What's hot: Well made, fast and stable. GSM world roaming and HTC Sense.
What's not: No 4G.
Reviewed May 12, 2011 by Lisa Gade, Editor
in Chief
The HTC Droid Incredible 2 didn't receive quite the love it should have at launch. At first glance, the Incredible 2 looked like a re-warmed Incredible. It was overshadowed by the 4G LTE Droid Charge due to launch on the same day as the Incredible 2. But the Charge's launch was delayed, leaving the limelight unexpectedly to the Incredible 2 on April 28. Verizon's LTE 4G network went down on April 27 for the day, making the 3G-only Incredible 2 look pretty darned solid.
While the Incredible 2 isn't intended to make Incredible owners envious with upgrade angst (most of you won't be up for contract renewals since the original Incredible began shipping just a year ago), it is designed to tempt feature phone owners, lower end Android owners who like HTC Sense (Droid Eris folks, that's you) and platform defectors (webOS, iOS). The specs are solidly high end, though the Incredible 2 doesn't quite venture into superphone territory as did the original, and it should age well.
The HTC Droid Incredible 2 has a 1GHz second generation Snapdragon CPU, a 4" sharp Super LCD display, 3G EV-DO Rev. A and two cameras vs. the original model's single rear shooter. It runs on Android OS 2.2 Froyo with HTC Sense 2.0 software and HTC says it's upgradeable to OS 2.3 Gingerbread. The design is typical HTC: elegant, understated and pleasing to handle thanks to the soft touch finish. The last gen waterfall back is simplified with a single raised plane that looks good and provides more room for internals. Gone is the first Incredible's wild red interior, but instead we find something even better: a GSM SIM card slot for world roaming (Verizon Vodafone SIM included).
The display is bright and easy on the eye; it might not be a funhouse of color like the Droid Charge with its Super AMOLED Plus display, but it's extremely clear and text is sharp. Outdoor viewability is passable but not great, and the phone's response to multi-touch is good.
Call quality is excellent, and our call recipients couldn't tell we were on a cell phone. Noise filtering is also good, and we had no trouble conducting conversations in a big box store or in a sedan. Reception is average among Verizon phones, and 3G EV-DO Rev. A data speeds ranged from 650 to 900k down and 540 to 880k up according to the Speedtest.net app. The 3G Mobile Hotspot app allows you to use the Incredible 2 as a WiFi access point that serves a connection using 3G data to notebooks, tablets and other WiFi-enabled devices (this requires an additional monthly fee).
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The Incredible 2 is a world phone, and that means it operates on Verizon's CDMA network here in the US but can work on overseas GSM networks. There's a Vodafone SIM card under the battery, and that's used for GSM roaming on Vodaphone's network, not for LTE.
Video Review
Here's our 10 minute Droid Incredible 2 video review:
Performance comes courtesy of a second generation 1GHz Snapdragon CPU with Adreno 205 graphics. The phone feels fast and managed more demanding tasks like Flash 10.3 video playback acceptably though it can't compete with dual core Tegra 2 Android phones for smooth, higher resolution playback (stick to 480p and you'll do fine). The Incredible 2 scored 1676 on the Quadrant benchmark, which is quite good for a single core Android smartphone. Adreno 205 graphics mean this Droid can handle 3D gaming well, and Verizon bundles Need for Speed Shift and Let's Golf 2.
The Incredible 2 has 1 gig of available internal storage and Verizon includes a 16 gig microSD card. The card slot is under the rear cover, and you need not remove the battery to access the card.
Verizon also bundles a boatload of bloat: from the more useful items like VZ Navigator, Slacker, Kindle and Skype Mobile to Blockbuster, V Cast Apps, V Cast Tones, V Cast Videos and V Cast Media. The Incredible 2 comes with Adobe Reader and Quickoffice for your business needs, as well as the usual Gmail and Email with MS Exchange support. HTC's Sense 2.0 software is on board, and it remains our favorite customization of Android. It offers useful widgets and subtle software enhancements that make Android more fun, expedient and intuitive.
The 8 megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash takes good photos with pleasing color saturation and modest noise levels, even indoors. It can shoot 720p video that looks reasonably good with just a bit of blockiness during camera motion. Verizon and HTC don't include video chat software for the front 1.3MP camera, but we suggest Qik and Oovoo as starting points.
Conclusion
Buying an Android smartphone on Verizon is no easy task because the carrier has such a large and excellent selection to choose from. We'd say the HTC Thunderbolt steals the high end for HTC fans, but for those of you who couldn't care less about 4G, want a smaller phone or a less expensive but still high end phone, the Incredible 2 is a great choice. It's fast, stable, has a clear and colorful though not flashy display, has excellent voice quality and dual cameras. It's newer than the aging Motorola Droid X (one of our top picks when it came out), and it runs HTC Sense software, perhaps the most popular among manufacturer software customizations of Android. Last but not least, for those of you who travel around this mostly GSM world, the Incredible 2 will keep you talking.
Pro: Good build quality and materials, attractive and slim. Stable and fast with a sharp display. Very good call quality and GSM world roaming for world travellers.
Display: 4" Super LCD. Screen size diagonally: Resolution:
800 x 480, supports both portrait and landscape modes via acceleromater. Has ambient light sensor and proximity sensor.
Battery:Lithium
Ion rechargeable. Battery is user replaceable.
1450 mAh. Claimed talk time: up to 390 minutes.
Performance:1GHz second generation Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8655 CPU. 1 gig internal storage and 768 megs RAM.
Size:4.75 x 2.52 x 0.48 inches. Weight: 4.77 ounces.
Phone:CDMA dual band digital with 3G EV-DO Rev. A. SIM card slot with Vodafone SIM card for world GSM roaming.
Camera:1.3MP front camera and rear 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash. Can shoot 720p video.
Audio:Built
in speaker, mic and 3.5mm standard stereo headphone
jack. HAs FM radio and SRS Surround Sound.
Networking:Integrated
WiFi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR.
GPS:Has GPS with digital compass. Comes with Google Maps and Navigation and VZ Navigator.
Software:Android OS 2.2 Froyo with HTC Sense 2.0 software. Standard suite of Google apps including search, Maps and Navigation, YouTube, email and Gmail. Verizon and 3rd party software: Quickoffice, Adobe Reader, Blockbuster, Kindle, Skype, VZ Navigator, several V Cast apps, Need for Speed Shift and Let's Golf 2.
