Apple iPhone 4 vs. HTC Droid Incredible
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Verizon customers have been feeding off the Motorola DROID for an extended amount of time to get their fix of Android – despite having other options such as the Motorola DEVOUR, LG Ally, and HTC Droid Eris. Fortunately for them, HTC came to the rescue with the HTC Droid Incredible as a healthy alternative to the "aging" DROID. Not only does it come packing some heat under its hood, but it has been the steady flavor of the last couple of months as consumers have been attracted to the handset thanks to its appeal and marketing campaign. As of right now, the HTC Droid Incredible is Verizon's main driving force which can attempt to hold its own ground against the Apple iPhone 4. Seeing that these are two of the best smartphones currently available to customers from their prospective carriers, it would only be fitting to stack them up side-by-side to see how they perform against one another.
Design:
The HTC Droid Incredible's overall look clearly sits at the opposite end of the spectrum when compared to the nostalgic industrial design of the iPhone 4. Although the Incredible might not exude a level of premium quality in its choice of materials, the mostly plastic handset feels extremely light weight over the heavier iPhone 4, but we'd like to point out the durable and sturdy materials used for the iPhone 4 would substantially fare better in the long haul. If there is one thing we like about both handsets equally, it has to be their overall perfect size which doesn't seem too small or large for most people to hold in the hand. Plus they're both quite thin as the iPhone 4 stands in at 0.37” thick while the Incredible tallies in at 0.47”. It's not to say that the uninspired design in play with the Incredible isn't a bad thing, but there is no denying that the iPhone 4 has more of an appeal from a quick first glance.
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The overall look of the HTC Droid Incredible (left, up) clearly sits at the opposite
end of the spectrum | |||
Some speculated that Apple was going to look at AMOLED technology for the iPhone 4, but as it turned out, the company opted to employ an LED backlit IPS LCD display which looks to be in healthy supply versus Samsung's AMOLED displays. One advantage that goes to the HTC Droid Incredible is that it has some high contrast ratios thanks to AMOLED technology – which makes for things like true black colors. Overall, the Incredible's WVGA display (480x800) looks extremely crisp thanks to its 3.7” size with plenty of lush colors that can vividly display a wide array of gradual tones. On the other hand, the iPhone 4's Retina Display does have a slight edge with detail which is partly due to its smaller sized 3.5” display, which has a resolution of 640x960 – so the smallest of text are more visible as opposed to the slightly fuzzy looking ones seen on the Incredible. Additionally the oleophobic coating does make the iPhone 4's display look cleaner every time we take it out of our pockets as opposed to the Incredible. When setting both handsets to their brightest levels, the iPhone 4 definitely had more luminance when viewed at all angles, but both had pretty good viewing angles so you don't lose focus of what's on screen. However, the iPhone 4 performed much better in outdoor conditions with direct sunlight while the Incredible was somewhat unusable in that situation. When there's so much praise to the iPhone 4's Retina Display, you really can't tell how much better it is over the Incredible unless you actually look really up close to the screen. If there is one thing we can agree with is that both handsets have wonderful displays that are highly prized.
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The Apple iPhone 4 (right) definitely has more luminance when viewed at all angles,
but both devices have pretty good viewing angles | |||
When it comes to the rest of the handsets, both follow each other very carefully as the placement of the buttons and other items are nearly exact. The iPhone 4 has a very springy home button while the Incredible has the usual touch sensitive ones which are supplemented with an optical pad that also acts as a button. The dedicated power and volume buttons are all decently sized with some good feedback when pressed down. No one can deny that the Incredible's microUSB port is a welcomed sight over the traditional proprietary one that Apple employs on all of its devices. We adore the soft touch feeling rear cover of the HTC Droid Incredible which does well in repelling scratches and dirt, but the iPhone 4 manages to handle well too as it has an oleophobic coating over the glass like material found on its rear. Placed towards the upper left corner of the back of the phones, you can find the cameras, but the Incredible packs a dual LED flash. Finally, much like some of its other brothers and sisters.
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The buttons of the Apple iPhone 4 (down) | |
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The rear covers of both devices do well | |
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36 Comments
1. testman22 posted on 20 Oct 2010, 01:55 0 0
So if you want to make calls and have a signal, get the incredible. And if you want constant dropped calls and fluctuating signal get the iphone
26. Bill_1234 (unregistered) posted on 27 Aug 2010, 15:15 0 0
And the award for lack of reading comprehension skills goes to.... testman22! Congratulations.
29. KGBoston (unregistered) posted on 04 Nov 2010, 14:37 0 0
You notice the iPhone was rated 8/10 and the Incredible got a 9/10? inconsistencies continue..
2. narley posted on 01 Jul 2010, 12:36 0 0
ya... no mention of the iphones awesome drop call feature by holding it wrong? The single only advantage iphone has over incredible is when you zoom in to tiny text to ready it. and who does that...... anyone...? anyone...? Buehler....? Incredible FTW
3. AaronWasHere posted on 01 Jul 2010, 15:08 0 0
" It's not to say that the uninspired design in play with the Incredible isn't a bad thing, but there is no denying that the iPhone 4 has more of an appeal from a quick first glance. " Wow... really iPhoneArena? Care to be any more biased? The 2 phones look almost exactly the f**king same! Give me a damn break!
4. BlackSirius16 posted on 01 Jul 2010, 16:08 0 0
hmmmm....I would disagree. Though the incredible is much better
5. VZWuser76 posted on 01 Jul 2010, 16:55 0 0
I agree as well. To me it's like a Ferrari (Incredible) to a Porsche (iPhone4). The both look good, but I like the Ferrari better. P.S. To the editors: on the memory for the Incredible, it's 8GB on board and a 2GB micro-sd card included, not 2GB onboard with an 8GB micro-sd. Otherwise, probably one of the first comparisons that wasn't lopsided biased. I don't agree with "uninspired design". Look at them head-on and I would give it to the Incredible. The sides and the back are a draw for me. The nice thing about the unconventional rear on the Incredible is it doesn't allow the speakerphone opening to be covered, plus I have no doubt the Incredible will take a drop better. Plastic may not look as expensive, but it has some give and transfers shock in a fall. Glass & Stainless Steel, not so much.
31. boogie_14 (unregistered) posted on 10 Nov 2010, 16:41 0 1
Please... The Droid looks like S*** compared to the iPhone 4, do you know what quality looks like???? Have you even held the two next to each other, no comparision!
6. belayson posted on 01 Jul 2010, 18:01 1 0
the reviewers at phonearena are idiots. if you take angular pictures of two screens and put one phone (phone 1) closer to the camera than the other (phone 2), phone 1 is going to look alot brighter as it is at a significantly lower angle than phone 2. If they wanted to be fair (or atleast decently intelligent) they would have put both phones top to bottom and taken the picture from the sides for horizontal view-angles.
8. pete7625 posted on 01 Jul 2010, 19:07 0 0
And let me guess, they also edited the pictures to make it look like the picture quality was worse, and took a picture closer to the incredible to make it look fatter? You can believe whatever you want, but the iPhone is CLEARLY the winner in mainly every aspect. Not to mention it's AMAZING app store. You're just mad because you're on verizon, and they don't have an iPhone. otherwise, you'd agree with me.
10. ilikesmrtphnz posted on 01 Jul 2010, 19:20 0 0
theyre just phones. everyone knows iphonearena is biased. end of story. calm down.
11. pete7625 posted on 01 Jul 2010, 21:23 0 1
How do you figure they're biased? if they were, they wouldn't put half the articles about apple on this website, because a lot of them are speaking negative about them. They are just stating the facts. And just because YOU don't agree with them, doesn't make them biased. But I DO agree with you that they are just phones, and people like belayson need to chill out. It's just a review. I'm sick of all these excuses. JUST FACE THE FACTS AND MAYBE YOU GUYS SHOULDN'T BE SO BIASED.
7. anthonygolovey posted on 01 Jul 2010, 18:37 0 1
I just switched from HTC Incredible and its an awesome phone, i never had an iphone and i didnt get to great coverage here with verizon at my house so i switched to AT&T, there both great phones, i personally like the iphone 4 better, it looks a lot better, the camera was FLIMSY on the incredible and the back didnt appeal to me.
14. therev767 posted on 02 Jul 2010, 14:14 0 0
you know verizon has a data cutoff. unlimited is not unlimited for them either. ive never had a problem with my iphone 3g. but i used to work for verizon. i was in store tech support and so much of their garbage came back all the time. ESPECIALLY their high end data phones. i saw a lot of droids come back cause the hardware cant stand up to the need. the software is cool. the coverage is there. but the phone is made of dog balls.
18. dsg_cobra posted on 03 Jul 2010, 12:23 0 0
yeah and in the stores, you also dont know what your talking about either, i work in the call center, and have to clean up the stores mess day after day, and how long ago did you work at verizon? when the palm treo and blackberry with scroll wheel on the side was the options? when their was 5% data base user ratio? please go on little i sheep.. And their is not a cut off for data on a smart phone, it is unlimited, on a data card their was a unlimited plan for 59.99 and yes in the terms their was a soft limit, if you consistently went over it they would send you a letter letting you know of the meant to be usage, since people were networking at home flooding up our broadband usage. but you prolly didnt know that since at the stores you get half the training we do in the call centers.
21. iheartblueberry posted on 06 Jul 2010, 23:08 1 0
$29.99/mo IS unlimited data. I have been working for Verizon for 5 years. There is NO cutoff on smartphone data plans. If some magical way there is then I have yet to see ANYONE get charged for going over their Email and Web for Smartphone data plan. You say you "used" to work for Verizon? Probably the reason why its past tense... Couldn't remember your plans so you got the axe.
24. cc16177 posted on 09 Jul 2010, 11:02 0 0
I used 8gb last month on my unlimited data plan with Verizon, if there is a limit I would've hit it by now...
25. allmotor91 (unregistered) posted on 14 Aug 2010, 20:48 0 0
I wouldn't brag about taking calls all day for virizon.
9. ilikesmrtphnz posted on 01 Jul 2010, 19:17 1 0
When is PA ever going to decide which they think is the better device? They're conclusion always beats around the bush and never gives a verdict.
