HTC Incredible S

Overview

Impressive and Unique HTC Phone

Overview of HTC Incredible S

The HTC Incredible S, follow-up to the Droid Incredible, is a new handset intended to fill the space in the market for a 4-inch Android smartphone.HTC Incredible S is without a doubt a super phone from every angle. The unique and stylish phone contains amazing features which have served to propel and steer its popularity to greater heights. The magnificent phone captures life moments vividly and uniquely with the help of the in built HD camera. HTC incredible S provides individuals with an opportunity to immerse themselves in videos that are displayed on 4 inch display and virtual surround sound. The handset has the ability to share photos, videos or music wirelessly from the phone to the TV via DLNA. The fantastic and unique phone includes a highly powerful 1GHz processor hence enabling super fast web browsing. These amazing features are what have made the impressive phone highly sought by phone enthusiasts who value quality and uniqueness.

Design and Build Quality of HTC Incredible S

The HTC Incredible S is closely modeled on its forerunner, the Desire HD, but with some notable exceptions. The phone is available in black and, since November 2011, with a limited edition cover in red. Its design shows a radical departure from the sleek shape of phones like the Galaxy S: instead, its chassis is covered in a matte plastic that feels rubbery and certainly sets it apart. Like many new smartphones, it does away with the physical buttons of the Desire HD. The lock and power switch are positioned on its top edge, an ergonomically friendly touch. Overall, the design is practical and comfortable, even if it is less flashy and stylish than some of its rivals.

User Interface and Comfort to Use

Like other phones at the top end of the Android market, the HTC Incredible S offers HTC’s familiar ‘Sense’ interface, running on Android 2.2 with the promise of a later upgrade to 2.3 Gingerbread and utilizing a 1Ghz Qualcomm single-core processor. This lack of processing power is a serious disadvantage compared to the dual and quad-core devices now being released. The phone screen features the classic HTC buttons, Home, Back, Menu and Search, as well as additional touch-sensitive options; and, excitingly, these buttons rotate when the phone is turned to landscape. The keys are easy to use when you’re holding the phone, and the slick widgets and apps make navigation a breeze. Pinching the screen shows an exploded display of all the screens currently being used. The Edit option allows users to change elements and customize the interface. HTC makes excellent use of widgets to improve the user experience, and is responsive and smooth running even when taxed.

Telephony and Phonebook of HTC Incredible S

The contacts function is a strength of the Incredible S. Synchronize with Facebook, Twitter, Google, Flickr and more to import your contacts’ info into one place and merge them to create your address book. While time-consuming, the automatic linking function makes it painless; and once complete you’ll have threaded texts and email, plus social media updates, complete with galleries. Calling is another strong feature: the speaker grille is well placed, the volume is good, the loudspeaker is clear, and there are plenty of call options, including smart dialing and, yes, video calling.

Messaging and Emails

Crucial to the phone’s performance is messaging: it offers SMS, MMS, IM, Twitter, Facebook and both POP/IMAP and Exchange email, all quick and easy to set up. The phone requires you to have a Google account, and once in place you get access to the full range of apps, including Mail. The Sense interface brings plenty of swipe options, making navigation through your messages very pleasant and quick. The phone’s keyboard is excellent: easy to use, responsive and smart, and supported by both Facebook Chat and Google Talk.

Gallery, Photo Viewer and Video Player of HTC Incredible S

There are plenty of media playback modes to take advantage of, including video, audio, photos and streaming DNLA. Viewing photos is easy, and enjoyable on the large screen. Both the video gallery and Video app are good, comparable with the best smartphones and offering good quality for HD clips. It processes video quickly and rarely lags, although it supports a limited range of formats. The phone also boasts DNLA streaming to a wide-screen TV, and the effect is impressive.

HTC Incredible S Music Player and FM Radio (Audio Quality)

The phone’s music player is only average, and with just 1.1GB internal storage users will find little space for music once they’ve begun installing apps. However, using a micro-SD card boosts the capacity, as you need. With the help of SRS virtual surround sound and a smart equalizer, audio output is good, although weighted toward the high end. The interface resembles other HTC phones: swipe between album art to browse your collection. The phone’s FM radio is poor: a weak signal makes picking up stations difficult, although the auto station-search function is useful.

Still Camera and Image Quality

The phone offers an 8MP camera coupled with a dual-LED photolight. Some users may take issue with the photolight, as LEDs tend to produce a stark light that is overly bright and unflattering; however, it’s certainly a bonus for low-light photography. In ordinary light, the camera performs very well: while shots lack the clarity of a proper digital camera, the image quality is good, with sharp, vivid colors and good exposure.

Video Camera and Video Quality of HTC Incredible S

The video camera interface resembles the still camera menu, with some customizable options like exposure, contrast and saturation. Tapping to focus is not very intuitive, but on the whole it is easy to use. HD quality is good, even when the subject is in motion or low light.

Distinctive Features and Connectivity Options

The typical options are available here. While the Wi-Fi is strong and stable, 3G can be uneven at times. Bluetooth connection is good, with fast inter-device transfers. Android 2.2 (upgradable to ICS) means that the phone can also be used as a Wi-Fi Hotspot – great for connectivity in a pinch.

Organiser and Other Utility Tools

The phone features the full range of utilities, and the Calendar is particularly well designed, integrating with Google/Exchange to provide up-to-date information like local weather. The camera’s LED can also be harnessed using a torch app to help you find your way in the dark – quite handy.

Web Browser and Applications of HTC Incredible S

The web browser is one of the phone’s strongest features. The pages closely resemble how they would appear on a full-sized PC display, thanks to the capacious 4-inch display. With Flash support (and HTML 5) built-in, your browsing experience won’t suffer from the frustration of missing videos, slideshows and interactive elements. The phone handles heavy-duty webpages and embedded videos with ease, but slows greatly on sites with too many Flash elements. It also allows multiple windows plus thumbnail scroll. Like every Android phone, the Incredible S gives access to the Android Market, so it’s an easy task to stock the phone with all the apps you’ll need. Three social network apps are available out of the box, which is handy.

Google Maps and GPS

The phone features a native Map app, but most users will eschew it in favor of Google Maps. The interface is clear and quick, with plenty of landmarks, layers, tags and options. GPS lock works fast, and the free sat-nav is a joy on the large screen, with an additional Voice search option.

Verdict and Value for money

The Incredible S is an affordable phone, particularly given its excellent performance and strong content, and represents good value for money. The HTC Incredible S is a nice-looking smartphone, built to last and designed to be user-friendly and engaging. Its few flaws don’t detract from its excellent interface, speed and media options, particularly its camera, giving it a very strong position against the competition.