Droid VS Inc - My Pros & Cons - Your Comments

[kwest12]

NOTE: Please read my entire post before commenting!!!!

I'm in dire need of a smartphone and have been for ~ 6 months. I need help deciding btwn the Droid and the Incredible. Until recently I was sure I was getting the Incredible. Let me explain:

The reason I didn't jump on the Droid was b/c of the laggy performance (this is my opinion, so please don't flame). The Incredible has the speed I want. Why am I second guessing now? Well, my buddy just rooted his Droid with the Bugless Beast rom, and has it clocked up to 800mhz or 1ghz area. Apparently it's speed is in the neighborhood of the Incredible and it's getting battery life of at least a day with moderate usage.

This caused me to make the following list of pros and cons on each phone.


Here's my pros and cons list:
Incredible Pros:
> Blazing speed comes stock
> 8MP camera
> Excellent touchscreen sensor
> No physical keyboard
> Bright screen

Incredible Cons:
> Battery life (some users have the issue others don't but even those who don't seem to be getting a max of abt 20 hrs)
> Signal/Voice Issues (I'm not referring to the inaccurate bars icon, I'm talking about the actual signal issues that people have been reporting. Apparently the radio may be positioned oddly which may have something to do w/ it.)
> Poor variety of cases, screen protectors and accessories available currently (I know it will get better but I want something to protect my phone now and don't want to have to buy again, unless it's to support a bigger battery)

**I also realize that a bigger battery is on the way for the Inc, but am also aware that it will be larger and require a different phone back. I want a GOOD case on my phone, so unless otterbox or an innocase, etc is going to be produced to fit the extended battery back, that is still an issue.



Droid Pros:
> Battery life (not only does it seem better but I don't think there's nearly as much talk of "what can I disable to improve battery life)
> Screen size SLIGHTLY bigger
> Tons of accessories
> Faster firmware updates b/c of stock Android
> Extremely reliable radio

Droid Cons:
> Need to root and clock up for it to be suitable for me
> Hardware Keyboard
> Touchscreen sensor isn't as accurate and responsive
> Camera issues? (not sure if this is still a problem or not)



Ok, all this said, I'd like people to weigh in on the issue. Hit me with pros and cons that I'm missing and point out other things I may want to consider.

Please DO NOT flame me for my opinions or try to contest what I've said. I have done my homework for the most part, so unless I'm absolutely dead wrong on something or there has been a fix for something, please don't try to argue with my list.


Thanks in advance.



EDIT: Removed pros/cons concerning my original thoughts that the Incredible didn't have Gorilla Glass

 

[Flaring Afro]

If you don't want a physical keyboard, I'd get the Incredible. I haven't had any signal issues, call quality has always been extremely good.

 

[jasonb1985]

i had (well i actually do still have) a rooted and overclocked Droid. my Inc still beats it in every category, including battery life.

 

[FierceDeityLink1]

The Incredible is only going to get better, and especially if things like 720p recording and 802.11n can be unlocked. You're comparing a rooted phone to stock, but it seems pretty clear that you'd be getting an already better product and that the majority of your issues come with being an early adopter. If you want cases and accessories, wait until ones that you want are available. Wait until the radio is better, etc.

HTC says that the Incredible uses Gorilla Glass, but is that really a problem if you're going to put a screen protector on it anyway?

I'd say get the Incredible and a $20, 1500 mAh Touch Pro2 battery and you should be fine.

 

[Life2PointOhh]

If you don't want a physical keyboard, I'd get the Incredible. I haven't had any signal issues, call quality has always been extremely good.

+1. I've got Swype running on my Inc which is very, very sweet compared to the stock. I also haven't had any reception issues or bouncing between 3G & other (?) in the Seattle area.

As far as battery, I hear you on not wanting to turn stuff off. I was pretty miffed at the maybe 10 hours I was getting (I like playing with the phone though) until I followed some advice about extending the default 10 minute Google/Gcal/Weather/etc Sync, which had the phone in pretty much a constant state of sync. Doh! Now I'm at 14 hours with 35% remaining, a lot better. I was considering getting the extended life slimline battery from Seido (fits in stock back) until this discovery.

 

[sylent101]

i had (well i actually do still have) a rooted and overclocked Droid. my Inc still beats it in every category, including battery life.

Man I havent touched my Droid since the FedEx man came to be honest... the incredible is a bit lighter than I expected and there arent too many cases out for it yet but I really reccommend it over the Droid..some might say" ohh the Droid has a keyboard" but let's face it..it sucks..and the headphone jack was loose so the sound always crackled

 

[sylent101]

+1. I've got Swype running on my Inc which is very, very sweet compared to the stock. I also haven't had any reception issues or bouncing between 3G & other (?) in the Seattle area.

As far as battery, I hear you on not wanting to turn stuff off. I was pretty miffed at the maybe 10 hours I was getting (I like playing with the phone though) until I followed some advice about extending the default 10 minute Google/Gcal/Weather/etc Sync, which had the phone in pretty much a constant state of sync. Doh! Now I'm at 14 hours with 35% remaining, a lot better. I was considering getting the extended life slimline battery from Seido (fits in stock back) until this discovery.

Exactly what apps did u extend I did weather already are there anymore?

 

[kwest12]

Thanks to everyone who replied so far; great info!

HTC says that the Incredible uses Gorilla Glass, but is that really a problem if you're going to put a screen protector on it anyway?

Really? I was under the impression that they weren't making that claim based on the one user's comments (he has optimus prime's head as his avatar... you all prob know his name, but I forget it right now).

Screen protectors just protect from scratches and keep oil off the screen right? If it isn't Gorilla Glass, I believe it makes a difference in terms of the way the screen would deal with the impact of a fall.

i had (well i actually do still have) a rooted and overclocked Droid. my Inc still beats it in every category, including battery life.

Great to know! Did you root with Bugless Beast v1?

the headphone jack was loose so the sound always crackled

Good call, I forgot about the jack issues.

 

[FierceDeityLink1]

http://androidforums.com/htc-incredible/74641-incredible-using-gorilla-glass-htc-says-so.html

 

[nightfishing]

If you are trying to talk yourself into a Droid (which it seems like you are) you will find more folks to help you in that endeavor on a non-Inc forum (LOL).

Seriously, though, looking at your cons:

Inc has GG

Can't judge the battery on a phone nobody has had for more than a week

Call quality/reliability has been through the roof for me (best sounding phone I have had in a looong time.

The Droid is a cool phone, the main reason I didn't grab one when they first hit was the keyboard was not to my fancying and turned the phone into a brick. I actually wanted a physical kb, but I just don't see anything coming down the road that will keep up with the Android phones, so I "settled" for a touch screen ;-)

 

[jasonb1985]

Thanks to everyone who replied so far; great info!


Great to know! Did you root with Bugless Beast v1?


Good call, I forgot about the jack issues.

i tried every rom that was out while i was using my Droid. Bugless Beast v1 wasn't out when i was using my Droid. i tried them all and the Inc is still smoother, faster, and less buggy. i don't miss being rooted, it started becoming more of a hassle than it was worth, but there was no way i could go back to the Droid's stock speed.

i also didn't have the headphone jack issue and i used my headphone jack a lot.

 

[jbdan]

Exactly what apps did u extend I did weather already are there anymore?

+1 whats the skinny on this

 

[jasonb1985]

http://androidforums.com/htc-incredible/74641-incredible-using-gorilla-glass-htc-says-so.html

oooOOOooohhh... didn't know that. now i question whether or not i really want to get a screen protector. i like the naked feel, and i am pretty careful with my phone. i think i'll keep the screen naked.

 

[kwest12]

http://androidforums.com/htc-incredible/74641-incredible-using-gorilla-glass-htc-says-so.html

:facepalm: looks like I should have done another search on that before I posted! I'll edit my original post, thanks for the link!

Keep it coming guys, you're reselling me!

 

[sylent101]

oooOOOooohhh... didn't know that. now i question whether or not i really want to get a screen protector. i like the naked feel, and i am pretty careful with my phone. i think i'll keep the screen naked.

Agreed it looks much better without a case most of the cases out are extra thick for no reason ..I hate the case i got from Verizon

 

[kwest12]

oooOOOooohhh... didn't know that. now i question whether or not i really want to get a screen protector. i like the naked feel, and i am pretty careful with my phone. i think i'll keep the screen naked.

Despite it being Gorilla Glass, it still is essentially glass. If you introduce any material that is harder (such as dirt/sand) and it rubs against it, it WILL scratch. Simple earth science stuff right there Besides, do you really wanna risk it? There are already plenty of people in the forums reporting scratches on their screens.

 

[Dex]

The Incredible is just a better phone. The only thing that I've found myself disappointed in is..... the fact that I only have two colors for my LED indicator. That's it. The LED light on the front that blinks when I am charging/have a voicemail/new text, etc... that is the ONLY complaint I have with this phone.

The difference between this stock and a Droid stock is amazing. My girlfriend has a Droid and that thing is just slooooooooow compared to the Incredible.

You need to go and look in a mirror and ask yourself if you want the absolute best, most powerful and most advanced phone running Android available on any carrier... or if you want something a little less awesome, but with more color options for your LED.

 

[jasonb1985]

Agreed it looks much better without a case most of the cases out are extra thick for no reason ..I hate the case i got from Verizon

lol. i have the red silicon case from Verizon. i like the case, i just don't think i want a screen protector.

 

[jasonb1985]

Despite it being Gorilla Glass, it still is essentially glass. If you introduce any material that is harder (such as dirt/sand) and it rubs against it, it WILL scratch. Simple earth science stuff right there Besides, do you really wanna risk it? There are already plenty of people in the forums reporting scratches on their screens.

My Droid's screen is still 100% scratch free after owning it since December 6th.

 

[kwest12]

My Droid's screen is still 100% scratch free after owning it since December 6th.

Granted, but you'll also agree that you've read about people having theirs scratched won't you?

Ok folks, back on topic plz!

 

[jasonb1985]

Granted, but you'll also agree that you've read about people having theirs scratched won't you?

Ok folks, back on topic plz!

yes, people scratch screens. i am very careful with my devices though. i may still get one anyway. i was waiting for Stenhiel or however you spell it. i may try one.

 

[aesirx]

An over clocked Droid is simply not equal to a stock incredible. The speed difference is amazing, a factor I attribute to the Inc's greater amount of ram. Also, while the Droid is an excellent over clocker, it gets dangerously hot while running intensive apps, especially inside of a case and while charging. I did pretty extensive temperature testing with my Droid and the maximum safe speed was 800mhz and only 600 while charging, using a low voltage kernel. And my Droid was no wimp, it hit 1.3ghz easy. Unfortunately i think there will be a lot of people with fried droids in the coming months. And an over clocked Droid does NOT have better battery life then the Inc.
Most of your other points are accurate, but the camera on the Inc is light years ahead of the Droid. The software for the Droid's camera is a joke. Also, my reception had been similar to my Droid. The only thing I miss is the notification LED from the Droid. And the high gloss silicon case is excellent, i actually prefer it to the Seidio Innocase i had on my Droid. And Sense ui has surprised me with how awesome it is, I think I'll actually stick with the stock rom (I do miss root though, ad free is the best).
There do seem to be some quality issues with the Incs at this point though. Im one of the lucky people with a perpetually freezing camera (still better than the Droid though :/), and as soon as I have a steinheil crystal in hand I'll swap it out for another. If you get an imperfect Inc, just swap it out. There are many who are having no issues whatsoever.

 

[kwest12]

aesirx, that post was excellent, thanks for all the info! (EDIT: That was your first post?! Impressive.)

I think I'm sufficiently convinced, but if anyone wants to keep convincing me, please feel free! (I will ask mods to close the thread though if it becomes overly redundant). Thanks for re-convincing me everyone, you saved me from making what would appear to have been a poor choice and choosing the Droid.

.... And thanks for replying so quickly! DAMN you guys are fast!

 

[Callahan]

I haven't spent any time in the Motodroid forum here, but I'd just about bet my bottom dollar that shortly after release, it was flooded with love and hate just like this one is now. I think what you see going on here with the problems is actually a small percentage of all the INC owners as a whole. The people with the problems are the most vocal because they want, and need answers, which is completely understandable. I've seen this repeated time and time again with new computer hardware on online forums since the nineties. I've been in that minority several times and it's frustrating, but the odds are very much in the favor for a buyer to be in the majority of happy campers.

The only truly viable issue I see with this phone is possibly the battery. But if you put it in perspective, it really isn't an issue either. This device uses a powerful processor and a relatively low powered battery to supply it. Even with that I get 7-8 hours when I'm hammering the features.(Use the car charger late in the day) 12-15 hours with moderate usage (charge at home overnight) and 20-30 if I barely use it. If you can't live with that, get a bigger battery...not a deal breaker IMO. BTW, after you friend has overclocked his Motodroid, you might want to find out how much it affected the battery life of that device.

This is a ultra portable computer with a phone attachment... doesn't sound as sexy as "smart phone" but I don't think the term smart phone applies to these devices anymore either. They've evolved into more, but I'll leave it up to more trendy people to come up with that name. To me, this device is simply Incredible as the name implies.

 

[jeffreycentex]

In my opinion, the first two cons you list for the incredible are what I would say are cons for the droid... I'm getting better battery performance (now) on the Incredible than the Droid (running Cyanogenmod) due to the Cell Standby bug. And my call quality on the droid was muffled for the last month or so..

Equal cons:
- The micro SD connector both sucks and is in the wrong location. This is the main reason why I got rid of the droid - I had to mod the charger to make it stay in the device. The Incredible has weak plastic around the jack.

Droid cons:
- The Headphone jack. Why did Motorola not mount this on the motherboard. Intermittent contact while jostling either causes annoyance while listening to it, or it triggers Android to stop playing media.
- The Droid kernel cannot be upgraded to 2.6.32 anytime soon, thus preventing a lot of the "goodies" that the Nexus One has (it is due to the type of Wireless Card in the droid)
- The physical keyboard.

Incredible cons:
- The lack of root.
- The optical keypad vs what was on the Nexus One (I would never use it other than notifications.

Droid Positives:
- More hackable and Large Support Community
- The first and most "visible" android device.
- Better wifi

Incredible Positives:
- Sense UI
- Larger overall community; HTC devices have been around for a long time and the community continues to support them. Note the HTC Touch (Vogue) which now supports Android...
- Faster

These are just some quick thougths...