A very worthy upgrade. May 4, 2011

Reviewer:  Michael J. Osherow  (Akron, OH USA) -

I have used the original Incredible since it came out one year ago. Loved it always, but had a few drawbacks. Those drawbacks are addressed in the Incredible 2. Screen size is now perfect at 4". I always found the 3.7" display on the original Incredible just a bit small. I find most 4.3" displays just a tad too large for my hands, so this is perfect. The sound quality in the earpiece during normal conversation is also much improved, not that it was ever bad, it's just clearer. Now, the biggest improvement-battery life. With the original Incredible during a normal day, no problem, but on days when I worked a 12 hour shift I had to carry an extra battery or charge the phone occasionally. No such issues with the Incredible 2. I used the phone as normal all day today and still had over 70% battery life remaining when I got home after 9 p.m.! I never charged it once in all that time.
Is the Incredible 2 a dual core processor, no. Is it really fast, you bet. Is it 4G, again, no, but I'll take battery longevity and a beautifully slim profile over a few minutes of super speed every time. And the clarity. What can I say-after all, it is a phone-a device built for the purpose of communication.
And you don't need to pay VZ retail price for the upgrade. It's a lot less right here on Amazon and some retail stores will even match price.
Those are my reasons for calling the Incredible 2 a "Very Worthy Upgrade".

Not bad May 19, 2011

Reviewer:  Amazon_reviews 

DESIGN
Overall it's a good sized phone. To me coming from an iPhone, the Incredible 2 has a similar look as the iPhone. The big difference is that the Incredible 2 is a bigger screen. I'm overall impressed with the design. It's sleek and fits well in the hands and pocket. It's not cumbersome like the HTC thunderbolt. I also like that that there is a notification light at the top of the phone (something that the iPhone does not have). The screen itself has good resolution, it might not be the Retina display of the iPhone or the super AMOLED of the droid charge, but to my eye it's good enough to watch movies clearly.

HTC SENSE
I really like the HTC Sense. Some people prefer the unadulterated google android system, but I think HTC sense is a very fluid system. I like the large clock in the center screen. I also love the weather clearly displayed on the home screen (often with cute animations, such as rain drops or clouds). If you pinch the home screen, you are able to zoom out and see the total of 7 screens where you are able to place shortcuts to apps or use widgets. I like that the main home screen is at the center of all the other screens (with 3 on the left and 3 on the right). The iPhone has the main home screen all the way on the left (like the first page in a book), so that if you want to go to page 5, you have to shuffle across several pages, which is annoying. Using the keyboard is fluid and I like the use of auto-correction/suggestion. On the main screen is a button to go straight to the phone. When you press it, it launches the phone and large number pad appears, on the bottom of the screen, while on the top it lists your recent calls. Accessing your contact list from the screen is a bit of pain and requires several button pushes. But then I realized there is a smart dial feature (where you use the number pad to enter a person's name, and a matched contact name appears). Makes it really easy.

SOFTWARE
Android software I think has become on par with Apple's iPhone. There are also some great apps that iPhone does not have, like free navigation from google, full integration with google voice, and plenty of other amazing google apps (like google sky). I've found all the apps I've wanted from the android market. The phone is quick and very responsive. 3G to me is good enough and internet pages launch quickly enough.

CAMERA/VIDEO
Good quality. The pictures come out well. The video camera is great but has difficulty picking out sounds so that if you are filming someone who is talking, on playback on your computer you can't really hear them. The camera as expected does poorly in low light.

CALL QUALITY
My phone has a distinct but faint echo when speaking into it. I can hear my own voice (the person on the other line does not hear an echo). It's not very obvious but somewhat annoying. I considered whether this was a deal breaker, but didn't think that it was that much of annoyance. It seems that the first droid incredible also suffered from similar issues. I haven't found that many people complaining of this in the Droid Incredible 2. Verizon was unable to help fix the problem and HTC recommended replacing the system, which I haven't decided on whether to do it, not wanting to get a badly refurbed version. The other annoyance is that the speaker phone is on the underside of the phone, so that when you put the phone with the screen face up, the speaker gets muffled (which is annoying when making calls and wanting to use the speaker phone). Obviously turning the phone face down helps solve this problem, but then I can't input anything (since the screen is now covered).

MUSIC
Overall the phone has all the features you want to listen to your music and podcasts. I have found that on HTC models there is a soft though obvious hiss when listening to music with headphones. It's more noticeable during quieted points in the music. It also is obvious between songs and will last for 2-3 seconds after you turn off the music. Apparently this has been a problem with HTC phones (just search for this on the internet). I have a high end set of skullcandy in-ear headphones, with my iPod and prior iPhone I never noticed a hiss. The hiss can be stopped by getting a high impedance (20-30 ohms) headphones or getting a headphone with inline volume control (which then then can be adjusted to get rid of the hiss). I already have a nice set of headphone, so I'm not sure what to do here (paying another $40 or just dealing with it). But this is annoying that there even is a hiss (though you can only notice it in quiet environments, while walking on the street you can't hear).

MAC
If you are a mac user, then no worries you can easily sync your droid (in fact any droid) to the Mac. Doubletwist is not recommended because often times it does not sync album art. The best is iSyncr which costs like $3 from the store and does a great job syncing photos, videos, and movies. Your contacts and calender can be synced using Google (both iCal and the Address book on your mac can be synced to google, which then is synced to your phone). As an aside, you might be used to beautiful high pixel photos on your phone, unfortunately when you sync with google your pics are downgraded so that when you get them on your phone they are heavily pixelated.

OVERALL
This phone gets 3.5 stars. The HTC sense is great and easy to use. The camera and video recorder gives good clear pictures (with nice strong flash). But the echo during calls is off putting and the hiss on music playback is extremely annoying. The dilemma I faced was whether to return it for another phone. If I had paid the retail value of $200, it would be a no brainer and this phone would be gone in a heartbeat. But since I paid $80 it's maybe worthwhile to keep around, because there are a lot of great pluses (though two major minuses). Bottom line, if you have $200 to blow, shop elsewhere. If you're budget is less than $100 then I recommend checking out this phone.

ONE MONTH UPDATE
I've been using this phone for a full month now. I decided not to return it. Overall I really like it. I originally gave it 3 stars but now I've bumped it to 4 stars. The echo on phone calls is there, but I've gotten used to it and it doesn't bother me. The soft hiss on the music is also not noticeable in most places I use the phone, traveling on the bus or car (walking down the street). I really like all the great apps I get on it (for free from Amazon) and I love Google Music (having all your music in the clouds, so I don't even have to sync my music to my phone). Also Google voice allows me to send free text messages. So overall 4/5 stars after a month of use.

FOUR MONTH UPDATE
So this is my final update. I thought I'd share my experience. The major thing I'd found annoying is battery life. I've noticed lately that battery use is somewhat sub-par. Sometimes I find that my phone has drained itself to less than 40% power. This occurs with what I consider, light use, including listening to music for my 20 minute drive, checking email maybe twice, sending a few text messages, browsing the net (one page at most) for 15 minutes at most, and one or two calls. And with this light use, I drain my battery. For example today, I'm down to 40% (it's 2 pm in the afternoon).

Here are my stats:
Display= 39%, used for ~40 minutes (set at 50% brightness)
Google Maps= 11%, used for 4 minutes, with GPS nav used for 8 minutes
Wifi= 9%, used since the AM 6 hours (though I haven't surfed the net today)
Voice calls= 7%, 3 minute conversation

Those were my top applications used, yet I'm down to 40%, which is pathetic. My only guess is that the Wifi is constantly checking for a signal and perhaps draining the battery. I've never had the phone die on me, as an aside. This battery life is as good as my 3 year old iPhone. This is problematic enough that I'm downgrading the phone to 3.5 stars (unfortunately, amazon doesn't allow this so it'll be set to 3 stars). I like to keep my phones for several years and with this one I'm foreseeing having to buy another battery for it in the future, which is annoying.

In retrospect, would I still buy the phone? I'd definitely get an android phone. I've now heavily customized it that probably any android phone would probably do. I'd likely consider looking elsewhere if the phone costs > $100.

Solid first Android phone May 24, 2011

Reviewer:  JBinDC 

I upgraded to the Incredible 2 from the LG Env Touch, so this is my first fully touch screen phone and my first Android. Overall, I'm pretty happy with it, but I docked a star as it's not the most intuitive device and the apps can be a little frustrating for beginners.

I tried several phones in the Verizon store and aside from streaming video (which I never do) I thought this phone was about as zippy as the Thunderbolt or Charge. I like the layout of this particular phone, the 4" screen is clear and bright and the size is a nice upgrade from the LG Env but not so bulky as the new 4.3" LTE phones. I like the LED notification that blinks when you have a voicemail/mail/text (and you can customize what will trigger the notification). The notification is well designed, you'll notice it but it's not so big/bright that it will be distracting to others.

Lots of good free or cheap apps which make it very useful right out of the box. On the downside (for Android in general I guess), a lot of apps do not have an exit/close option in their menu which bugs me. Some will exit automatically when you clear them from the screen but others linger in the background. I use task killer which is simple enough, but I think it's a flaw in the Android platform that such an application is necessary at all. Every Windows/Linux application has an Exit option, why not Android apps?

Battery life:

Full load= 4 hours. The day after I got the android we drove to the coast, which took about four hours, and we kept the Android humming the whole time with GPS/WiFi, etc. and had mapping/traffic/Internet programs up on the screen for most of the trip. I would consider this a pretty heavy load and it died just before we arrived. The navigation apps took a little while to figure out (again, not always intuitive) but were useful enough that a cheap car charger is worth it (there's one on Amazon for $4).

Light load= all day. Today was a typical weekday load for the phone and I did not charge it at work. GPS/Wifi/bluetooth were turned off. Between 7am and 6pm I listened to MP3s and played Angry Birds for 40 minutes on the bus to work, sent a few texts and downloaded a couple of apps while at work, played music and birds again for 30 minutes going home, talked on the phone for about a half hour, and had 60% of battery left. I thought this was pretty decent.

Lives up to its name once again! May 2, 2011

Reviewer:  Griff "Masster Genyus"  (Utah, USA) -

I love this phone to death. I constantly use it all day long and get about a day's charge out of the battery which is fine and above average for most Android phones. It's ease of use, responsive touch and input make this phone fantastic. Everything is fast and smooth, the CPU installed is a powerhouse and fast enough for most people. Don't care about the lack of 4G since my area won't have it for a year or two at least. I would recommend this phone to anyone who likes Android and HTC Sense.

It is incredible indeed May 9, 2011

Reviewer:  Viswateja Nelakuditi "nvteja"  (Chicago) -

When I first decided to buy this phone, I was worried about battery life. I am not a heavy user, but I usually check my email,Twitter and update Facebook once or twice an hour and listen to Pandora for one hour a day. With this level of usage and occasional use of camera, I actually got more than one **FULL** day of battery every single time. This weekend I was at home and I charged the phone on Friday morning and by Sunday morning it is still showing 30%!. Having said all this, the phone itself is excellent and more than enough for a light-moderate user like me. Both front and main camera are pretty good and I have yet to test the video... Call quality is good but it depends on the network availability. 3G speeds are good enough(Chicago) to browse,upload pics and listen to Pandora without interruption. Overall for $99.99(now its 79.99) on Amazon, its a steal. Dont worry about 4G yet. By the time you are done with the contract or be eligible for an upgrade(around early 2013) that technology would have matured enough for the 4G capable phones and networks to be ubiquitous. Till then, I think this phone will be more than enough for an average user like me!

An Excellent Choice June 23, 2011

Reviewer:  Dana Neal "Dana Neal"  (Los Gatos, CA) -

Full disclosure: I'm fickle and neurotic.

Unfortunately, this condition often leaves me hard to please, which is why I've had a Motorola Q for five years. It's not for lack of trying, as I've bought and returned about a half a dozen phones over the last four years including the Saga, various Blackberries, and the Motorola X2. The Incredible II is the first one I'll keep.

There are many reasons why I waited so long. First it was due to the bad experiences I've had with each one I've tried, and then it became a matter of waiting simply for a dual core, 4G phone like so many others. Let's address those.

DUAL CORE
Dual core would make the phone snappier when multitasking, but is it needed? After a while I decided this was more of a want than a need. Most people, including me, could never tell the difference.

4G
In spite of the hype, I'm also turned off by 4G but for different reasons than most users, whose chief complaint is battery life, which is dismal on 4G Droids (and will be until the new integrated GSM/CDMA/LTE chipsets to come out, around mid 2012, MDM9615). My reason has to do with reliability.

When I purchased a 4G modem in January from Verizon, the connection was intermittent. And it would be down completely while searching for backup 3G... totally unacceptable. Verizon claimed that it should be a good connection based on the geography (Bay Area). Tech support was no help.

Recently while standing in the Verizon store admiring the Samsung Charge, low and behold the phone lost connectivity... while the 3G phones right next to it just hummed right along.

This led me to do some further investigating, and others report similar experiences, such as PhoneDog, who claims he has spotty performance with 4G in Philly. He's convinced 4G isn't ready for prime, and I have to agree. While these personal experiences don't qualify as scientific, I have no faith in 4G.

THE X2
Most would-be buyers probably want to know why I returned the X2. The large 4.3 inch screen size was both a blessing and a curse: It was a great phone when I was using it, but when I wasn't it was too intrusive to carry around. I thought that after I used it a few days that I would get used to its large size, but the opposite occurred - every day it made me fussier. Many users, particularly women with their large purses, may not have this problem but it was a deal breaker for me. And besides, the X2's battery life isn't very good compared to the Incredible II.

Here are the pros and cons as I see them:

PROS
- Size. I slip it into my front pants pocket and don't even notice it.
- The casing is made of hard rubber. Awesome, why aren't all phones made this way?
- Speed. It's fast, with no noticeable delay.
- Ease of use.
- Front facing camera (matters to some, makes no difference to me).
- Battery life is excellent; two days using Battery XL app (free).
- Verizon is the best carrier at this time.
- All the apps I've tried work.
- 3G (Better than 4G IMO at this time.)
- Droid syncs flawlessly with Gmail, especially contacts. (Windows Mobile Device Sync is a disaster of epic proportions, by the way. Stay away unless you don't value your contact list.)

CONS
- Sometime the texting is buggy, yielding a white screen. But clicking home and trying again it works fine.
- The speaker phone is dismal... the audio far too low to be audible in all but the quietest of rooms.
- No HDMI output. No biggy if you don't plan on connecting it to your TV.
- The GUI is HTC Sense, which some users will love but others may not.
- Loaded with many apps that most users won't use but can't be uninstalled.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
I should also mention that some users have reported bad or tingy sound quality for both parties on a call, I haven't experienced that. Some people also complain of poor reception, and while this phone's reception is not as good as the X2 (the best reception of any phone available right now), it is as good as the Q which is plenty good enough for me.

I considered the iPhone 4 (or 5 which is due out in 2 months), but ultimately decided that the Droid is better for me. The iPhone is an excellent choice but Apple's heavy-handedness regarding their apps and Steve's Job's "you're holding it wrong" comment in response to antenna issues turned me off. Besides, the screen size is too small for me. And yet many people love the iPhone so good for them! Mostly it's all just personal preference anyway, as there seems to be many good phone choices out there right now. How cool is that if you're buying right now?

Overall, the Incredible II is an excellent phone and coming from me that's quite an endorsement.

EDIT 7/15/11
After having this phone for a month, I've discovered some unpleasant idiosyncrasies. One is the phone locking up for 30-45 seconds after a call ends, and another is that texts cannot be attached simple photos, but instead will send a single photo as a slide show with 1-9 seconds viewing times--very annoying.

Fortunately there's a fix for all of this (and the white screen texting bug), which is to root the phone (voids warranty) and install Cyanogenmod 7.1. This isn't for the faint of heart, however, but it does solve these problems and works a great deal better that the stock OS (Froyo aka Android 2.2 and HTC Sense), upgrades it to Gingerbread (Android 2.3.4). It's faster and the GUI is far superior. The only complaint I have so far is the return key is missing from the text messaging, but that is also cured with the Handcent addon, which is something every Droid user should have anyway.

The stock phone is more like 3.5 stars but still one of the best choices out there, but with Cyanogenmod it's more like 4.5 stars. A real step up. I mean this things sings!

The boxed phone as of this writing has Froyo, but Verizon now has a Gingerbread update. If you plan on using Cyanogenmod, the root tools won't work if you make the upgrade to Gingerbread. So make sure and tell Verizon not to upgrade your phone if you intend on using Cyanogenmod.

HTC Good is more like it. June 8, 2011

Reviewer:  Jacob Lambert "jlambert1982"  (Alma, AR) -

Two days ago, I dropped my original Incredible and shattered the screen. Yesterday I received an Incredible 2 from the insurance company as a replacement. Awesome turnaround and it's nice to get an upgrade without having to renew your contract. But about the phone....

The phone is very nice. It is a definite upgrade from my original Incredible. The problem is, when the original Incredible came out, it was actually incredible, while this is phone is merely good. On it's own, this phone will function just fine, but when compared to other Verizon Android devices that have come out recently and especially T-Mobile and Sprint's Android collection.

What I like:

-The size and design. The Thunderbolt, Charge, and X2 don't fit comfortably in my hand. If I'm waiting in line reading from the kindle app, this phone is still comfortable. When I helped my dad set up his Inspire 4g it wasn't comfortable holding or trying to use one handed. The design of the phone looks solid. I want my phone to look clean, and this phone certainly fits that. No ugly buttons like on the X2 or Charge.

-The screen. I live in the south and during the summer I spend a lot of time with a beer in one hand out by the pool. My original Incredible was hopeless under the sunlight. It might as well have been a black brick. Now I can actually see my dialer to call out or read my Google Voice messages without having to build a makeshift tent out of beach towels and umbrellas to block the sunlight. This is a huge HUGE plus for me.

-The battery life. I can't believe I left this out originally. I use my phone. A lot. I listen to Sirius on it on my commute. I read books on my lunch break. I constantly update Twitter and follow friends on Facebook. For the first couple of days this phone has kept up with me much better than the original Incredible and much much better than my Palm Pre plus prior to that. It seems on par with the iPhone 3G I had before I switched to Verizon. It is definitely much better than my co-workers Thunderbolt and my bosses Inspire 4G. Full disclosure, during the day I keep the brightness at it's lowest setting (still very bright on this phone), disable Bluetooth, and disable the GPS. I keep wireless on, although there isn't an open wireless signal within range of my work area.

-The camera. One day of taking pictures of my kids and uploading them to Facebook has me impressed. The original Incredible had a good camera, too, but this one seems to take sharper images.

-It doesn't have Bing. Which sadly, on Verizon, is saying something.

What I don't like:

-Future proof? This phone isn't even now proof- It has the same processor as the original Incredible? That can't be right? I mean, that is an Apple move, no? No 4G option? While not a deal breaker as 4G in Arkansas is a ways away (plenty of places still don't have high speed land lines) if you're going to release a phone in 2011 and call it incredible, it should have 4G. No dual core processors? That would have been a deal breaker for me if I were buying a new phone. The lack of the upgrades on this phone make it feel like a lazy cash in move by HTC and Verizon. I had loaded CyanagenMod on my Incredible and had 2.3 running. My NEW phone released last month ships with 2.2? Come on. I could go on.

-Verizon bloatware. Why on earth would anyone pay the VZW navigation when you can get it for free on the phone? With Amazon mp3, why do we need VZW's music options? My daughter loves the Talking Tom app, so I purchased it. VZW installed the free version. I can't effing uninstall the free one? What the hell, V?

-HTC Sense UI. Nothing is wrong with Sense UI other than this version is already outdated, but if I don't want it, I shouldn't be stuck with it. Let it be an app available for purchse, or even better, for free. As soon as developers get a stable mod for this phone, I will load it and run as close to stock Android as I can. I don't understand the need for a giant clock located under the clock on the info bar. I don't understand the need for a slide to unlock prompt after you slide to unlock. If Twitter has an app, why have a built in app for Twitter that I can't uninstall. Same for Facebook. Android should be free and open to the users, but VZW and HTC (and other) do a good job locking the stuff down.

Final thoughts. This is a fine phone. I guess I'm just disappointed that instead of being the flagship model that the original Incredible was, the Incredible 2 seems more like a Droid starter phone. That being said, the screen really is the best I've seen from a non RIM smartphone in the sunlight. If you spend a lot of time outdoors and are on VZW, this may be the selling point for you. If not, VZW has better phones, and if you are in an area with other options, the Android grass is much greener on the T-Mobile and Sprint side.

The best I could get for my budget May 6, 2011

Reviewer:  stazera 

Pros:
simple and classic look and feel.
new model(not like iPhone where you find everywhere)
bottom home keys rotate on fly when switched to landscape view
smooth UI(during selection and sliding the options)
comes with verizon(no more reception issues like a**)
sync with gmail is very helpful(for gmail users)
8MP cam(w/1.3mp ff cam),16GB,International roaming,Flash Player,blah blah...
$$ price $$ - compared to iphone or atrix..no more spending hundreds on phones

Cons:
* to unlock the screenlock you need to press the power button every time (which is not handy)
skype/gtalk video calls not available yet.(should expect with 2.3 OS version)

awesome phone May 14, 2011

Reviewer:  bookaholic  (Washington Court House, Ohio) -

I just got this phone on Thursday 5/12 and have had a couple days to tinker with it and see what it's capable of.

Pros: Sound quality is great. I can listen to my favorite internet radio stations, podcasts, videos, audiobooks, or personal music and the speakers are amazing! Camera is a whopping (to me, at least) 8MP and takes stunning pictures. I mean my standalone digital camera is only a 6MP so guess what is going to get used more lol? Weight is good. Feels good in the hand, maybe a little lighter than I'm used to but I was using the Tmobile G2 which is a hefty phone anyway. No physical keyboard on this phone which to me is a bonus because now I don't have to worry about the keyboard sliding open in my pocket all the time or a random hinge breaking off and making the keyboard useless. I use the virtual keyboard more anyway. It's very responsive but I'm not wild about the way it predicts words. You can select the word it thinks you want but then it doesn't automatically add a space. Maybe it's a setting I haven't discovered yet:/ Not a deal breaker though because the keyboard is great and I really enjoy just unlocking the screen and tapping away. It has this setting called Scenes which I think is pretty cool. There are individually preselected collections of app arrangements based on what HTC thinks you will be using the phone for. There are Social, Travel, Work, Verizon (or whatever carrier you use), HTC, and Play. I really like the Social because it has all the social elements on it like Friend Feed (FB, Twitter, etc.) plus your IM and SMS widgets. It will also place your mail apps and a couple other ones there too. All are customizable and the phone will save the screens you've made! THAT is a bonus to me. Processor is lightning quick and you can multitask. If you're like me, you're on the phone with someone and trying to look up something on the net at the same time. This phone will handle it. Battery life is decent considering the phone has background apps running and regular updating of same. I usually get a full day out of the battery (about 12 hours) and it will be down to 40%

Now for the cons: the phone case. Feels a little cheap and plasticky. I didn't even own the phone 12 hours and the case got a scratch on it just from me taking the back off to insert the battery. I didn't think I was that rough with it; I take care of my gadgets given all they do for me. So, if you get this phone go right ahead and get a case for it at the same time. A case will add some heft to this light phone and will give it some protection as well. This phone is not a 4G phone which might be an issue for some people but I don't want a 4G phone because it will just hog my battery life. 3G is plenty for me and what I do with my phone. That being said, I wish this phone had a way to turn off the 3G when you want to conserve battery but still get your mail, texts, and phone calls. Unfortunately there is only Airplane Mode which forces you to shut down all connections. Needs a happy medium.

Overall? I love the phone. It does what I want it to do, when I want it to. It's quick and looks great, it's easy to use, and fits in my pocket. I would recommend this phone to anyone who was looking for a new device.

Best Phone for the Price June 14, 2011

Reviewer:  Ed the C "Ed the C"  (Ca) -

As others have said, if you value just the right size, longer battery life, then a 4" 3G is for you. I had this and the Thunderbolt in my hands and while there was some speed difference, it was not enough to worry about. Also I think the Thunderbolt is just "too big". I also notice that the screen is not as bright.

The main reason I went with HTC was because of HTC Sync. It does as advertised - which is syncing to a PC and Outlook. It syncs to my Outlook 2007. There were a couple of initial little glitches, but once corrected, it now works perfectly and my wife and I share calendars and contacts across Outlook, HTC and a Blackberry.

Love HTC Sense as well. Played side by side with my buddy's Motorola and he was wanting the HTC instead. Its just plain smoother and easier to operate.

Any cons? About the only one I have is that I wish the screen could be brighter. I use the Kindle app, and in bright sunlight it can be difficult to read, but not impossible. An itsy bit more bright would be good, but I understand that it would suck battery.

Other cons are about Android itself - I think it should be a requirement that app writers have an Exit function for every app. They get cluttered in memory and you can't rid them without "killing" them, which might render the phone unstable. So I reboot a few times a day. (Reminds me of Windows 3.1!). Thankfully that does not take long.

Overall excellent sound quality, phone quality, and feature packed. I recommend this phone highly.

July 11, 2011 - Update: i stand by the original review. Photos and videos are much better than I expected. I have found a couple of other "cons". I sometimes get a random reboot. It's not often enough to get concerned over *yet*. Hope that does not continue.

The other con was when we were far out on our camping trip, my wife's Blackberry clearly outperformed the I2 on signal strength. She would get a signal and I wouldn't, plain and simple as that. So if you live away from a cel tower, be sure you check out your phone to see if it gets reception. For me, its a minor flaw that the advantages of the phone far outweigh since it's only a few days a year this happens for me. (Jeez, what's the matter - can't stand to be disconnected? Talk about cel phone dependent, uh? LOL).

Phone of the Year December 23, 2011

Reviewer:  James Rudning 

I have had my Incredible 2 now for two and a half weeks, and if it can be a help to others, I'll share my experience here.

For those of you in the market for a new smartphone and are unsure of where to go amid the multitude of available options, I recommend you seriously consider the HTC Droid Incredible 2. As others have said before, it really is 'the phone for the masses'. The user experience is wonderful for both the novice and the expert, and you will find it can do something that so many phones out there cannot: it 'just works'.

And don't let the propaganda fool you, at this phase in the technology, 4G is not for everyone. When phones cannot keep up with the battery consumption required, and data outages on Verizon's network abound, it is obvious that the 4G technology is not yet ready for prime time. Unless you demand on-the-go video-streaming or frequent large-file transfers, 3G and local WiFi are more than sufficient. Why do you think Apple is waiting another year before it gives 4G to its trendsetting iPhone? From my own experience, the average user's web-browsing and overall phone experience whether on a 3G or a 4G phone is nearly indistinguishable.

Following is my review comparing the Samsung Droid Charge (a 4G phone) to the Incredible 2:

INTRODUCTION

My first three smart phones were made by Samsung. I had the Omnia for 2 years, the Fascinate for 2 months, and the Charge for 4 months. The Omnia was a decent phone for its day, and it pretty well did everything I asked it to. When it came time to upgrade this last May, I read all of the reviews and decided on the HTC Droid Incredible 2. "But wait, you didn't say anything but non-Samsung phones." That's right, I bought the Incredible 2 for $$$ on contract, and returned it the next day, paid the restocking fee, and got a Fascinate from Best Buy, because it was FREE. On paper it was basically the same phone, so that's a big savings, right? I still remember returning the Incredible 2 to the Verizon tech. "Anything wrong with the phone?" he asked. "Actually, there is nothing wrong with the phone, it works great," I replied. Famous last words; I just wanted to save a little green paper.

As many "Fascinate Refugees" here can attest to, the Samsung Fascinate was a nice-looking phone with one-too-many flaws. Just when you thought you had a work-around to make the phone livable, something else quit working. The issues were so rampant that Verizon and Samsung finally abandoned solving the problems and outright offered 3 different phone models to Fascinate owners: a Motorola Droid X2, an HTC Droid Incredible 2, or a Samsung Droid Charge.

I, among many, was intrigued by the prospect of receiving new, illustrious 4G phone capabilities as a free replacement for my lemon Fascinate. The Droid Charge was Verizon's flagship phone at the time, on sale for $$$ with contract, and besides this, it was branded with the Droid name. "Fascinate 1.5??" everyone asked. "No! Not with the Droid name on this one," they all said. "Samsung and Verizon will be sure have the bugs worked out of this phone, and release updates in a timely manner."

I am not writing this review to bash on the Droid Charge. In all fairness, it has been a decent phone. It makes phone calls and receives text messages, which the Fascinate had trouble with, so for that I was happy. But as much as I tried to love the phone, I could not. The feel, the functionality, the reliability... there was always something lacking. "But it's a 4G phone, isn't that great!" I would encourage myself. But I ended up always leaving 4G off so that my battery would last through the day. For me, the Droid Charge was a 3G phone.

After spending considerable time with an HTC Droid Incredible 2, I decided I wanted to try it for myself. I tried to get Verizon to replace my Charge with an Incredible 2, but after much effort the Verizon tech finally concluded that the system would not allow him to send me a 3G phone CLNR replacement phone for my 4G phone. I acquiesced and went on my own to find a barely-used Incredible 2 for which I paid cash.

I waited to post this review so that some of the honeymoon-time would wear off and I could be a little more objective. I have had the Incredible 2 for over 2 weeks now, so here are my thoughts:

FORM AND FEEL

The Inc 2 feels great in the hand. I have large hands (I can span 10 keys on the piano), and I feel that the size of the Inc 2 is excellent - a little larger than the iPhone, a little smaller than the Charge. It also has a nice rubberized coating that gives it a good tactile feel without a case, and the contoured battery door really makes it feel thinner in hand than it actually is.

SCREEN

I thought the SAMOLED+ screen was a must-have. I had read about the great color contrast, the dark, inky blacks they produce, and, after owning two phones with such a screen, I can say that those things are true. However, I will tell you what my experience has been with the Inc 2. I have [I]never[/I]--no, not once--missed the SAMOLED+ screen. The Inc 2 S-LCD screen at a 4.0"-size (as compared to 4.3" on the Charge) has the exact same resolution of 480x800, text is more crisp and readable, and colors are actually rendered correctly!

I like to show photos of my family to friends on my phone, and the over-saturated colors of the Charge always rendered pinkness on people's faces as red blotches. In a recent experiment with the Inc 2, Charge, Motorola Bionic, and Motorola X2, the Inc 2 consistently reproduced photo colors most accurately, followed by the other phones in that order.

As an added benefit, the LCD screen on the Inc 2 uses the same amount of battery whether you are looking at a screen with a dark background or a light background, as opposed to the OLED screens which require more battery to display lighter colors.

SPEED

One of the first things I noticed when I began using the Inc 2 is how [I]fast[/I] it is! Okay, you Charge owners will appreciate this: When you press that power button to turn on the screen, it is ON instantly. And it doesn't flash you with what's behind the lockscreen for a half-second like the Charge does at times, like, "Oh, don't look, I haven't put my lockscreen on yet!" And when you hit the power button to turn off the screen, there is no lag, it is instantly OFF.

The hardware of the Inc 2 and the Charge are very comparable, and both have a 1 GHz processor, although the Inc 2 does have 768 MB of RAM as compared to 512 in the Charge. I have a feeling there is more to it than just RAM, but the stock HTC Sense user interface of the Inc 2 just flies. There is no hesitation opening and closing apps and going from screen to screen, and only after I began downloading four or five apps from the Market at once did it begin slow a bit. In contrast, the Charge exhibits lag around every corner, and even the homescreens cannot operate smoothly without installing a custom launcher or ROM.

GPS

For me, a frequent traveler, Google Maps is one of my most-used apps that I refer to multiple times a day. Consequently, GPS performance is very important. Out of the 3 Samsung phones I have owned, not one has ever done GPS well. The Omnia would almost never get a lock, the Fascinate would rarely get a lock, and the Charge would get a lock from time to time.

Now some of you will say, "My Charge always gets a lock," and others will say, "My Charge's GPS is broken". My Charge was somewhere in between, but let me tell you folks... on the Inc2, the GPS [I]just works[/I]. Whether it is sunny or cloudy, you are standing still or moving in a car, the GPS gets a lock in 5 to 20 seconds. And, depending on the building, this oftentimes is the case indoors as well. I have tested the GPS on 4 other Inc 2 phones and the results have been the same, this is not just a matter of one good unit and one bad unit. So for those of you who are putting up with a mediocre GPS, waiting minutes on end for a lock, installing special GPS apps and workarounds, or--only forbid--you must use VZ Navigator to use your GPS, let me tell you, there are phone manufacturers out there that do it better than Samsung.

CAMERA

The camera on the Inc 2 packs 8 megapixels just like the Charge. The [I]speed [/I]of the camera on the Inc 2, however, is significantly faster than the Charge. There is virtually no lag when taking photos (think iPhone), and after a 2-second preview of the photo you just took (why did they get rid of this option on the Charge?), it's ready to snap another shot. In addition, pressing the power button while in camera mode turns off the screen (as you would expect), instead of locking the screen into camera mode like Samsung does. When my goal is to save battery life by turning off the screen, I don't want to lock the screen on. I could never figure out their logic on that one...

The front-facing camera on the Inc 2 is only 640x480 as compared to 1280x1024 on the Charge. So the video of you will look a little more grainy on a Skype call with the Inc 2 than it would on the Charge.

UPDATES

As we all know, Samsung and Verizon--whoever's fault it is--are infamously slow at releasing updates for their phones. One might hope that this would be because their official software releases are so flawless that frequent updates are not necessary, but it is certain that this is not the case.

The Inc 2 was released in April and it received an update to Android 2.3 Gingerbread in July. The Charge was released in May and it received an update to Android 2.3 Gingerbread in November. Yes, even though the Samsung Droid Charge was labeled a 'Droid' phone, it still took them twice as long as HTC to come out with an update. Did I mention, HTC just released another update for the Incredible 2? It tweaked the signal bars and made some security enhancements to the phone. Apparently HTC actually cares about the consumer's experience.

USER INTERFACE

Some people will say Samsung TouchWiz is wonderful, some will say TouchWiz is terrible. Some will say HTC Sense is wonderful, some will say Sense is terrible. Personally, I don't really find one much more compelling than the other. Both can mostly be covered up with a custom launcher if the user so desires.

What I do like about Sense on the Inc 2 is that it is smooth, and it is pretty. The phone comes with several built-in skins to choose from, and, the color schemes actually seem to make sense. If the somewhat peculiar orange-and-brown color theme of the Charge wasn't odd enough, they decided to add in a splash of aqua-green on the notification menu in the Gingerbread update so-called 'color-enhancements.' In contrast, there is nothing revolting about the color scheme of the Inc 2, it is simple and not attracting unnecessary attention, like it should be.

When it comes to scrolling, the Inc 2 is very smooth. There is very little stuttering and jumpyness that was ever-present on the Fascinate and Charge.

Sense also has a lot of great built-in widgets to choose from, and again, they actually look good, compared to Samsung's cheesy-looking widgets that nobody would ever want to use. And--imagine this!--you can even use the volume rocker on your phone to put the phone in vibrate only OR silent mode... just like in the good old days.

Two things Sense does not have which TouchWiz does are:

1) Button in the drop-down notification to toggle screen Auto-Rotate on/off. This was easily remedied by downloading an app called Auto-Rotate Switch, which sits in the notification are and performs the same function.

2) Screen Capture capability. As I understand, the Inc 2 has to either be rooted or connected to a computer to take a screen capture.

BATTERY

The Inc 2 has a slightly smaller battery than the Charge (1450 mAh vs. 1600 mAh), but it is one of the best performers in smartphone battery life. Battery life is more or less comparable to the now-updated Charge running Gingerbread in CDMA-mode only (3G). On a recent day of very light phone use, I still had 70% battery remaining after 15 hours! But it is not uncommon for me to have half-a-battery remaining after a full day of moderate use.

CONS

From my own and others' experience, the Incredible 2 is a good phone with just two notable drawbacks:

1) Reception. Side-by-side with the Charge, the Inc 2 consistently has about 5-10 dB lower signal strength--about on par with the Samsung Fascinate. Now that may sound like a big difference, but in the real world results are not as distinguishable. I have not encountered any complaints of dropped calls, missed calls or missed text messages. Those who should take the reception issue into account are people who live in a fringe-coverage area or work deep inside an office building. For my practical use I have not had any problems with the reception on the Inc 2.

2) Speakerphone. The speakerphone on the Inc 2 is tinny-sounding and not very loud. If the speakerphone feature of your phone is important to you you may consider looking elsewhere. I use the speakerphone very infrequently, so this issue is not important to me.

CONCLUSION

You are entitled to like whatever phone you are currently holding, be it a Charge, a Nexus, or the next great invention. After putting up with two phones this year that gave me headaches in one way or another, I finally have a phone with which I can say, "I like this phone". My phone is not my life, and I have more to do than sit on my phone reading forum posts about problems with my phone. I needed a phone that 'just works', and for me, the Incredible 2 is the one. It doesn't require rooting or ROMing to do what I need it to do, it doesn't drop data connections, it makes and receives phone calls, and the GPS works every time. And it connects to WiFi everywhere I go, with blazing-fast speeds that never make me wish I had 4G. If you are like me and want a phone that 'just works', I highly recommend the HTC Droid Incredible 2, you will not be disappointed.

Great phone, except Verizon Bloatware and Battery Life July 1, 2011

Reviewer:  Jason G Louie  (CHANTILLY, VA, US) -

This is a very snappy and aesthetically pleasing phone. It's a great alternative to those larger form factor phones (such as the Thunderbolt, Charge, Droid X, X2). It doesn't support 4G but that's not a big deal to me. The faster download/upload will just kill the battery faster.

I don't want to deter people from considering this phone but I took a star away for the unremovable Verizon bloatware and another star for the battery life.

For those who don't know, Verizon packages the phone up with many unremovable applications and services. This is called "bloatware." They not only cause clutter, but they have an impact on battery life. The HTC hardware is fine, but the software Verizon chose to bundle is undesirable and repulsive.

Currently, it's whining about having only 15% battery left. I fully charged it less than 24 hours ago. The phone was turned completely off all night. Bluetooth was off. Wifi was on for a couple of hours. Other than that, I imagine some apps and/or services were passively using the data connection. This does not meet my expectation for a phone's battery life.

Great phone! November 16, 2011

Reviewer:  Lisa Kirkley  (Olive Branch, MS) -

I have had my HTC Droid Incredible 2 for almost 4 months now and I really love it! This is my first experience with an HTC phone. I had always used Motorola (nonsmartphones), Nokia (smartphone and non), and Samsung (smartphone) before this. After my last phone, a Samsung, I thought I would always stick with Samsung because I liked it so much. However, I moved to a small town and to go with Verizon I had to buy my phone at Walmart and there just weren't many smartphones available to choose from. If I hadn't needed a phone right away I would have bought from Amazon or Wirefly instead. I was debating between this HTC or a Motorola. I wanted the iPhone but it wasn't available at the time. It finally came down to this HTC or another HTC and the Incredible 2 was a bit cheaper. Overall I have been pretty happy with it. It was easy to figure out how to use and it is pretty fast!

I use my phone mostly for texting, calls, internet, calendar, and a few apps such as Gmail, Kindle if I don't have my Tab with me, Paypal, Facebook, TweetDeck, Xtreme Alarm Clock, and a French-English dictionary. I play games on rare occasions and I let my son play Toddler Lock on it. My son has also thrown the phone several times and I've dropped it on concrete a couple of times and it has held up well. I'm able to find all the apps I want on the Android market and Amazon Appstore. There are a couple of apps I'd love to have that are only available for iPhone but not very many. One thing I love is the calendar that comes on the phone can be linked to your Google calendar. Anything I add to my calendar on the computer is synced with the calendar on my phone. It is also easy to add things to different Google calendars from your phone. For instance, I have a personal Google account and my blog Google account. I can add things to either calendar easily and get reminders for both!

I also like the Google Voice feature where you can speak into your phone to do a Google search. This comes in handy when your hands are tied up with something or if you don't want to type in your search query. That is another thing - this phone only has an onscreen keyboard. I was spoiled with my Samsung phone I had which had a slide out keyboard. I really don't like onscreen keyboards but I have gotten used to it. The buttons are big enough if you turn your phone horizontally, and I've gotten to where I can type in it pretty easily even without turning my phone if I want to see more of the rest of the screen while typing. It also has autocorrect which can be a good thing and a bad thing. Many times it tries to autocorrect things when it doesn't recognize the word and my texts wind up being nonsense. I'm learning to pay more attention to what it pops up while I am typing though so I can save words it doesn't recognize. I wish it would let me save contractions as a word such as "y'all" so when I type "yall" or when I put my son's name with an "'s" - "Davey's" - it would automatically put the apostrophe in. It is annoying to have to switch to the numbers page to put in the apostrophe when it seems to me it should be able to save those words.

As for the battery life, overall I am pretty happy with it. As I said I rarely play games and do things that would suck up the battery. I charge it every night when I go to bed and it lasts all day. I even leave it on WiFi most the time and it still lasts all day. Occasionally it will be down to the yellow color on the battery bar saying it is nearly dead but I rarely have it run down so much that it beeps at me.

Also WiFi is a cinch to use. It is easy to find and connect to networks. I live in an apartment on campus so I have it almost always connected to either my home network in my apartment or the campus network. It switches automatically to the campus network when I leave my apartment and switches back when I get home. If I go elsewhere it switches to 3G and then automatically switches back to WiFi when I get home or back on campus. Also the fact that it doesn't have 4G is not a problem for me because we don't even have 4G available here yet. My last phone was a 4G phone and when I got it and went home I quickly found out 4G wasn't available where I lived and that was even right outside of Memphis, TN, a big city! I live in a small town now with no big cities nearby so I am sure it is not available here!

If you're looking for a good smartphone I highly recommend the HTC Droid Incredible 2!

Five start phone, not so great provider September 27, 2011

Reviewer:  nsg 

Five stars to the phone, one star to VZW, three stars overall. Get the phone, but look for a less intrusive provider if you want to enjoy it fully.

This was an upgrade from my previous phone, a fairly basic HTC Eris. The phone is everything a smartphone should be. Large screen, an excellent camera, a pretty powerful processor. I was worried about the size, but it does fit into most of my pockets. The highlight to me is the screen - not only the size and clarity, but the precision of the touch sensor. I find typing, etc. much easier. My daughter and I compared my phone against her latest iPhone and found the Incredible to be much better overall. The battery life is pretty decent for a large screen smartphone.

The provider experience, however, was disappointing - maddening, in fact. I'm an old Verizon customer, since the times they were called Bell Atlantic. I was one of the early FIOS adopters. The area I live in is pretty much the Verizon country. Yet at this point I'm pretty sure Verizon will be the dead last option when my current cell phone contract expires.

The first disappointment was the boatload of crapware the phone came with. The maddening part was that Verizon made it impossible to uninstall these.
The second disappointment was when I tried to use Skype off my home network. Verizon installs Skype AND THEN LOCKS IT OUT for domestic calls. Thank you very much indeed.
The third one was a recent software update VZW pushed onto my phone. Some marketing genius <redacted> decided it is okay to defecate into my bookmarks. Ten or so bookmarks (ESPN Sports, MS Bing, CNN, what have you) were added to my personal bookmarks. I spent an hour cleaning them up.

I'm sorry, but this is MY phone, I paid for it and I would like to configure it to MY needs. VZW is a service provider, and they should pay attention to reception quality, not to pushing substandard garbage into my personal space.

This is easily fixed once the phone is out of warranty, of course. But VZW has definitely made owning this excellent phone a lot less enjoyable than it should have been. Get the phone, but look for a less obnoxious provider.

Happy with Purchase May 26, 2011

Reviewer:  Robert P. Seaton  (Elmhurst, IL) -

_SPECS_
* 1GHz Snapdragon CPU
* 4" Super LCD Display (480x800)
* 768 MB of RAM
* Global CDMA/GSM Radio (3G)
* 16GB microSD
* 8 Megapixel Camera
* 1.3 Megapixel Front-facing Camera
* 720p Video Capture

As far as looks, the Droid Incredible 2 is all business and definitely believes that black is still the new black. While the original Incredible had some touches of red, this phone is *all* black. Engadget's own review calls this "Darth Vader's phone." Compared to the original Incredible, it has more rounded edges and the build feels higher quality. The back includes charging contacts so that you can equip another battery to the back of the device to extend the device's 1450mAh battery life, although my device easily manages to last a full day of fairly heavy use with some battery to spare. I wouldn't recommend trying to go more than two days between charges, however. It doesn't have a hardware keyboard, but Swype pretty much makes up for that.

Although the screen is larger, the device is only slightly larger than my original Droid. They seem to weigh about the same (can't tell a difference holding both) and, according to the official specs, the Incredible 2 is slightly thinner than the Incredible but, again, I can't tell the difference. The front is supposedly protected by Gorilla Glass, but I'm not going to drop mine to find out!

I haven't taken that many pictures with the device, but the quality of the ones that I have taken is quite good as long as you have decent lighting, otherwise quality seems to noticeably decrease. Compared to how badly other phones do at low light, it's still pretty impressive, but it still doesn't compare to a dedicated camera. There is a 1.3 megapixel camera on the front of the device, which is really low quality, but I don't know anyone to video chat with anyways, so who cares? One cool thing is that the phone comes with an FM radio so you can tune in and listen to radio stations. Quality seems pretty good from fiddling with it while on the metra.

Altogether, I'm very happy with my second Droid purchase. It's definitely better than the original Droid and, from the other phones I looked at in Verizon's store, probably the best Verizon phone you can get at the moment. Really, the only complaint I can make about the phone is that it comes bundled with some software that most people probably won't use.

Great Hardware/Software Integration November 21, 2011

Reviewer:  recar26 

This phone gets a 4.5 rating!

As a little background, you should know that I've used the Droid OG, X, Bionic, and Charge prior to picking up the Incredible 2 and I'm very pleasantly surprised by the phone. I've been using the Dinc2 for only 1 week, but it's been a great phone so far. I'll start with the minor reasons why I couldn't give it a 5-star rating then talk about the positives.

Weakness:

1) Small size: in today's age of BIG phones, the Incredible 2 at around 4 inches feels small.

2) Keyboard: I'm probably too accustomed to Motorola's keyboard, so I'm knocking HTC for theirs. I don't like the suggestions/corrections and the highlighting is annoying. And the fact that Swype isn't pre-loaded is another knock against the phone. I'll let you know how I feel in a month, but initial use is not as smooth as the other phones I've used.

3) Verizon bloatware: More of a nuisance than anything else, but nobody likes being pre-loaded with a bunch of apps that you will never use.

Strength:

1) Hardware/Software integration: This is the best phone that I've used that really integrates the software into the hardware. This phone runs really fast, switches seamlessly between apps, and everything just works.

2) Camera: By far, this is the best camera that I've ever used on a cell phone. Quick and responsive, this phone produces amazing shots. While not "zero-lag", this camera is great for a good quality, point and shoot picture taker.

3) Extremely strong build quality: I was expecting this phone to be cheaply made, but everything feels really tight and really solid. Gorilla Glass and the textured back make the phone feel very secure. I see no need to put a case around this phone.

Overall:

I think HTC took a page out of the I-phone book and made a device that just works really well together. It doesn't have the fastest processor, highest RAM, nor most megapixels, but everything works much better than those other, high-powered phones. I would highly recommend this phone. And I have to give a shout-out to Amazon for their great pricing.

Absolute top-of-the-heap Android handset, with very few compromises August 31, 2011

Reviewer:  Jared  (Poughkeepsie, NY United States) -

I got an Incredible 2 to replace a faulty Droid 2 Global in August 2011. It's been an upgrade in almost all ways, and it also keeps global roaming capability available to me.

Better on the Incredible 2:

Display--Games that didn't look all that great on the Droid 2 jump off the screen, and I never have to worry about it being bright enough in direct sunlight.

Feel--I actually liked the Droid 2's design, but the Incredible 2 feels melded to my hand. Caveats: I have fairly large hands (can just palm a regulation basketball), and if I wanted to put a case on the Incredible 2, it would probably start to get too big for a standard pants pocket. I've opted to go without a case this time (I do have handset insurance), primarily because the phone feels so natural in my hand that I can't imagine dropping it.

Battery life--Before opting for the Incredible 2, I checked out a number of gadget blogs, most of which found its battery life to be exceptional compared to other top-of-the-line Android phones. As part of my replacement package, I got an extended battery, so I cannot speak to the standard battery. I can say, though, that the extended battery is phenomenal. I routinely get two days of heavy use out of one charge, and could easily stretch it to three days of light use. With the Droid 2, heavy use would drain the standard battery completely in 4-6 hours.

Speed--I like to get a lot out of my phone. I use a customized application launcher, more than a few widgets, and a number of applications beyond the standard Twitter/Facebook/Email/SMS that require always-on push notifications (I average at least 5GB per month of data usage, plus another 10GB of wifi data). With the Droid 2, I began to pay attention to how I could trim my use so as not to slow the phone down to wow-is-this-aggravating-I'll-go-make-a-sandwich-while-I'm-waiting levels. While the Incredible 2 has slowed down just a smidge as I've tricked everything out, it's gone from impossibly fast to eye-blink fast. Perfectly acceptable and far better than I'd anticipated.

HTC "Sense" "improvements"--Believe it or not, many of the changes HTC made to the stock Android experience make a lot of sense (no pun intended). In particular, I like the swipe-down to unlock, the Quick Settings panel built into the notifications pull-down, the more intuitive stock calendar tweaks, the snazzy changes to the standard Clock app, and the excellent built-in Voice Recorder interface. (Some of these may just be changes from Android 2.2 on the Droid 2 to 2.3 on the Incredible 2, I'm not sure.)

Better physical buttons--The Incredible 2 features only a power button, which is nicely recessed, and volume rocker, which is super slim and has a very satisfying throw and feel. Bonus for well-designed hardware: I haven't once had the Incredible 2 turn on in my pocket, a huge improvement over the Droid 2.
An even better camera--The Droid 2 has an excellent camera; believe it or not, the Incredible 2 has an even better one.

Front-facing camera--Incredible 2 has it; Droid 2 doesn't.

---

Worse on the Incredible 2:

Call quality--I'm basing this on a small sample size, but call quality on my end of conversations has seemed to take a step down. People on the other end haven't noticed anything, however.

Bluetooth range--My multi-purpose Motorola bluetooth stereo headset had a pretty consistent 20-foot range with the Droid 2. With the Incredible 2, it's more like eight feet, and walls usually mean a complete break in connectivity.

Less on-board disk space--The Droid 2 comes with 8GB on-board and an 8GB micro-SD card. As far as I can tell, the Incredible 2 comes with only 2GB on-board. Not sure what SD card it ships with--mine didn't have one because I got it through Verizon's replacement program. A good App2SD application has made this pretty much a non-issue; I still have 1GB free on the phone itself.

No physical keyboard--This one is user-dependent. I actually don't miss the physical keyboard. Lacking it, the Incredible 2 is much slimmer and fits more nicely in my hand. Also, a bigger screen means bigger buttons and a much nicer landscape-mode soft keyboard experience, which I'd never bothered to learn or even activate on the Droid 2. Turns out it's just as fast and nearly as accurate for me. (I don't like Swype, for what it's worth, and I use SwiftkeyX.)

No physical shutter button--Again, user-dependent. I never used mine on the Droid 2, and it often got bumped and turned on the phone's display in my pocket, so I don't miss it.

---

Annoyances on both devices:

Your standard "on top of stock Android" apps and tweaks--Both phones came with a bunch of garbage apps, games, and widgets that I couldn't uninstall (would require root access to get rid of them). Once I deleted all the shortcuts and widgets that came pre-installed on the homescreens, however, I was able to pretty much ignore them. I'd recommend an alternative launcher like LauncherPro that allows the user to hide unwanted apps from the app drawer.

---

Summary:

The Droid Incredible 2 is by far the best Android handset I have set eyes or hands on. None of my friends with Android phones (or even iPhones) like theirs as much as I like this one. If not having 4G is not a deal breaker for you, I highly recommend picking this one up. It's as fast, good-looking, and future-proof as you're likely to find among phones this year.

Great phone May 15, 2011

Reviewer:  TF 

This is a great phone! I went to Verizon wireless store to purchase a Thunderbolt, the first thing that struck me was that the thunderbolt was huge. The first thing the salesman told me was to carry a charger with you because of the battery life. I asked about the incredible 2 and was told except for some minor details and the size its basically the same phone as the thunderbolt. I wasn't interested in 4g since it wont be in my area for a yr.

I purchased the incredible 2 and I don't regret it. Its super fast on 3g. I don't download movies but if i did i could do it on wifi but this phone is plenty fast. They battery life is good. Using normally, texting, email some web browsing the battery lasted 14hrs plus. If you don't have a life and you are on your phone all day long ( as was I the first day i got it ) the battery will last around 6 hrs.

If 4G isn't important to you this is a fantastic phone.

Phone Doesn't Deserve One Star April 3, 2012

Reviewer:  M42 "Section 2: Operations And Intelligence"  (Area 51) -

First the good. The phone is a good size, just a little larger than the iPhone, but still not too large as to make holding it in your hand uncomfortable as are the huge 4G phones. The four inch screen is plenty big enough (I came from an iPhone and the extra territory is noticeable) and the Sense overlay really makes navigating around the Android OS a much better experience.

Now the bad. The hardware is not well made. Battery life is mediocre, better than the 4G phones, but much worse than the iPhones. I can get through one day of medium use, but on my previous iPhone I didn't have to charge it for two or three days with medium use. Because the back comes off the phone doesn't have a solid feel to it. There is some give with the back casing and it makes the phone feel less substantial. For some reason this phone has a tendency to kill sd cards, so you need to keep every thing backed up.

Another hardware problem widely reported on the forums and one I have experienced with my phone is the disappearing power button. Over time it slowly sinks down into the case so that it's no longer useable. Mine is almost level now with the top of the case. I called Verizon customer service about it and they told me it wasn't a problem, but a design feature of the phone. Huh?

The screen also tends to trap dust beneath it. Again, this is a problem widely reported on the boards and one which Verizon won't do anything about. I've noticed dust in the bottom left corner of my screen, but so far it hasn't affected my being able to view anything.

The biggest problem this phone has and most other HTC phones is the poor antenna placement. HTC tends to put the antenna in the back cover of the phone where it's prone to the death grip made famous by the iPhone 4. Reception is horrible with this phone. You can lay it down and watch the bars fluctuate from full to none. It seems whenever you answer a call the bars drop from 4 or 5 to one or 1x and the result is a garbled voice on the other end. There is a frequent echo too. I have had more dropped calls with this phone in my house, where I receive a full signal, than with any phone I have ever owned. If you get in a weak or fringe area then forget it, you won't have a signal at all. When I'm in weak areas on business trips my colleagues will show two to three bars on their phones and I will either have none or else it will vacillate between none and 1 bar and run the battery down. I called Verizon customer service and they acted like they had never had anybody complain about reception. All they need to do is a search on the internet and they will find plenty of complaints about reception with this phone, including on their own support boards. HTC at least acknowledges the problem and says they are working on it, but they have been saying this going back to the original Incredible two years ago.

In summary, this phone has a lot of promise, but falls way short on delivering. It is plagued with problems and with Verizon's poor customer support if you buy this phone you are assured of an aggravating experience.

Awesome phone in almost every way! October 15, 2011

Reviewer:  Michael Keen 

I previously owned a Samsung Propel on AT&T, so this is my first smartphone. When my contract ended two months ago, I decided to make the jump to Verizon due to AT&T's rattletrap of a network. I had no desire for an iPhone because I have an iPod 3rd gen and apps are VERY unstable on it. So I took a look at Verizon's Droid line and came across this puppy. After playing with it at the Verizon retail store I finally made the upgrade.

PROS

Battery life is incredible for an HTC.

Very smooth HTC Sense U. I. It's much faster than my old iPod. I also love the clock and weather widget that animates when you start up the phone.

Apps are a LOT more stable compared to iPhone iOS.

LED indicator light that blinks when you have a new text message or email.

Dependable clear Verizon network. No dropped calls or unsent text messages.

Feels very comfortable in the hand.

Not 4G. I don't really need fast downloads/uploads in exchange for my battery life.

Touch buttons are invisible when the display is off.

Call quality is awesome! I've heard some complaints about call quality but it's actually pretty good.

CONS

Browser can be buggy at times.

Reception is questionable. My two year old Samsung got better reception.

As great as Verizon's network coverage is, they are the WORST when it comes to software. I have 15+ apps that Verizon bloated on my phone that I CANNOT delete(unless rooting were an option). These apps run in the background using the data connection thus draining the battery. It makes wonder why in the world does Verizon do this. Even if the apps are unremovable, Verizon can't force me to use them.

Display not as bright as the Charge or new iPhone 4S screen.

Sometimes it has weird touchscreen issues. It'll work fine when I'm clicking on the menu, but when I'm trying to switch between screens, it won't respond. It doesn't happen often though.

In conclusion,this is a pretty cool phone. If you're on the market looking for the latest and the greatest, then get this one. However, if you aren't well experienced with the technology world, I would get something a little more modest. If you choose this phone, though, you'll have a great experience. Trust me.