HTC Droid Incredible 2
Phone Scoop Review
Apr 28, 2011 by Eric M. Zeman
HTC kicks out a sequel to its 2010 super smash, the Incredible. Does a spec bump and larger screen lead to smartphone nirvana? Phone Scoop finds out in this full review of the Droid Incredible 2. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Solid android device
Coming from the Samsung Fascinate which was a great device the Incredible 2 is a much faster device all around. I recieved this phone as a replacement due to software issues with the Fascinate. I have owned several Android devices and by far the Incredible 2 is the smoothest one. There are some known issues but HTC is aware and fixes are in the works. The one issue is the signal strength but so far no dropped calls. I would recommend this phone to anyone no gripes at this time.
great phone but low reception
The phone is great. You can't beat HTC software on android. Killer features and great performance. Phone is very quick on internet and searches. Runs multiple apps no problem. Battery life is great, at least full day and a half with medium use. The ONLY thing that was negative was the reception. If you live or travel in low signal areas you will have problems unless you use headset. When you hold the phone it drops 10 db average. My moto droid 2 always had better signal.
But incredible was way faster searching web. Still a great handset.
Good Quality Phone, Sadly Overlooked
Pro
Good quality screen
-bright
-accurate
-responsive
HTC Sense Overlay
-intuitive
-visually appealing
-memory ok
Form Factor
-clean
-quality feel
-good size
Performance
-very quick
-great graphics
-no slow down with multiple apps running
Other
-8mp camera fantastic quality pictures
-global ability
-great sound quality on calls
-great sound quality and customization on music player
CON
HTC bugs
-keyboard bug not fixed
-blank screen bug not fixed
-Inaccurate bars of service not fixed
-not 4g (although in its infant stages VZW LTE not quite up to par)
Overall good phone. I switched from a Motorola and the difference in quality is obvious. HTC just makes better phones.
Excellent Phone
I've had the Incredible 2 for about a week now and it continues meet my expectations. It syncs perfectly with my Gmail email and calendar, performance is fast, screen is bright and very responsive to touch and battery life is adequate (it gets through the day without needing a second charge). I agree with other reviewers that the screen size is just right - big enough to type on (in landscape mode at least) while still fitting in my front jeans pocket. I've avoided phones without a hardware keyboard until now, and although I still miss it I can get along OK with the screen keyboard. Voice dialing over my BT headset is also very accurate, thus good for hands-free use in the car. There are many smart ways the phone can be customized. For instance there's an option to automatically turn on the speaker phone by placing the phone face down on the table. The phone also rings louder when it's in my pocket.
The only substantive reason to pass on the Incredible 2 is if you have LTE (4G) in your area.
Pros: Fast, stylish, good size, full featured, adequate life with stock battery, HTC Sense UI 2.
Cons: 3G only
A great "solid" smart phone
I have been in the cell phone business for about 25 years - and I am picky.
The only phone who's virtual keyboard I could type on was my wife's iPhone4-great phone, but not for me so much. I've been using a Droid2 since it came out, and had a Dinc1 before that. I got this phone as a "work" phone, so 4G isn't important yet.
Pros:
This phone is the perfect size! It isn't like putting a plate to your ear, and yet it has a large, very clear, bright screen which is visible in direct sunlight.
The user interface is much nicer than Motorola Blur, but not as smooth as the iPhone4.
The external control buttons are very well placed and easy to use.
The build feels very solid. The battery door on my Dinc1 used to squeak when I tried to type and it drove me nuts! This phone feels rock solid.
The upload and download speeds are excellent, signal is very strong, and the voice quality is very clear.
Battery: Using the stock battery (I have an extended one on order) is "OK". I turned the phone on this morning at 6:30. It is now 5:45PM. I made lot's of long calls, have push email, and looked up some things on the Internet. The battery is now at 30%. Considering I am a software/apps junky, and who knows what is running in the background, this is very acceptable.
Keyboard-I type like on a real keyboard- I LOVE the arrow keys for corrections and rewording! That is what has been missing from virtual keyboards. The copy/cut/paste is very easy to use too.
If you are looking for a smartphone that is smooth, fast, and rock solid in performance, this is the one.
So far, SOOOOO good.
I wrote a more lengthy review in the forums, but as I am limited to 2000 characters here, I will have to try to sum it up...A LOT.
Things I like:
The new skins. They give you the option of having a different look than the original DINC's UI. There are 4 options right now, but hopefully they will release more.
A nifty little feature that turns on your speaker phone during a call if you set the phone face down, or just turn it over. And it turns it back off when you pick it up.
Screen size and clarity. (I only had an issue when wearing polarized sunglasses). And they didn't have to compromise form factor for that beautiful screen. I found the Thunderbolt to be too bulky for me (although that's a 4g hardware issue for now). This phone maintains a nice slimness and feel.
It has several little extras that I fancy, like a red calculator :), 7 screens (without modding), voice recorder, great camera, and tons of customization options. I'm not sure how many features are new, as I haven't played with the my husbands DINC1 very much.
The battery life is terrific thus far. I charged it for about 20 minutes when I first got it, then played with it the rest of the day. Then charged it fully last night, and played with it a little less today. I'm about to go to bed and it still has about half a charge.
Now the cons, some not as bad as others.
The power button. It is so flush with the top of the phone that it is hard to feel it. I let my husband try it out today and it took him 3 attempts to press it. After having it for almost 2 days, I'm getting use to it and I'm sure eventually, it won't be an issue for me at all. But I like the old DINC's button better.
LOW signal bars. Hubby's phone consistently has more bars. But surprisingly, even when my signal was really bad (NO bars -102dBm), it was still downloading pages seconds faster than his. So even with a poor signal, this phone is working it! If it starts dropping calls or data, then it will be a big problem. But so far, so good.
GREAT PHONE!
When I first purchased the phone I had problems dialing a contact ,which I obtained by syncing with my GMail account. The phone would add extra numbers to the contact's phone number and could not complete the connection. I called my Verizon Rep and he informed me I had to go to settings, then call, then assisted dialing and change the National Number Length field from 10 to 9. This procedure alleviated the problem.
After a couple days the phone started running very slow. It would take 30 seconds just to disconnect a phone call. The browser was very slow and choppy and switching applications was painfully slow. I was even using an app killer to kill running apps. I was beginning to wonder if I should return the phone. This phone was supposed to be faster than my original Incredible.
I noticed the Incredible 2 booted up very quickly compared to my original Incredible which I thought was suspicious. So I did explored the phone settings and found a setting on the dinc2 that the dinc1 did not have. On the dinc2 in settings then applications, there is a setting that says quick boot that was checked. I unchecked the quick boot setting and rebooted the phone. The phone took much longer to boot up but when it was finished it was wow! Now this was the dinc2 I had hoped for. The incredible 2 now lives up to my expectations! Very quick, beautiful and perfect size screen and the web browser works flawlessly! Sound quality is excellent and the camera takes great photos.
I went to my Verizon dealer and informed them of the quick boot setting causing problems and they did not even know the phone had the setting. They had quite a few dinc2's returned because of the sluggishness of the phone. Now they know how to remedy the problem thank's to me.
Maybe I should have been a cell phone salesman!
Mini Thunderbolt!!!
Wow!!! This phone is smooth and has a fantastic feel. I really wanted 4g, but use my phone all day, so I didnt want to have to continue charging it. Plus, 4g wont be in full effect for another 2-3 years.
Basically I love it!!
Pros- Very smooth going through phone
Camera is awesome
Good healthy battery life
Customizeable
Cons- Not 4g (but 4g isnt full effect yet)
Missing HDMI
Can not tether phone
HTC Incredible 2
Just got this phone the other day and have been playing around with it all day everyday pretty much. There are very few things wrong with this phone that I have found so far. The fact that it is only 3g is fine because the nearest 4g area is over 30 minutes away so I don't see a point in having a 4g battery sucking phone if I'm not in a 4g area. Love HTC sense, and the android operating system. Battery life is very good so far, not amazing but very good. Size of the phone is perfect in my opinion, 4" is just right and doesn't feel like a brick as some of the 4.3" phones like the Thunderbolt.
Pros:
HTC Semse
Android Operating System (2.3 Coming Soon)
8 MP Camera
Perfect Size 4" Screen
Very Good Battery Life
Front Facing Camera
Quick and Reponsive
Cons:
Display is poor in direct sunlight
Android 2.2 (2.3 Soon)
GmaiL is somewhat laggy in notifying me
Would Highly Recommend for people who are not in a 4g area but want a great smartphone.
