The HTC Droid Incredible Review, Clearly Better than the Nexus One
by Anand Lal Shimpi on May 10, 2010 1:27 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Snapdragon
- Droid Incredible
- HTC
- Android
- Mobile
Snappier & More Polished than the Nexus One
The HTC Incredible uses similar, but not an identical SoC to what’s in the Nexus One. The Nexus One uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon QSD8250 SoC, while the Incredible uses the QSD8650. The primary difference between the two is the cellular modem. While the 8650 supports both GSM and CDMA based standards, the 8250 is strictly GSM.
Both are built on TSCM’s 65nm process and run the CPU core at 1GHz. They use the same Adreno 200 graphics core and have the same 32-bit LPDDR1 memory interface.At the macro level we’re looking at the fastest non-Apple, ARM based SoC on the market today (at least in terms of CPU performance). The majority of competing solutions are based on the ARM Cortex A8 and run at sub-1GHz speeds. Snapdragon, as you may remember from our Nexus One review, is based on Qualcomm’s Scorpion core. The Scorpion CPU starts with a similar architecture to the Cortex A8, but a much better performer.
| Qualcomm Snapdragon Comparison | ||||
| QSD8250 | QSD8650 | |||
| Used In | Google Nexus One | HTC Incredible, HTC EVO 4G | ||
| Manufacturing Process | TSMC 65nm | TSMC 65nm | ||
| CPU | Qualcomm Scorpion @ 1GHz | Qualcomm Scorpion @ 1GHz | ||
| CPU Architecture | 2-issue in-order | 2-issue in-order | ||
| GPU | Qualcomm Adreno 200 | Qualcomm Adreno 200 | ||
| Memory Bus | 32-bit LPDDR1 | 32-bit LPDDR1 | ||
| On-Package RAM | 512MB | 512MB | ||
| Cellular Modem | GSM, GPRS, EDGE, HSPA | CDMA2000 1x, 1xEV-DORel0/A/B, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, HSPA | ||
The Apple A4 comparison is a difficult one to make without an identical software stack, but it looks to be the only threat to Snapdragon from a CPU performance perspective today.
The QSD8650, like the 8250, ships with 512MB of LPDDR1 on package. That’s more than enough for the current requirements of the Android OS.
No More Choppy Scrolling, Almost
My biggest issue with the Nexus One was its inconsistent performance, particularly with scrolling and animations. I’m happy to say that HTC has fixed most of those issues, but not all, with the Incredible.
Flipping between home screens is iPhone smooth on the Incredible, so long as you’re using the touchscreen. Use the virtual joystick and it’s back to chopfest for some reason. Scrolling is smooth in nearly all applications, the main exception being messages. If you try to scroll through a list of SMSes the Incredible starts flushing frames like they’re drugs and the police are at the door. It’s clearly a software optimization issue but why it exists in a different area from the Nexus One, and while it continues to exist today, perplexes me.
Contributing to the overall smoother feel of the Incredible is the fact that HTC did away with some animations in the UI. The Nexus One goes for a very iPhone like animation whenever you open/exit an app. You see the app getting bigger until it takes up the whole screen, or getting smaller until it’s reduced to an icon. On the iPhone this is smooth. On the Nexus One the animation is dropping frames, which in turn makes your phone feel slower than it actually is. On the HTC Incredible, the animation simply isn’t there. Launching an app takes you from one screen, almost immediately to the next. It’s like using a brand new PC with an SSD. Launch an application and the window just appears.
The Nexus One and HTC Incredible have the same underlying hardware, but the missing animations and smoother scrolling are key to making the Incredible feel faster. If you go to launch the web browser on both of these phones at the same time you’ll find that the Incredible finishes faster simply because it’s not stuck animating the window.
Not all animations are gone however, just most of the sluggish ones.
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v12v12 - Tuesday, May 18, 2010 - link
*Sigh...* I hate to go off topic like this, but you obviously lack the ability to keep an open-mind/think for yourself... So here goes kid..."how did Apple find the guy, so fast"
Because one of his roommates called the Police and told them where he was and what he had. But wait a minute, maybe the roommate is a mole planted by the CIA to keep tabs on the guy! Yeah, that's the ticket.
--------------
How did the room mate know that it was "stolen," or that anything else was (assumed) wrong with the legality of phone, why would he assume? Just what would lead someone's (fucked up) roommate to purposefully call the police on someone who had a snazzy looking phone? There's much more detail to the story that's not being told... Why would the police get a search warrant over a “LOST” phone; remember there’s ZERO proof the phone was stolen in the 1st place. It’s 1 person’s word over another’s, and that doesn’t garner a very costly and hastily produced search warrant (they usually take many days to weeks to get, unless the crime was very serious; which it’s not, b/c there’s no proof of a crime committed, it’s still HEARSAY at that point in time, DUH?!).
Hrmm… so the roommate thought, "man WTF I'll show him, for having that cool looking new phone, I’ll fscking call the cops, yeah they’ll come get him!” I'll completely wreck any kind of peaceful/civility I might have had with my now sworn enemy… Yeah I’m going to believe that… either way, so what if it turns out that my assertions about that particular detail of the alleged “crime,” (again there’s no proof he actually “stole:” as in he purposefully took the phone, while knowing it belonged to someone at the establishment; read the idiot engineer’s statement; it was LOST, then reported “stolen,” to cover his own ass.)
__Okay so back to the point… ZOMG I proposed a scenario and might have been wrong… that MUST mean that the rest of my points and presented evidence is also wiped clean b/c of this newly found minute details of the case… The differences between (apparently) you and I are; I THINK, I ask more depth questions to a story that doesn’t even make legal sense, nor adds up to common sense… Then again I’m actually opened-minded and not another beak-fed nestling that’ll take whatever crap momma-mass-media will regurgitate down my throat. LOL!
SEARCH those cases then come back talking smack; b/c in FACT they are nothing but FACTS from your own government, dunce… Apparently you’re not well versed in political history at all. Anyone that knows a shred of anything about the law, politics and or who thinks for themselves, knows the credibility and historical documentation of “the government,” that it as a ruling institution is deceitful, controlling, and authoritarian. Never mind, you’re obviously too zombified by games, TV and mass-media, to do your own simple fact checking/research. Enjoy your life serf/pleb/commoner…
artifex - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - link
Anand, thanks for the great review. I'd heard some negative things about the Sense UI interface from dedicated iPhone users that made me a little concerned, but you've helped me stay excited about the interface and Android in general. I'd be excited about this phone, too, except that I know the EVO is coming out this summer. I really hope you can review it also, to see if they fix some of the problems you noted with this one.LaughingTarget - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - link
I had purchased a Droid Incredible last week. However, it has this unpleasant problem with the optical joystick. It simply activates itself and randomly flicks the screen and moves the cursor around while typing in fields. The flicking even happens when the phone is left on a flat surface and nothing is near it. It basically made the phone unusable. I had the phone replaced three times over the weekend and all of them had the same problem.I really wanted to like the Incredible. It was a solid phone. However, I moved over to Verizon from AT&T to get the phone and because of number portability, I can't go back to my old phone and decided to downgrade to the Motorola Droid. It's a shame, but I won't attempt the Incredible again until I've got some level of certainty that the problem with the optical joystick is fixed.
Someguyperson - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - link
Anand,In order to obtain a better look at how an individual phone's hardware effects the speed of the web page loading, you should use the same browser on all devices, namely Opera Mini, to reduce one of the variables and get a better result.
-Zach
Shawn C. - Thursday, May 13, 2010 - link
Hey Anand love the review. I was under the impression that the iPhone 3GS only had 256MB RAM. I believe that's what iFixit determined it to be. I just wanted some clarification since in one of your comparison tables you have it listed as having 512MB of RAM. ThanksT2k - Thursday, May 13, 2010 - link
...like any other modern phone that embraces mobile-digital lifestyle - a one megabit link is simply just way too slow for that.falko2904 - Friday, May 14, 2010 - link
What we need are phones that will simply work on any network we choose to connect to. Having seen the variety of CDMA/GSM combo phones available, esp from Verizon, this has got to be possible. I want to buy the best phone possible, and use it with the best carrier possible, or even be able to easily switch carriers and phones however I want. The carriers have entirely too much control over the devices we spend money on and how we are allowed to use them. The carriers also seem to be way too interested in using phones and subsidies to compete, rather than competing on the quality of their network and service they provide.Some points on the N1/Incredible comparison:
Animations: In the review it was mentioned that the Incredible seems more responsive because of UI tweaks, especially eliminating some of the animations. The N1 lets has a setting for animations that gives you a choice of all, some or no animations. It is one of the first things I changed on the phone, and it does make it much more responsive.
Delete Multiple Emails: Both GMail and the regular Email app have check boxes next to the emails for batch operations. Both provide batch deletes, Gmail provides for Archive and Labels, Email provides for Mark Unread and Add Stars.
Case Design. Overall I like both the N1 and the Incredible. The front of the Incredible looks fantastic, but the back of the Incredible looks unfinished. While the N1 may seem bland in comparison, to me it seems rather elegant both in design and construction.
Controls: The N1 is the first phone, including the iPhone, that I have been able to use a touch screen keyboard on. The iPhone keyboard is not informative enough for me. I dislike the fact that it displays caps when in lowercase mode. Multi touch functionality on the keyboard is a non issue for me. And then there is always the Swype keyboard replacement. Trackball versus Optical Joystic - On the one hand, I like the light up trackball, and hopefully we will get multi color notifications with Froyo. On the other hand I am concerned about it's long term reliability, if it is anything like the Blackberry trackballs which tend to get flaky after some use. I like the solid state optical joystick for it's no moving parts to fail design. What I would ideally like is a optical joystick that protrudes a bit like the track ball so I can feel it, and also lights up like the track ball.
UI Design: I love HTC Sense, and I also love the straight Google Experience phones. What I would love even more is, that when Froyo comes out and modularizes the Android OS, that we could get whatever shell or skin we want, on any Android Phone, or remove it to get the Google Experience. After all, it should be our choice. I would love for HTC to make Sense available on the Android Market, even for a cost at that point. Would it not be great to be able to get the latest Android Updates without concern for whatever shell is installed, or going forward be able to get the latest updates to Sense without having to root the phone?
I am disappointed that the N1 will not be available on more networks. I was hoping that there would be at least one phone that I like, that would be available on all the major carriers.
On a final note, carriers need to stop customizing their smartphones. They just have no clue how badly they are screwing them up. Admittedly you could always load a ROM of your choice, but that is not for everybody. My last phone was an AT&T Tilt2. Lets start with over 30MB of unusable, uninstallable, game demos. REALLY? On what is advertised to be a premium business class smartphone? And we used to be able to bypass the AT&T customization script, and they "fixed" that on this phone. But before anyone says something about AT&T, I have seen this sort of thing on all the carriers smartphones, and Verizon in particular is known to lock some of their phones features so you can only use them with their pay for services. Don't get me started.
Falko
bobny1 - Monday, July 26, 2010 - link
I have both the HTC Incredible and the Apple IPhone 3gs. My conclution is that Apple is more sophisticated but the Incredible is more fun to work with.coolfx35 - Saturday, October 2, 2010 - link
I had a Blackberry for 2 yrs b4 converting to the Incredible & even then it took me a few weeks to decide if I really wanted to go back to a touch screen ( I had a Samsung Glyde, the 1st touch screen VZW came out w/ & it was horrible). Now I am sooo glad I did, because I love it.