HTC Incredible vs. iPhone (comparison results)

Feature	HTC Incredible	Iphone 3GS	Iphone 4G (speculation)	Comment
Bright Sunlight Display Readability		X	X	No question.
Keyboard	X		X	I really prefer the HTC keyboard. I am hoping that the 4G will have better predictive text ability.
Internet Browsing Experience	X			Hands down, HTC feels like a full featured web browser. Fast and flash support.
Battery Life		X	X	HTC can’t keep a charge. It’s a super computer in your pocket. It sucks power.
Accessory Availability		X	X	There is no denying that the single Apple hardware spec lends to more accessory availability.
As a music player	X	X	X	Iphone does better at this.  However, HTC gives you more convenient access to music in a not proprietary storage format. Music is stored on the Andriod just like it is on the computer –with meaningful folder and file names.
Size/weight	X		X	HTC wins today for being smaller and lighter, but 4G takes that honor when it is released.
Applications	X	X	X	This is a tie. More applications with less restrictions for the HTC. Better refined apps for the iPhone.
Cellular Coverage	X			Incredible is on Verizon. Where I use the phone, Verizon is better. I still drop calls on AT&T.
Camera	X		X	HTC kills the 3GS, but the 4G should come out as good, if not better than the HTC.
Video Recording	X		X	HTC kills the 3GS, but the 4G will have full 720P video with touch to focus capability.
Google Integration	X			This is common sense, but worth noting there are a lot of google apps I had on the HTC that I miss. iPhone doesn’t give them to me.
Ringer Vib/Vol	X	X	X	This is a tie because the both have simplicity in design. iPhone gets the edge for the cool switch tho.
Storage	X			The major thing iPhone lacks that the HTC has is expandable storage.
Customizability	X			HTC wins by a large margin.  You have full control.
File System Access	X			iPhone is locked down. You can browse music and pictures. That’s it. With HTC, you have computer-like access to the file system. On the HTC, I can open a zip file direct from Dropbox and download the mp3 files inside. Not on the iphone.
Optical Joystick		X	X	iPhone wins for not having one!  It was quirky and sometimes had a mind of its own. I think it was too sensitive.
Notifications	X			The HTC’s Notification system is awesome. I love the slider window, and seeing notifications in the top task bar regardless of what screen I am on. With the iPhone I have to check the home screen, or use BoxCar to give me popups.
Simplicity		X	X	iPhone wins here for its simplicity in form.
Reliability		X	X	Much less application crashes on the iPhone…and things always work as expected. The HTC was a little buggy, even with native apps.
Syncing		X	X	iPhone wins here because everything I have is in iTunes. DoubleTwist is an iTunes clone, but it doesn’t yet match features, capability or speed. With the iPhone, I just plug it in…wait a few minutes..and I have all my new music and podcasts. Not quite as easy with the HTC.

…or Perhaps an iPhone User.

So, this is part two of my quest for a new personal device.  Part one is my attempt at loving the Android-powered HTC Incredible on Verizon Wireless.  This section is my opinions of the iPhone 3Gs.  I am not really interested in the 3Gs, but rather the new 4G that goes on sale this month.  Since I can’t get my hands on one of those yet, I have no choice but to compare the HTC with the 3Gs and then only anticipate how much more awesome the 4G will be.

As with the Android review, I will be updating this blog as I develop new opinions.\

The Device:

iPhone 3GS (32GB)

http://gizmodo.com/5293388/iphone-3gs-review

 

The iPhone 4G!!!!

What I like:

I said I liked the Verizon Network over the AT&T network in my android review, and while that is true, there is one thing I do prefer on the AT&T network – simultaneous voice and data. Folks, 3G data networks are not all created equal, and this is one thing I learned when I swapped from a Blackberry on AT&T to one on Verizon.  Call quality is better on Verizon.  Coverage (where I need it) is better on Verizon.  But AT&T has them beat on capability.

I haven’t played with the camera yet…so I can’t speak to that.  However, the 4G (which is really what is being desired here) does get an updated 5MP camera. You may be like me thinking 5MP < 8MP so the Android wins.  And that may be true..but Apple claims its improved how the camera takes pictures on an ISO level, rendering the MP argument a non-issue.  The 4G also will have a flash (which does not exist on this 3Gs). Another notable point…it will come with a front facing camera for video chats and the like.

The new 4G looks hot and is marketed as the thinnest smart phone ever.  It actually ends up thinner and similar length and width of the Incredible.  The 3GS already is a nice size, and fits well in the front pocket (important for me).  Of course there is the question of old: white or black?

The iPhone is much more stable in operation than the Android.  Of course, with the market share iPhone has…they is a lot of development money and time already invested over the last few years to get things right.  Android will get there…but iPhone has a head start in this area.

The iPhone screen is MUCH more visible in bright, direct sunlight.  The HTC is almost unusable at the lake or the pool…its just so hard to see the display.  Answering a phone call on the HTC was even a challenge (and I couldn’t tell who it was). The iPhone, however, appears to excel in this area…although I’ll need more time to know for sure.

Battery life on the 4G iPhone is supposed to be more than double that of the HTC.  I didn’t think battery life would be that big of a deal for me, since I am often someplace I can charge…30 min in the car, at my desk, etc. But when I am using the HTC…I have a hard time keeping it charged through a full day.  It is something that I have to be conscious of.  I’ve only had the iPhone for a short time…but it’s very first day…with apps installations, tinkering, configuring…I made it through the whole day ( a long one at that ) with a single charge.  This wasn’t on purpose btw…it turns that all of my iPod Touch accessories will not charge this phone! Yikes! Gotta buy a new charger.

There is something unusually and unexpectedly cool about the little lever switch that puts the phone in vibrate mode. I don’t know why I like that so much…but I really find it cool.

Of course, since iPhone and iTunes were made for each other, and my entire 50GB+ music library is on iTunes…there is a synergy there that cannot exist with the Android based HTC.  Synchronization is simply a breeze.

What I don’t like:

It doesn’t have native flash support.  Oh well.  I guess you can’t have everything.  There is an app that will let you get to flash content from the iPhone…see the “Must Have Apps” section.

It isn’t as seamless to interact with my Google apps as the Android. Duh! There are plenty of ways to work around…but the Android…well…it just plays so well with the apps I am used to using to manage my email and contacts, etc. With that said, I set up my Google account to push my email, and set the iPhone up for a Microsoft Exchange type account…and it works well.  Calendar items, Contacts, and Email is automatically synced…very much like I am used to on the Blackberry.

I have lots of chargers and docks laying around for my iPod Touch..but none of them will charge the iPhone.  I am forced to buy a new car charger.

No expandable storage.  You get what you get, so don’t throw a fit!  : ) Of course, apps like HomePipe and DropBox come in handy here.

Must have Apps:

(stand by for updates)

Must have accessories:

(stand by for updates)

Turning into an Android User…

I plan on updating this blog as I live out the life of a new Android user…

Give me a bit to get it initially populated….and check back often to see how it progresses.

My initial thoughts…if you like to tinker and customize and are somewhat savvy…this is the device for you. If you want plug and play usability, and don’t want to have to mess around a lot to get things going the way you want…I would go for the iPhone.  Just sayin’…it will take some work to get it just right.  The droid is still not perfect.  Sadly its almost like a beta release. I am tracking a list of gripes at the bottom of this blog.
The device:

HTC Incredible on the Verizon Wireless network.

 

http://hothardware.com/articles/HTC-Droid-Incredible-Review/

 

What I like:

Verizon Wireless – while maybe not better than ATT as a whole…they do have service in some places (for me) that ATT is weak.  Of course it goes the other way too.

Amazing 8 megapixel camera: Now you gotta admit…that’s not too shabby for a “camera phone” picture. Click the photo to see it full resolution.  Shutter is fast enough to catch water droplets fairly well.

Lightening fast 1Ghz processor

I really love the sleek look and small size.

FLASH SUPPORT!!!!

Super quick browsing

Home screen customization with widgets. 

Notification slider window is hot!

Easy integration with Google based apps (duh!) Sounds silly..but that is a huge benefit.

What I don’t like:

The jury is still out on the optical joystick. I do like having it…but not sure how much yet. (See gripes below – I think the jury may have come to a decision)

Must have Apps:

Bloo Facebook -> to get your FB notifications

Twitter for Android -> Not perfect…but pretty darn good.

Google Maps -> awesome GPS based turn by turn navigation

Astro -> file manager awesomeness.  Can open zip files, move/copy/paste files…the works!

Pandora -> The greatest streaming music app there is.

HomePipe -> Stream [non-drm] audio right from your itunes library, browse pics, view docs from your computer.

DailyBible -> Read from daily reading plan, have it read the Word to you when your too tired to focus. : )

 

BatteryTime Lite -> Useful to see estimated time left given certain usage (phone, internet, etc)

BlueRSS -> Great RSS reader

Dropbox -> maintain storage online…and always have access with dropbox.  Upload/Download syncing.

Barcode Scanner -> Identify products, import contacts, search for apps on computer, then scan bar code to access directly in Market from your device.

Google Goggles -> Google search from pictures…crazy cool what can be identified from a picture.

Layars -> find places to eat or shop…or whatever, with this virtual layer on reality. Overlays from camera views.

AK Notepad -> Simple notepad with reminder and sharing capability.

Shazam -> Let’s you identify music that you hear around you…like VZW Song ID.

WordPress -> I guess I have to add this…since I am editing this blog with it right now….

WiFi Analyzer –> Hunting down a network…

Advanced Task Killer –> Many will say this is a must have to maintain battery life. I don’t find that to be the case…but it is a useful app nonetheless.

 

ShapeWriter –> This is really quite amazing…and after just a few minutes of practice, I find it to be a very fast method of text entry. 

GoogleVoice –> No screen shot yet…sorry.  But here is a helpful hint. If you are having trouble setting up Google Voice on your Android phone, and you are getting an error like this:

"We have a problem. Your Phone number could not be verified, please try again".

You may be like me.  Google Voice automatically populated my account email address and tried to configure with some sort of default…then it would fail. I followed instructions I found here:

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/voice/thread?tid=4dcecef9811a056f&hl=en

and it worked like a charm!  Here are instructions (credit to mbligh):

“I fixed this. I think it’s Google’s "interesting" login management, where though you have one email address, it can be multiple accounts on the backend

If you’re foo@bar.com and it asks you which account you want to use and that’s one of the options, pick "other address" and type foo@bar.com again and your password. Now it works.

Makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, but still.”

Worked for me!

Must have accessories:

Invisible Shield http://www.zagg.com/

Chargers, Chargers, Chargers : )

Doubletwist application for your computer -> iTunes for Android…and will let you sync itunes music and library.

Tips:

Menu -> Settings -> Wireless & Networks -> Mobile Networks: Uncheck “Enable always-on mobile data” to give major increase in battery life.  So far has not affected my real time receipt of Google Mail, Twitter, Facebook, or SMS notifications.

Install Bloo Facebook — just for Facebook notifications, but use the official Facebook App for other interaction.  This is a good workaround for the broken Facebook notifications until they get that fixed.

Alot of people are confused on how to get custom ring tones and alerts. I was too.  Create a folder in your storage (I did this on my sdcard) and call it "notifications".  Any audio files you dump in here will show up in your notification sounds options list.  Do the same for "ringtones" and you will have custom ringtones.  Ta-da!  (See my picture above for Astro in the apps section to see these two folders)

Settings –> About Phone –> Battery Has some great info! Want to know what your uptime to awake time stats are, or which of your activities consume the most of your battery…

 

 

Gripes:

Gmail is truncating my outbound forwarded email

Facebook for Android notifications not working. (see tips)

So far I haven’t found a way to cancel a download. More than once I have clicked a link on my Incredible (to make sure it was valid) just to end up downloading a large zip file from my own dropbox.  I can find no way to cancel the download…and I am forced to wait for it to complete..just to delete the file. 

The optical joystick is beginning to drive me nuts…It is fine until I use it…then it is like it sticks and continues to scroll when I don’t want it to.  It’s becoming really irritating.  I have cleaned it and with no benefit.

The phone washes out bad in direct sunlight. The screen may as well be blank in bright light…cuz I can’t see it anyway.

It’s a little buggy still…random app crashes here and there…some are default pre-installed apps, and others are downloaded apps.

Okay folks. Battery life is horrid.  Even when I do my best to not touch the beautiful phone for most of the day…I don’t think I could go a full day without having it see a charger. It’s beginning to influence my use of the device, because I want to try and conserve the battery.  Seems like a waste of great technology to not use it ever time I want,  right?

I can’t seem to upload pics to twitpic using the Twitter app, even though the app us trying top do that for me. It just hangs and never completes.