Worth Upgrading From HTC Incredible?

[lawnboy]

Have had the HTC Incredible on Verizon for about a year and a half now. Wondering if it is worth upgrading to the HTC Thunderbolt or is there a better HTC comparable phone coming later this year?

 

[Yeahha]

If you are going to upgrade right now I would need to know if you live/spend most your time in a 4G area or an area that is supposed to get 4G soon or in a 3G only area with no hopes of 4G anytime soon?

If you are in the latter then I would suggest the Droid Incredible 2. I do not believe HTC has any phones slated to come out on VZW soon, if they do they would be WP7 and not Android more than likely.

 

[lawnboy]

Checked on Verizon's site with my home address:

Congratulations! Your address is within 4G LTE market.

If you are going to upgrade right now I would need to know if you live/spend most your time in a 4G area or an area that is supposed to get 4G soon or in a 3G only area with no hopes of 4G anytime soon?

If you are in the latter then I would suggest the Droid Incredible 2. I do not believe HTC has any phones slated to come out on VZW soon, if they do they would be WP7 and not Android more than likely.

 

[CaptainObvious]

Checked on Verizon's site with my home address:

Congratulations! Your address is within 4G LTE market.

Wear an extra pair of shorts, 4g is gonna blow your pants off

 

[lawnboy]

Great to hear; guess I am wondering though is going with the Thunderbolt a sufficient enough upgrade or would you wait for later this year; not sure if any new HTC comparable phones are do out.

Wear an extra pair of shorts, 4g is gonna blow your pants off

 

[Yeahha]

I am pretty sure HTC is done releasing phones for a quarter at least on VZW, they will likely release the next HTC phone in the wave that starts in November.

 

[CaptainObvious]

Great to hear; guess I am wondering though is going with the Thunderbolt a sufficient enough upgrade or would you wait for later this year; not sure if any new HTC comparable phones are do out.

Enough of an upgrade? Hard to tell. Before this phone I've been such a whore for technology. Buy a brand new phone off contract then just a few months later all i hear are mumblings about newer more powerful phones coming out and I'm already writing up my Craigslist ad ready to sell.

Ever since getting this phone I've slowed down a little and stopped looking at it so simply and rather...more personalized deeper thinking. For example. The galaxy s2 is coming to Verizon soon and will feature a dual core processor, gingerbread and a 1080p cam. Hot damn that thing is smokin! If this were a woman, it would easily be Jessica Alba. On a good day

But dual core? I've played with dual core phones and none of them really feel that much faster. And faster compare to what? My bolt does everything the second i press it. This is no Droid Eris. This is still a beast of a phone. Marketing saying otherwise be damned.

Gingerbread? I could have it right now with root or soon with ota so doesn't matter. I can taste it whenever i want.

1080p? I've seen samples and they look the same as the camera phone quality 720 that's on my bolt. 720 and 1080 are the most deceiving buzz words in the industry.

People bitch on and on, very loudly too, about how a "new android phone comes out every month making theirs outdated" but its almost like they've been deliberately brainwashed by marketing into a thinking that tells them, like an army of money filled zombies "must...buy....phone!"

New phones will come out all the time. Until your phone stops doing what you bought it for, you're not outdated. I can still play every game on the market, take nice pics and surf 4g internet that puts my home internet speeds to shame.

Upgrade if you're looking for a bigger screen, front cam, updated rear can and a porn stand-- i mean kick stand. Its good for...stuff.. heeeeheee. And I don't know what it is with HTC but when I buy their phones, its like I buy an amazing community right along with them. The people in this forum are amazing. If you need help, you'll get an answer in minutes. If you need to root, you have people here that will guide you step by step.

If you have the money and its just begging to be spent, you can't go wrong with a bolt. If your incredible is still doing ya right and you're worried about what marketing might say to you in the next few months, hold out for the bolt 2

 

[Yeahha]

a porn stand-- i mean kick stand. Its good for...stuff.. heeeeheee.

#1 reason people buy android, Steve Jobs said if you want porn don't buy an iPhone.

I use mine all...the...ti..m..e....uh nevermind

I would be very tempted to get an SGS2 out of contract given it is LTE and on VZW, all signs point to maybe , I know I wouldn't be at the store on launch day but depending on if it gets a good dev community and is not nerfed in root support it would be calling my name. Not to say the thunderbolt will be outdated but I like to waste money I could use for better things like diapers for my kids or paying to get my driver's license reinstated...eh.

Beware there are issues with every phone out of the box, if you are unwilling to do things like turn off LTE when not watching porn in use then it will drain your battery. If you are going to watch porn use the phone heavily all day you will need to carry your charger/carry an extra battery/buy an extended battery. The external speaker is kinda wimpy as well so speaker for your porn youtube watching won't be as robust as say on the droid. You can't use the kickstand while charging. However there are issues with all phones out of the box, some can be overcome others can not but you should be satisified with the phone you choose otherwise you have 14 days to return the phone and try out something else if you want to.

Overall it is a good phone and if I were going to upgrade from a droid 1 right now I would choose the bolt over any other current VZW phone.

 

[Thats]

Bolt 2?!

That's the one thing that stuck out in your post Obvious.

But I would say go for it!! I run CM7 and I am in love with it. I ditched my Droid X for this thing because one thing: an unlockable bootloader. I will never own an Motorola product again because of those encrypted bootloaders. Go Bolt and never look back. or down...

 

[lawnboy]

Very interesting. One issue you bring up, the dual-core processor, is what I was wondering whether it is better to wait for an HTC with it. Also, how is the battery life on the Thunderbolt?

Thunderbolt 2? Oh my

Enough of an upgrade? Hard to tell. Before this phone I've been such a whore for technology. Buy a brand new phone off contract then just a few months later all i hear are mumblings about newer more powerful phones coming out and I'm already writing up my Craigslist ad ready to sell.

Ever since getting this phone I've slowed down a little and stopped looking at it so simply and rather...more personalized deeper thinking. For example. The galaxy s2 is coming to Verizon soon and will feature a dual core processor, gingerbread and a 1080p cam. Hot damn that thing is smokin! If this were a woman, it would easily be Jessica Alba. On a good day

But dual core? I've played with dual core phones and none of them really feel that much faster. And faster compare to what? My bolt does everything the second i press it. This is no Droid Eris. This is still a beast of a phone. Marketing saying otherwise be damned.

Gingerbread? I could have it right now with root or soon with ota so doesn't matter. I can taste it whenever i want.

1080p? I've seen samples and they look the same as the camera phone quality 720 that's on my bolt. 720 and 1080 are the most deceiving buzz words in the industry.

People bitch on and on, very loudly too, about how a "new android phone comes out every month making theirs outdated" but its almost like they've been deliberately brainwashed by marketing into a thinking that tells them, like an army of money filled zombies "must...buy....phone!"

New phones will come out all the time. Until your phone stops doing what you bought it for, you're not outdated. I can still play every game on the market, take nice pics and surf 4g internet that puts my home internet speeds to shame.

Upgrade if you're looking for a bigger screen, front cam, updated rear can and a porn stand-- i mean kick stand. Its good for...stuff.. heeeeheee. And I don't know what it is with HTC but when I buy their phones, its like I buy an amazing community right along with them. The people in this forum are amazing. If you need help, you'll get an answer in minutes. If you need to root, you have people here that will guide you step by step.

If you have the money and its just begging to be spent, you can't go wrong with a bolt. If your incredible is still doing ya right and you're worried about what marketing might say to you in the next few months, hold out for the bolt 2

 

[CaptainObvious]

Battery life is about as good as any 1400mah battery out there. It really depends on how many Jessica Alba pics you look at on your phone. By "Jessica Alba pics" i of coarse mean general use. If you're the type that barely looks at Jessica Alba or mostly uses Alba on wifi, you should be good.

I'm in a 4g area and i can make it through an entire day of Jessica Alba on moderate use. few YouTube videos, half hour of games, couple calls. I have a spare battery for just in case but I've never had to use it. I don't tweak my settings or turn everything off. I leave everything on just for the hell of it. GPS, wifi, 4g, brightness all the way. I even leave Bluetooth on even though i don't use Bluetooth. That's how baller i am.

Some users here use the extended battery as their porn needs are more than the average user. Really just depends on how you use it. "Battery life" is so subjective its hard to answer

Dual core in most everyday use you wont even notice. When I load up the camera, it boots fast. If my phone was dual core, my phone would feel the same in almost all aspects. "Dual core" as i understand it is an allocation of resources to lessen strain on the system. Such as loading up a flash website to watch some Jalba (Jessica Alba) one core will load up the main page and the scripts whole the other loads flash content. This can be great in theory, but its hard to say at this point because HTC/snapdragon gave us such a good second Gen single core processor that i have no lag whatsoever loading flash on anything.

I guess the biggest draw to dual core would be games. Mostly games of the future that require crazy insane graphics. Well, there will be a day when alot of games may require a faster processor or dual core. That day is not today. Androids different than apple as far as development goes. Apple has one main phone to design for so boom, every app is compatible. Android? Has to make it compatible for the masses. developers are getting increasingly frustrated with comments on their market apps about incompatibility that most devs cater to the low to medium power spectrum of phone requirements so they can sell to more people without alienating too many people.

The devs I've spoken to have said they're catering to the 1ghz spectrum for the next year or so. So it'll be awhile before dual core is something you absolutely need.

Hope that answered a little. And sorry for going on about Jessica Alba. My ugly girlfriend kicked me out of the bedroom and I'm sitting here staring at a jalba picture like I'm doing some kind of voodoo spell to make her pop out and do bad (good things) to me

Screw girlfriends man...this couch is going to murder my back tonight

 

[lawnboy]

Prefer the HTC UI, but how would the Samsung Droid Charge compare?

 

[AntimonyER]

I just made this switch this past week. So far here is my PROs and CONs vs. The Incredible.

PRO: 4.3" Screen, Front Camera, LTE, Build Quality/Materials, Data can be used during phone calls.

CON: Non-AMOLED Screen, Battery Life, Size/Thickness (Not quite as easy to use one-handed)

Other Details: Buttons on the other side of phone, took me a few days to get used to. Haven't got a chance to test out cameras for quality yet. Feels just as fast and smooth as the incredible, no complaints there. I set my home screen up identical to my incredible, was nice being able to transfer my layout 100%.

 

[Metroidman]

Wait for the Galaxy S2. Its 2 weeks away.

 

[lawnboy]

Great feedback! Did you consider the Samsung Droid Charge or like me, do you prefer the HTC UI?

I just made this switch this past week. So far here is my PROs and CONs vs. The Incredible.

PRO: 4.3" Screen, Front Camera, LTE, Build Quality/Materials, Data can be used during phone calls.

CON: Non-AMOLED Screen, Battery Life, Size/Thickness (Not quite as easy to use one-handed)

Other Details: Buttons on the other side of phone, took me a few days to get used to. Haven't got a chance to test out cameras for quality yet. Feels just as fast and smooth as the incredible, no complaints there. I set my home screen up identical to my incredible, was nice being able to transfer my layout 100%.

 

[Metroidman]

Great feedback! Did you consider the Samsung Droid Charge or like me, do you prefer the HTC UI?

HTC UI can be replicated easily with a few apps. Its not worth getting a lesser phone over honestly. You'll love the Galaxy S2. I have a TB now and its nice and all but its no Galaxy S2.

 

[lawnboy]

Saw this review of the Galaxy S2:

Samsung Galaxy S II review -- Engadget

Class-leading speed and responsiveness
Awesome Super AMOLED Plus display
Great still camera, capable of 1080p video

Build quality could be better (?)
Pixel density is behind the leading pack
Browser rendering suffers from aliasing (what does this mean?)

Thunderbolt:

Surreal data speeds
Typical HTC design, build quality
Improved camera

Thick, heavy
Questionable battery life
Single-core in a dual-core age






Can you elaborate on which apps can replicate the HTC UI?

HTC UI can be replicated easily with a few apps. Its not worth getting a lesser phone over honestly. You'll love the Galaxy S2. I have a TB now and its nice and all but its no Galaxy S2.

 

[Metroidman]

Saw this review of the Galaxy S2:

Samsung Galaxy S II review -- Engadget

Class-leading speed and responsiveness
Awesome Super AMOLED Plus display
Great still camera, capable of 1080p video

Build quality could be better (?)
Pixel density is behind the leading pack
Browser rendering suffers from aliasing (what does this mean?)

Thunderbolt:

Surreal data speeds
Typical HTC design, build quality
Improved camera

Thick, heavy
Questionable battery life
Single-core in a dual-core age






Can you elaborate on which apps can replicate the HTC UI?

Droid Life proved the SGS2 has great Build Quality. Also you can download Opera Mobile or some other browser

To replicate the HTC UI, you can use Go Launcher+Go Weather and for the Lockscreen, Widget Locker.

 

[lawnboy]

Have you seen this?

http://www.androidauthority.com/sam...der-release-date-august-12-verizon-att-20068/

slider QWERTY????? If so, no thanks.

Will be referred to as the Samsung Function at Verizon.

Droid Life proved the SGS2 has great Build Quality. Also you can download Opera Mobile or some other browser

To replicate the HTC UI, you can use Go Launcher+Go Weather and for the Lockscreen, Widget Locker.

 

[AntimonyER]

Great feedback! Did you consider the Samsung Droid Charge or like me, do you prefer the HTC UI?

I LOVE Sense, I never rooted my Incredible because I was so happy with the stock experience. Its not that I am afraid, I flashed the hell out of my Samsung Omnia before that, just to get it usable. However I am not going to consider myself an HTC fanboy. My first choice was the Galaxy S II, assuming Verizon didn't mess with it too much, but my incredible died (a month after taking a ride in the washing machine), and I couldn't wait anymore. If the Bionic comes out on the 4th (looking less likely now), I will give that a look. With rooting, roms, and apps (beautiful widgets is a popular Sense-like app), you can customize any phone to how you like it now, so software is not that important.

The problem with Samsung is they don't support their US phones very well. Fascinate STILL has issues, which are not getting resolved, to the point verizon is giving free upgrades to Fascinate owners. Samsung's openess to give info to developers is a huge plus, but I am afraid it also turns off the carriers to them here in the States, as they don't want their customers messing with the stock interface. Motorola's locked bootloaders prevent a lot of the customization I was talking about (why verizon LOVES them no doubt), and since I do not like their UI, will avoid until they unlock.

 

[Metroidman]

Have you seen this?

http://www.androidauthority.com/sam...der-release-date-august-12-verizon-att-20068/

slider QWERTY????? If so, no thanks.

Will be referred to as the Samsung Function at Verizon.

The AT&T version will be with a Slider. Not the Verizon one. Also AT&T will get a non slider one too. Verizon Rep called it the Samsung Fascinate 2.

 

[lawnboy]

I agree, the Sense is what got me to the Incredible. I guess it is kind of what you get use to. The Thunderbolt seems very appealing, though I am curious how the Samsung Galaxy 2 will compare with the Thunderbolt.

Was does the statement "Browser rendering suffers from aliasing" mean which was highlighted as a con on the Samsung Galaxy 2?

What timing...just went to cnet.com and saw the following:

HTC Sensation 4G vs. Samsung Galaxy S II - CNET Prizefight - CNET.com

Samsung Galaxy S II

Samsung Galaxy S II Review - Watch CNET's Video Review

HTC Thunderbolt

HTC ThunderBolt Review - Watch CNET's Video Review

I LOVE Sense, I never rooted my Incredible because I was so happy with the stock experience. Its not that I am afraid, I flashed the hell out of my Samsung Omnia before that, just to get it usable. However I am not going to consider myself an HTC fanboy. My first choice was the Galaxy S II, assuming Verizon didn't mess with it too much, but my incredible died (a month after taking a ride in the washing machine), and I couldn't wait anymore. If the Bionic comes out on the 4th (looking less likely now), I will give that a look. With rooting, roms, and apps (beautiful widgets is a popular Sense-like app), you can customize any phone to how you like it now, so software is not that important.

The problem with Samsung is they don't support their US phones very well. Fascinate STILL has issues, which are not getting resolved, to the point verizon is giving free upgrades to Fascinate owners. Samsung's openess to give info to developers is a huge plus, but I am afraid it also turns off the carriers to them here in the States, as they don't want their customers messing with the stock interface. Motorola's locked bootloaders prevent a lot of the customization I was talking about (why verizon LOVES them no doubt), and since I do not like their UI, will avoid until they unlock.

 

[AntimonyER]

Well assuming they don't mess with it much, the Super AMOLED Plus screen is the top screen out there. it is beautiful. Also the Samsung Processor is fantastic, very fast. Camera is also very good. Most of the hardware aspects of that phone are at or near the top of the line, and they all work well together. It really is the best phone available spec and performance wise. If it gets LTE, and NFC for the verizon version, plus the developer support and unlocked bootloader, it will be the phone to beat on verizon for the summer/fall.

 

[lawnboy]

Any idea the following highlights they mentioned in the review? Not sure what each of these mean (quality is kind of obvious I guess):

Build quality could be better
Pixel density is behind the leading pack
Browser rendering suffers from aliasing

Well assuming they don't mess with it much, the Super AMOLED Plus screen is the top screen out there. it is beautiful. Also the Samsung Processor is fantastic, very fast. Camera is also very good. Most of the hardware aspects of that phone are at or near the top of the line, and they all work well together. It really is the best phone available spec and performance wise. If it gets LTE, and NFC for the verizon version, plus the developer support and unlocked bootloader, it will be the phone to beat on verizon for the summer/fall.

 

[lawnboy]

And then I hear about the upcoming HTC Vigor with 720p display:

Verizon HTC Vigor 4G To Battle Motorola Droid Bionic & Samsung Galaxy S2?