DROID Incredible 4G LTE Review

This week we've gotten the chance to take a peek at the next in a line of rather popular conservatively sized powerhouses from HTC, this time called the DROID Incredible 4G LTE. We've had a look at the Incredible 2 as well as the original DROID Incredible, now it's time to decide if this HTC One-era device is up to the task of bringing the DROID brand name back up to snuff. As Verizon has no other HTC One device, with T-Mobile and AT&T getting the prizes this time around from that manufacturer, it might be high time Big Red gets its own taste of the Sense (4.0, as seen in this hands-on with the HTC One S) we've been using for weeks.

Though the software on this device is essentially the same as we've seen on the HTC One S and HTC One X, it seems just a bit slower here on the Incredible 4G LTE. Perhaps it's the smaller physical size of the screen, maybe it's just the expectation that a slightly less expensive device without the HTC One branding on it will be less impressive, but there's something about it that doesn't ring the same bell as the S and the X. Have a peek at the following benchmarks and you'll see a slightly different story, however.

This device runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.2GHz dual-core processor, not unlike the HTC One S (USA and International), HTC One X (USA version), and Samsung Galaxy S III (USA). The difference between them is the S4 on the latter three devices is clocked at a higher 1.5GHz instead of 1.2 – not much of a difference in everyday use, but for you hackers and testers out there, that factor is in play.

Next you'll want to take a peek at the device's inner workings in this hands-on and rapid unboxing we filmed earlier this week. This device has no giant surprises if you've had your hands on the HTC One S or X, but if you're coming up from the Incredible 2, you're in for a wallop of excellence. HTC presents not just Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich here, but their own Sense 4.0 user interface as well. This is HTC at its best.

This device, again, feels a lot more like the HTC Rezound than it does the HTC One series. The camera is quite a bit better than that device though – almost as if this Incredible has a bit more power behind the scenes in the processor architecture? In fact Qualcomm does have dedicated hardware in this machine inside their Snapdragon S4 chip that's made specifically to work with photography – this same hardware exists in all S4 processor-toting smartphones on the market thus far as well.

It seems that the brain-sucking madness that ensued with the battery life on the HTC Thunderbolt back when 4G LTE was a brand new baby is now essentially gone entirely. Thank the Snapdragon S4 processor for that, and be sure to note that you'll just be charging this device once a day almost no matter what – of course if you're the kind of person who streams video all day every day, you might have a different situation on your hands. If you're a normal user, you'll have at least a day's worth of use with no charges needed.

This device's connection to Verizon's 4G LTE network is fabulous. The following example is essentially the average of what we've been getting all over Minnesota, with the closest ping point here being Saint Cloud (my home town!) just about an hour away from the Twin Cities where we're prone to test most often. You're going to be downloading and uploading as fast or faster than you've ever done on a smartphone before – without a doubt. Supposing you're in a 4g LTE area, of course.