact that due to Verizon’s network technology, you can’t use voice and data at the same time.
When it arrives starting April 29, the HTC Droid Incredible will have to battle it out with the Nexus One, which is also slated to arrive on Verizon around the same time. Fans of hardware keyboard might want to keep hold on their Motorola Droid for now, as so far there are no new Verizon Android phones with a physical keyboard expected. And if you are up for 4G Android goodness, you can always wait for the Sprint HTC Evo.