In the modern smartphone world (U.S. more-so), bigger is better. It seems each flagship device tries to one-up the device before it with an ever-so-slightly larger display. The largest “phone” to date is Samsung’s 5″ Note (aka: “Phablet”). While it’s uses are best suited towards content consumption such as videos and games as well as content creation by way of various artistic apps and the included stylus, for normal day-to-day use, it’s quite unwieldy. What I’ve preached for several years now is that bigger isn’t always better. And finally, it appears HTC was listening — Incredible 4G LTE.
Woah. “Wait a minute”, you say. The Incredible 4G LTE is a more mid-range device compared to other phones’ spec sheets. And to that, I agree. It is less powerful than some of your uberphones. But specs aren’t everything. Windows Phone and its countless (much) lower powered devices running faster and smoother than just about every pre-ICS smartphone are a testament to this. ICS, on the other hand, is a completely different beast that finally appears to be negating the need to constantly harp over near-meaningless specs.
Think about it. Up until the Incredible 4G LTE, dual-core + LTE didn’t come in anything smaller than 4.3″ in screen size, with the most average size being 4.5″. That’s a big phone. Many people (myself included) like being able to (very) easily use every inch of a phone’s display with a single hand and without having to shift the phone up and down constantly in our hands to do so. The Incredible 4G LTE is perfect for that.
With Android 4.0 ICS on board straight from the factory as well as a plenty fast 1.2 GHz dual-core processor + 1 GB of RAM, there’s no reason this phone shouldn’t run buttery smooth. With HTC’s increased focus on efficiency in Sense 4.0, the software on the Incredible 4G LTE is a complete departure from the older “Incredible” devices. The 8MP rear-facing camera and 8 GB of built-in storage are also noteworthy features adding to this phone’s utility/allure.
Just as important as processor + RAM is the one thing we stare at every time we grab our phone — the display. At 4″ is is, in our opinion, the perfect size for one-handed operation. Add to that the 540 x 960 qHD resolution and a lack of PenTile filth (Super LCD is used here), and you’ve got a pretty capable display to boot in my book.
Yes. I think the Incredible 4G LTE is actually a pretty awesome phone worth owning, even more-so than many of the larger, more powerful competitors. It’s the Android phone I’ve been waiting for for a while now. Call me weird, stupid and out of touch. The Incredible 4G LTE is the perfect sleeper hit.
