• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Nexus S making me appreciate my Incredible

I ran out and picked up a Nexus S yesterday morning and for the past two days have been using it side by side with my Incredible. I'm still not sure which one I'll keep, but there are some factors which favor the Incredible:
1) Much better Wifi range. With one router on ground floor, I get solid Wifi in every corner of my house with the Incredible. The Nexus Wifi is flaky in the basement and upstairs.
2) I think the Incredible display is much nicer for indoor viewing. With the Nexus, the color temp is yellow green dead on and blue at an angle. The Incredible display color temp doesn't change with viewing angle, the colors are more pleasing (to me), and the contrast is higher. I think the Incredible has the best display for indoor use of any phone I have seen.
3) Incredible plus extended battery (2150mAh) far outlasts Nexus S and its standard battery. The narrow form of the Incredible makes it comfortable to hold even with the extended battery.
4) Incredible has card slot. Nexus doesn't.
5) Verizon 3G coverage is more solid in my house

I'm running CyanogenMod 6.2 on the Incredible and not sure whether to keep the Nexus or return it. I like the idea of using the "reference" phone and getting updates first, but I'm not sure it's worth having a less nice display (though the larger screen really helps for typing), less good 3G network (for me), less Wifi range, less battery life (for me), and no card slot.
 
Well, yeah.

I knew going in that the battery would be a downgrade, but I guess I didn't realize how much of a downgrade it would be. I went from not having to think about battery life at all to having to think about it again.

There are some things I like better about the Nexus, but most of all it's just the idea that any Android upgrades will come to that phone first.

The thing I like most about Gingerbread is the new keyboard, and I installed that on the Incredible, so it's a non-factor. I do enjoy having a wider screen when typing in portrait orientation. I like all of the little UI tweaks in Gingerbread, but they're relatively minor. The new text selection tools are nice, not only for copy/paste (which I rarely do) but also for changing the cursor location when typing.

Another thing I like about the Nexus S is the responsiveness when scrolling; I'm not sure how much that has to do with the hardware and how much with Gingerbread, but it is much smoother and more responsive to swipe gestures. The Nexus S digitizer also seems more precise - easier to tap on tiny links, etc, without selecting the wrong thing.

I'm interested to see how the Incredible with Gingerbread compares. Glad I bought the Nexus with no contract. I may just keep it as an iPod Touch equivalent device and use the Incredible as my phone.
 
Upvote 0
Would your Incredible's non-stock battery fit in the S? You probably already tried that and the answer is probably no, but I figured I'd ask.

A lot of the S's advantages you listed come down to the fact that it comes with Gingerbread, so they're non-factors, like you said. Still, the idea of getting Android updates first is a plus. Also, that curved glass screen is just plain sexy. I definitely like the fact that it comes with stock Android, which will probably mean more dev support.

I'm surprised to hear you're not wowed by the phone's color representation. I've heard nothing but good things about Galaxy phones when it comes to that. Sad.

Overall, it looks like a solid phone that represents a half-step towards what I'd replace my Incredible with. I just wish it didn't lack the notification LED and expandable memory slot. Those are kinda big for me. Oh, and the fact that the phone can't be used on Verizon.
 
Upvote 0
The Incredible's extended battery is too thick to fit in the Nexus case. I didn't check to see if it would fit without the case.

As for the display, it looks great when I compare it to just about any LCD display out there, but not so great when I compare it to my Incredible's AMOLED. The Nexus display is slightly easier to see in bright sunlight, but otherwise I prefer the Incredible display.
 
Upvote 0
Maybe there is something wrong with the screen on your Nexus? My buddy just got the Epic 4g and when he brought it over it made the display on my incredible look like a blackberry. It had me seriously considering getting a Fascinate.


Do you have an LCD or AMOLED screen? This makes sense if you have LCD but not if you have AMOLED. Other than the Epic 4g having a larger display they are both AMOLED lol. the only difference is how big it is.
 
Upvote 0
Do you have an LCD or AMOLED screen? This makes sense if you have LCD but not if you have AMOLED. Other than the Epic 4g having a larger display they are both AMOLED lol. the only difference is how big it is.


Not true the epic is super amoled and the incredible display does not even compare to the epic. I love the incredible its a great phone but its starting to show its short comings in the direction phones are going. I have a hard time believing the display is even comparable to the nexus, and if it is its only because the screen is smaller on the Droid and therefore the resolution looks better. On a hardware level samsung screens are the best. The Incredible was a great phone but much like every phone we have we are going to get out classed at some point
 
Upvote 0
Interesting comments. About the only things I like about the S is the FFC and the form. Other than, I see no big deal there.

Not true the epic is super amoled and the incredible display does not even compare to the epic. I love the incredible its a great phone but its starting to show its short comings in the direction phones are going. I have a hard time believing the display is even comparable to the nexus, and if it is its only because the screen is smaller on the Droid and therefore the resolution looks better. On a hardware level samsung screens are the best. The Incredible was a great phone but much like every phone we have we are going to get out classed at some point
Well, yeah. The DInc has been out for 10 months. It's actually had a pretty long shelf life.
 
Upvote 0
Maybe there is something wrong with the screen on your Nexus? My buddy just got the Epic 4g and when he brought it over it made the display on my incredible look like a blackberry. It had me seriously considering getting a Fascinate.

I took my Nexus S to Best Buy today and compared it to the one they had there. They looked the same.

When I compare my Nexus S screen to the Incredible (my Incredible is the AMOLED display version), I see the following differences:

  • Incredible display is smaller (obvious)
  • Incredible color temp stays the same regardless of viewing angle while the Nexus display looks bluer from an angle than it does straight on
  • Incredible display colors are more pleasing to my eye overall
  • Nexus S is easier to read in the direct sun, but not by a great deal

I like the Incredible display a bit better except that I do like the larger screen of the Nexus. I disagree with the suggestion that the Incredible display "does not compare" to the SAMOLED. My wife and kids pick the Incredible over the Nexus every time I show them the two displays side by side and ask "Which one looks better". I've done this with a variety of content on screen.

I took both the Nexus S and Incredible to the Apple Store today and looked at them next to the iPhone 4. Neither of the AMOLED screens gave whites which were as white as the iPhone display. However, the iPhone blacks were obviously not as black, and overall I preferred the vibrant colors of the AMOLED displays to those of the iPhone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jj3699
Upvote 0
BetaMan, Nexus S is on T-Mobile, which isn't bad though Verizon coverage seems better in my area.

Flyphoenix, I think I'm going to keep both phones.

Here's a quick snap using the two cameras. The Nexus has a wider angle lens, the Inc has more resolution, and the white balance was different (both on auto).

Nexus:

5274214032_c0ee049d0b_b.jpg



Incredible:

5274213828_dd587e9875_b.jpg



Here are the full-res versions:
Nexus S
Incredible
 
Upvote 0
The Nexus S definitely has the better looking picture in the previous post. But to be honest, I belive you when you say that the incredible has a better looking screen. Of all the phones i've ever seen, the incredible has the best screen... even compared to my bud's iphone 4. But that's just my honest opinion. Its probably due to the resolution.
 
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones