Verizon recently launched the sequel to their popular DROID Incredible by HTC. VZW decided to give a second stab at the DInc by offering slight upgrades to it. The DROID Incredible 2 offers its users top-of-the-line 3G specs like a 4inch Super LCD display w/ 800 x 480 resolution, powered by a 1GHz processor, 768MB of RAM, 16GB microSD card pre-installed, dual cameras (1.3MP in the front & 8MP in the back) capable of recording video in 720p HD, 3G CDMA/GSM radios, and 1420 mAh battery. Can the sequel be better than the first or is this an unnecessary remake?
As much as we quickly fell in love with the DInc 2, some of the owners of the original model may not prefer the newer version. The newer model is now 2.0 as gone are the optical trackpad and red accents as it has been toned down for a more conservative look by comparison. Screen-wise you get 0.3inches of more to play with. The new DInc has more RAM to avoid any bogged down performance issues with it, like 256MB more to be exact. The DInc 2 has a new feature of having a 3G mobile hotspot courtesy of the newer Android 2.2.1 OS as opposed to the 2.1 on the original. This one allows users to take advantage of the video chatting apps in the Android Market with the 1.3MP front-facing shooter. Both are armed with Home, Menu, Back, & Search soft keys but the ones on the new model rotate when going from landscape to portrait mode. Both the Dinc 1 & 2 offers 3G global support w/ speeds averaging around 1Mbps both download & upload. The rear cameras are the same spec-wise as they both offer 8MP w/ auto-focus, dual-LED flash, & 720p video capture. The sequel offers the similar plateau design on the rear just like the original one. That leaves the battle between the two very close but the Incredible 2 offers a little bit more.
On the phone side of things of the Incredible 2 is stands by its moniker. It is armed with dual-microphones for noise cancelling as it makes every phone conversation sound crisp and clear. The dual-mics does its job of getting rid of any background noise so whoever is on the other line hears only you. Definitely one of the best phone in phone quality I’ve experienced. On the speakerphone side, it’s almost as good but not quite. It wasn’t as loud as I’d liked it to be but it will suffice.
When it comes to the rear shooter on the Incredible 2, the 8MP definitely works wonders. Armed with an auto-focus lens & super-bright dual LED flash makes it easy to catch any moment when you don’t have a digital camera around. The 8MP performs well in low-light situations as well as offering several color effects, face detection, ISO options, self-timer, and some photo-editing option features. The 1.3MP front-facing performs as well as you can expect. Can’t go wrong with a phone w/ a camera that offers 720p HD video recording. It offers good quality of video, not too grainy for cameraphone. Unfortunately no auto-focus while recording video like on the DROID Charge. The DInc 2 offers easy swapping between the camera and camcorder. Check out some test shots below.
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| DROID Incredible 2 Test Shot |
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| DROID Incredible 2 Test Photo In Low Light w/ Flash |
At first glance and playing with it, your first thought may match ours of thinking, “Damn, I wish this was a 4G LTE phone for Verizon!” The sequel retains the all-around, great feature smartphone that the original had just slightly updated. Priced at $199.99 on contract, the HTC DROID Incredible 2 offers nearly the best a 3G smartphone could offer you. As far as it being worthwhile to upgrade for DROID Incredible users, that maybe purely up to the owner. The Droid Incredible 2 is bigger, badder, & deffer than the original but not by much.
