I got mine, you got yours? Initial Thoughts . . .

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sgt. slaughter

Retired Forum Moderator
Jun 12, 2010
5,715
3,088
Raleigh
Was a longtime user of several phones, including Dinc2, and Rezound.

Picked up the 4g lte today, and I gotta say from the limited time I have with it, I am enjoying it. The biggest plus so far is the nice sharp screen. In fact, I like it more than the rezound's 720 p screen because this one is NOT scaled, so everything looks nice and crisp, and the fonts aren't too big.

Sense 4 on this phone seems pretty snappy and smooth, minimal if any lag on certain scrolls, but they are rare. Haven't made phone calls yet. 4g (here in LA county) is variable in terms of speed... from 300 KB/sec to 1.1 MB/sec. I think that is maybe more related to network congestion.

Form factor of the phone is basically the same as the Dinc2, which is a good thing, but I find this one to be easier to hold in my hands, with softer edges. Also, buttons are easier to press than the Dinc2, which is a plus. Battery door easy to open, and doesn't have flex/creaking. Another nice feature is that the SIM tray and SD card tray are both on the side of the phone, so you don't have to remove the battery to access anything, only the back cover.

All in all, I am pleased so far. Hope to continue the enjoyment, and hopefully will see some nice interest in this phone. Only question remaining is whether the bootloader will be unlocked (either by HTCdev, or otherwise). Honestly, though, Sense 4 on this phone is pretty snappy and quick, so I can overlook this even if we don't get AOSP. But nothing wrong with more options, of course, thanks to any and all devs who know how to cook roms, because I sure don't know how to.

:) Thanks for reading!

Go to htcdev site and go through the unlock process there. Just select other devices if this one isn't listed...pretty painless process and easy...

Sent from my EVO using xda premium
 

nitsuj17

Inactive Recognized Developer
Aug 24, 2010
10,154
17,211
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I understand that you initial posters have your shiny, new phone that you paid for, so please don't flame me for offering what the OP suggested, ie: initial thoughts.

I used the phone briefly in the Verizon store today. I have lots of experience with Sense, having used and rooted both a Droid Incredible and an HTC Rezound. That said, I should state that my bias leans toward Senseless and ASOP roms.

Compared to my Rezound running ConRom, I found the Incredible 4G on Sense 4 to be laggy when it came to screen transitions, ie: opening/closing the market, updating apps, transitioning between Sense home screens, etc. I'm not one of those "The Rezound is the best Android phone out" guys either. I was honestly hoping that this phone would be a significant upgrade over the Rezound. If I still had the ability to keep unlimited data and burn my existing upgrade, my choice would still be either the Rezound or the Galaxy Nexus.

I am envious of the Incredible 4G due to it's form-factor. It's feels great in the hand, light but not too light, and has the same nice rubberized-texture that the Inc 2 and Rezound have.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium

Stock vs stock would be the best comparison ;)

But that wouldn't be fair cuz the rezound is on gb officially
 

thelandon

Senior Member
Nov 2, 2010
163
14
True. That does seem fair. I should note that my Rezound isn't overclocked and that it's running a previous generation processor. I figured the S4 chip would make the Inc 4G fly. While it's not bad for stock, I see no reason why lag could or even should exist with Android ICS and a Snapdragon S4. Did my Rezound lag in stock form? Yes. Unfortunately, so does the Inc 4G. Just be aware that those pretty Sense widgets and launcher seem to slow down some otherwise great hardware.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium
 

maqsur

Senior Member
Mar 27, 2010
176
18
Emerald Coast
Can't say I've really had a lag per say, other than very rarely. Definitely runs smooth compared to my old rezound.

Sent from my ADR6410LVW using Tapatalk 2
 

maqsur

Senior Member
Mar 27, 2010
176
18
Emerald Coast
Go to htcdev site and go through the unlock process there. Just select other devices if this one isn't listed...pretty painless process and easy...

Sent from my EVO using xda premium

I will check it out thanks, figured they would put the device specifically since it is in the well known "droid" lineup.

Sent from my ADR6410LVW using Tapatalk 2
 

HypostaticOnion

Senior Member
I picked up one this morning to replace my galaxy nexus. (By the way, does anyone want a nexus)

So far I love it. I wanted a 4g phone that wasn't as big as a surf board. I don't need a huge screen as I will never watch TV or anything on it so this is perfect.

Yes. I want a nexus.

Sent from my Incredible 2 using Tapatalk 2
 

polarimetric

Senior Member
Jan 1, 2011
131
28
Went into the Verizon store and got mine earlier today, probably being the first member of this forum to ever migrate to Share Everything willingly. haha

This phone is exactly what I was hoping it would be. It's a dream for anyone who enjoys the Incredible series of phones. It's a joy to hold in hand and requires no adjustment; it already feels natural to me. Sense 4 blazes and is a gigantic improvement over previous iterations of Sense that always looked pretty but demolished performance. Task switching lags just a little bit sometimes (the one area in which the phone shows symptoms of its underclocking) but every other Android function is very smooth. There's no question that custom ROMs will do this phone some good, but for a stock ROM, it's outstanding and definitely good enough to satisfy me until the dev community on this phone breaks through.

Also, if you're coming from a previous-gen phone with a menu button like me, you should be relieved to know that adjusting to the new built-in menu ICS interface is pretty painless. The phone creates a shortcut (either in the upper-right corner or at the bottom of the screen) on-screen in almost every app that requires menu commands. Only time I had a problem was Winamp's intro screen, but that was minor and easily fixable by reopening the app.

One warning, though--if you're coming to this phone from a device running AOSP ICS like I did, you're going to have a big adjustment period going through the menus in Settings. I am not a fan of how Sense organizes the Settings app--everything feels a little bit cluttered compared to stock ICS, where there are clear categories.

Long story short, if you're a fan of the Droid Incredible series or someone who prefers more compact, smaller-screen phones, this is a dream phone for a great price. Although the original Incredible's ICS has made great strides and runs pretty well, the smoothness of this device puts it to shame (of course, it would--not saying that that's a surprise, because it's designed to run ICS well, just confirming it) and makes it worth the upgrade.

EDIT: Oh, forgot to mention one thing, and it's unfortunately a con: The volume rocker is WAY too big. I have no idea why HTC made it that big but the Volume Up button alone is like the size of the whole rocker on the original Incredible. There's also a pretty sizable gap between Volume Up and Volume Down in the middle which can be really frustrating. I'd mention the fact that pretty much everything from the original Incredible is reversed (power button and headphone jack switched places, etc.) but it appears that that was the case with the Incredible 2 as well, so most of you will probably not find that surprising.
 
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dbrits

Senior Member
Aug 28, 2010
333
55
California
A very quick rundown on my initials thoughts; I'm tired so if this doesn't make sense...

First, the good:

The form factor is amazing. I can use it with one hand and I love how it feels in my hand. Compared to the Rezound - which I used for just over a week - it feels as light as a feather but incredibly solid and well-built. I already purchased a slim silicon case for it at Verizon but the added bulk is negligible.

It's snappy. Makes my OG DInc (which was rooted and pushed to its absolute limits) look like a geriatric.

I've taken a few short calls in the past hour and the call clarity was very good. Data speeds seemed on par for what I get in my area. I live in a 3G area and drove from a 4G area to 3G area while streaming music through Spotify. No breaks in the music.

The bad:

I'd like to smack whoever decided to nix the menu button. I've always liked HTC's hardware but I think they dropped the ball by removing the menu button. The lack of a menu button causes a black "settings bar" to appear on the bottom of the screen for any app that hasn't yet fully implemented the ICS design standards. It's stupid, and it cuts down on valuable screen real estate. When I launch TweakDeck, instead of seeing more tweets at the bottom of my screen, I'm seeing a black bar with three small vertical squares at its center. It's continually resizing Apex Launcher's wallpaper when I try to launch my calendar/Astrid Tasks from Pure Calendar's Agenda widget.

The "multitask" button is ridiculous, especially when long-pressing the home button would have produced the exact same result. Could have put a menu button there instead, folks. (Devs, when this phone is rooted and custom roms are cooked up, is it possible for the multitask button be remapped as a menu button?)

As usual, the phone has its fair share of Verizon bloatware. I can't wait until the phone is rooted and I can delete that crap. Plus, I've never been the biggest fan of Sense in any of its incarnations as I prefer AOSP or Senseless roms.

Even though I sound bitter, I really do like the phone. I swear I do, lol.

---------- Post added at 10:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:37 PM ----------

One warning, though--if you're coming to this phone from a device running AOSP ICS like I did, you're going to have a big adjustment period going through the menus in Settings. I am not a fan of how Sense organizes the Settings app--everything feels a little bit cluttered compared to stock ICS, where there are clear categories.
Oh, I completely agree. The CM9 Settings Menu was a beautiful sight. Plus, I prefer the menus on a dark background, not a white background.

Like you said, custom roms will do this phone a world of good. If my OG DInc could run CM9 without any major problems, I can't wait to see what potential custom roms will unlock for the DInc 4G.
 

polarimetric

Senior Member
Jan 1, 2011
131
28
Just had to say, I actually also willingly entered into the Share Everything Plan... last week! :eek:

Whoa! We're nearly mythical here. I just had to sit back and watch everyone go up in arms about losing unlimited and thinking to myself, "This is actually going to save my family money..."

Also, dbrits: I agree that not having a menu button is a little frustrating when using non-streamlined apps, especially in the examples that you gave where the three-dot button at the bottom is unattractive and hogs a lot of space. I wouldn't blame HTC, though; Google is more culpable. The whole ICS design philosophy opposes the menu button because it is not "discoverable"--I don't really understand that one, but I have seen less seasoned smartphone users get confused by the menu button--so excluding it is just bending to Google's wishes for the future of Android. I will actually probably prefer the lack of a menu button once most apps fully transition to the ICS-style top-right menu.

That being said, I, too, find the multitask button a little ridiculous. I don't necessarily mind using it, but long-pressing Home was easy enough and half of my presses of the button are accidental by the base of my thumb. I think HTC would've been better off just having Back and Home buttons and moving the two closer to the center.

Is it just me or is vibrate really weak? Maybe that's just because the original Incredible vibrated like a chainsaw, though.
 
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sgt. slaughter

Retired Forum Moderator
Jun 12, 2010
5,715
3,088
Raleigh
I will check it out thanks, figured they would put the device specifically since it is in the well known "droid" lineup.

Sent from my ADR6410LVW using Tapatalk 2

Na not likely...the EVOLTE wasn't listed separately....don't think they have the need to do that anymore till the phones are locked in a different manner...

Sent from my EVO using xda premium
 

HTCVzw

Member
Jul 6, 2012
49
8
Greenville
I came across this site this morning. So I bought my phone for $99.:laugh: Its that price for an upgrade or new line of service! mobile.geigerint.com:cool:
 
Aug 9, 2010
15
0
Got the phone yesterday at a Best Buy (after calling a few). I love the size of the phone and going from the original INC to this phone was perfect. My only issue so far is that that the WiFi icon never goes away. I liked the original (rooted) INC were the WiFi icon would only show up when you are connected. On this phone, it is there all the time (whether off or scanning, etc.) I know it is not a big deal but for some reason it is bothering me. Has anyone gotten this icon to disappear?

Thanks,
Matt
 

Pandalero

Senior Member
Jul 27, 2011
93
15
Phoenix
Got the phone yesterday at a Best Buy (after calling a few). I love the size of the phone and going from the original INC to this phone was perfect. My only issue so far is that that the WiFi icon never goes away. I liked the original (rooted) INC were the WiFi icon would only show up when you are connected. On this phone, it is there all the time (whether off or scanning, etc.) I know it is not a big deal but for some reason it is bothering me. Has anyone gotten this icon to disappear?

Thanks,
Matt

This is annoying me as well. Just crowds the notification bar. Been trying to figure out how to remove it.
 

nitsuj17

Inactive Recognized Developer
Aug 24, 2010
10,154
17,211
PA
seems like you can get it new/upgrade on lets talk for 20/40 respectively
 

fsiddique

Senior Member
Jun 29, 2010
199
17
Got the phone yesterday at a Best Buy (after calling a few). I love the size of the phone and going from the original INC to this phone was perfect. My only issue so far is that that the WiFi icon never goes away. I liked the original (rooted) INC were the WiFi icon would only show up when you are connected. On this phone, it is there all the time (whether off or scanning, etc.) I know it is not a big deal but for some reason it is bothering me. Has anyone gotten this icon to disappear?

Thanks,
Matt

This is a "feature" of Sense 4. The first few Sense 4 ROMs for the Rezound had this "feature" as well, we just have to wait for the devs to release a custom ROM with it removed.
 

marky2mark

Member
Feb 25, 2012
34
5
Global mode is something different. What I am talking about is buying a prepaid sim overseas or using it with t-mobile/att&t. The command doesn't work because Verizon disabled it but if you download the Thunderbolt LTE on/off app in the play store you can change it to GSM only. The options are there so the phone is capable like everyone said. I just got back from receiving the phone and the app works in switching to 3G. The sim for this phone is now a micro-sim so for someone to test they would need to trim a regular sim and put it in. This settings works for voice only. To send SMS and MMS, we need a dev to fix the ROM. That's how they did it with the Rezound. Or we wait for Verizon to enable all the functionality.

So far I am liking the phone. It's more like the original incredible than the incredible 2.

Ok got it. Thanks.

Sounds like a lot of hassle, especially for voice only. I'm looking for text and email too.

I went to the Verizon store yesterday to check out the phone. I asked the sales guy and he said they will be coming out with an update "soon" to enable global mode. I asked how soon. He said "well the Rezound is 6 months old and just got the update, so I'm guessing 6 months". I guess that's Verizon's idea of "soon".

If the hardware supports it and it's such a simple software update, I don't see why they couldn't just include it from day one. Makes no sense to me. I have to say....Verizon really sucks.
 

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  • 1
    I'm loving this bad boy so far. The size is absolutely perfect and fits in my hand like a glove.

    Physical/ Build Quality

    It actually looks and feels more like the OG Inc then the Inc2. Slightly narrower then the Inc2 but a tad longer and has the same red highlighted speaker above the screen as the OG Inc. It also feels lighter then the Inc2 and, it feels more solid than any HTC to date. The back battery cover doesn't make that annoying squeak and fits tightly . :good:

    Camera

    Although this doesn't have the same imaging software as the ONE series, it takes pictures amazingly fast. Click, click, click -one right after another.

    Beats Audio

    Gimmick or not, Music sounds noticeably better on this device than on the Inc2. I'm playing the same FLAC HD files off the same SD card.

    Cons

    Looks like they did away with the FriendStream widget ?! There's a Twitter HTC widget but no HTC widget for Facebook. Only the totally lame FaceBook widget that comes with the FaceBook app. I like having the Twitter and Facebook feeds combined in the FriendStream widget. Bummer . . .

    Price

    I paid $106.99 (including tax) for the device as a "Buddy Upgrade" on my company's business account. They applied the $50 rebate directly to the purchase.
    1
    Was a longtime user of several phones, including Dinc2, and Rezound.

    Picked up the 4g lte today, and I gotta say from the limited time I have with it, I am enjoying it. The biggest plus so far is the nice sharp screen. In fact, I like it more than the rezound's 720 p screen because this one is NOT scaled, so everything looks nice and crisp, and the fonts aren't too big.

    Sense 4 on this phone seems pretty snappy and smooth, minimal if any lag on certain scrolls, but they are rare. Haven't made phone calls yet. 4g (here in LA county) is variable in terms of speed... from 300 KB/sec to 1.1 MB/sec. I think that is maybe more related to network congestion.

    Form factor of the phone is basically the same as the Dinc2, which is a good thing, but I find this one to be easier to hold in my hands, with softer edges. Also, buttons are easier to press than the Dinc2, which is a plus. Battery door easy to open, and doesn't have flex/creaking. Another nice feature is that the SIM tray and SD card tray are both on the side of the phone, so you don't have to remove the battery to access anything, only the back cover.

    All in all, I am pleased so far. Hope to continue the enjoyment, and hopefully will see some nice interest in this phone. Only question remaining is whether the bootloader will be unlocked (either by HTCdev, or otherwise). Honestly, though, Sense 4 on this phone is pretty snappy and quick, so I can overlook this even if we don't get AOSP. But nothing wrong with more options, of course, thanks to any and all devs who know how to cook roms, because I sure don't know how to.

    :) Thanks for reading!
    1
    Still paid $199 -$50 MIR, which is too much.

    Huh? That's cheaper at launch than just about any other phone that's ever existed in this class of smartphones after the mail in rebate.

    I'm in a non-4G area so my battery life is probably suffering due to that, but I only got 6:23 this first day, with what I would call moderate use.

    I think being in a non-4G area should actually improve your battery life since you're only on the 3G radio, which uses significantly less battery. I'm in a non-4G area and I'm getting 24 hours to a charge. Granted, I keep the brightness very, very low (my eyes don't adjust well to bright screens), so that's probably more than most people get. Disabling auto brightness and dropping your screen's brightness by about 10% won't be too noticeable and it should save you a lot of battery if your eyes can adjust to it. After 10 hours of use the screen has been accountable for 63% of the battery drain with 2 hours of screen on time, and that's with the screen brightness at about 25%.

    BTW, trust me, you're going to want that right task button with JB. Once I started using it it was put to service as much as the others. JB keeps maybe 20 (didn't count, but more than 8) recent apps in cue vertically and a single tap on that button allows you to instantly jump back to exactly where you left off in another app. Once you fire a few off you just use that button to pop back and forth.

    That's good to hear. Actually, after using the phone more, I've found myself using the task button more and more. I'm actually appreciating it's there a lot more now.

    Sense apparently won't allow you to select an alternate keyboard. I was able to install it, enable it, but doing a long press in a entry window didn't bring up the Change Input requestor.

    Changing the input method is no longer done with a long-press in an entry window. Just selecting a text box and bringing up the software keyboard should add a notification in your pull-down menu called "Select input method" which works fine for me. I have NumberPad Keyboard installed and was able to switch to it fine, although I stuck with Sense because the NumberPad Keyboard doesn't scale well on qHD devices.
    1
    I've only had it a couple hours now (coming from the original Dinc)... and I love it.

    Can't believe the speed difference. Shelled out for full retail to be able to keep my unlimited data (although the VZ sales rep "mistakenly" upgraded me to 2GB plan, so I had to go back to the store to get it resolved). It's just fast. As someone who has been turned off by all the huge phones out there, this phone is a beauty. Getting 20/20 speeds in NYC on 4G.

    As an original Dinc user, is there anything available like unrevoked in order to root? I'm trying to follow the developer forum http://xdaforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1588 but its a bit more confusing with TOOL/MOD/ROM threads. I know it's still the first week since it's release, just wondering what to expect. I probably won't be savvy enough to help with the process, but I have seen some donations button around I'd be happy to contribute to.

    tl;dr: I love it, how do I root?

    Unfortunately there isn't an unrevoked for this phone. But the toolkit stickied in t he developers forum is extremely easy to use. Watch the video on how it's used...incredibly easy.
    1
    Now that it's been about 6 months, are you still happy with the device? Any regrets? I've been out of contract for a couple months, and even after seeing the HTC DNA beast, I'm looking at this because it's like the perfect size phone.

    Still happy with mine. I was content, but mildly frustrated with stock. However, with root (and s-off), I have been much happier being able to customize to my liking. Having TiB and nandroid backups again is such a nice safety net, too.

    Sent from my Fireball using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2