The HTC Droid Incredible Review, Clearly Better than the Nexus One
by Anand Lal Shimpi on May 10, 2010 1:27 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Snapdragon
- Droid Incredible
- HTC
- Android
- Mobile
Snappier & More Polished than the Nexus One
The HTC Incredible uses similar, but not an identical SoC to what’s in the Nexus One. The Nexus One uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon QSD8250 SoC, while the Incredible uses the QSD8650. The primary difference between the two is the cellular modem. While the 8650 supports both GSM and CDMA based standards, the 8250 is strictly GSM.
Both are built on TSCM’s 65nm process and run the CPU core at 1GHz. They use the same Adreno 200 graphics core and have the same 32-bit LPDDR1 memory interface.At the macro level we’re looking at the fastest non-Apple, ARM based SoC on the market today (at least in terms of CPU performance). The majority of competing solutions are based on the ARM Cortex A8 and run at sub-1GHz speeds. Snapdragon, as you may remember from our Nexus One review, is based on Qualcomm’s Scorpion core. The Scorpion CPU starts with a similar architecture to the Cortex A8, but a much better performer.
| Qualcomm Snapdragon Comparison | ||||
| QSD8250 | QSD8650 | |||
| Used In | Google Nexus One | HTC Incredible, HTC EVO 4G | ||
| Manufacturing Process | TSMC 65nm | TSMC 65nm | ||
| CPU | Qualcomm Scorpion @ 1GHz | Qualcomm Scorpion @ 1GHz | ||
| CPU Architecture | 2-issue in-order | 2-issue in-order | ||
| GPU | Qualcomm Adreno 200 | Qualcomm Adreno 200 | ||
| Memory Bus | 32-bit LPDDR1 | 32-bit LPDDR1 | ||
| On-Package RAM | 512MB | 512MB | ||
| Cellular Modem | GSM, GPRS, EDGE, HSPA | CDMA2000 1x, 1xEV-DORel0/A/B, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, HSPA | ||
The Apple A4 comparison is a difficult one to make without an identical software stack, but it looks to be the only threat to Snapdragon from a CPU performance perspective today.
The QSD8650, like the 8250, ships with 512MB of LPDDR1 on package. That’s more than enough for the current requirements of the Android OS.
No More Choppy Scrolling, Almost
My biggest issue with the Nexus One was its inconsistent performance, particularly with scrolling and animations. I’m happy to say that HTC has fixed most of those issues, but not all, with the Incredible.
Flipping between home screens is iPhone smooth on the Incredible, so long as you’re using the touchscreen. Use the virtual joystick and it’s back to chopfest for some reason. Scrolling is smooth in nearly all applications, the main exception being messages. If you try to scroll through a list of SMSes the Incredible starts flushing frames like they’re drugs and the police are at the door. It’s clearly a software optimization issue but why it exists in a different area from the Nexus One, and while it continues to exist today, perplexes me.
Contributing to the overall smoother feel of the Incredible is the fact that HTC did away with some animations in the UI. The Nexus One goes for a very iPhone like animation whenever you open/exit an app. You see the app getting bigger until it takes up the whole screen, or getting smaller until it’s reduced to an icon. On the iPhone this is smooth. On the Nexus One the animation is dropping frames, which in turn makes your phone feel slower than it actually is. On the HTC Incredible, the animation simply isn’t there. Launching an app takes you from one screen, almost immediately to the next. It’s like using a brand new PC with an SSD. Launch an application and the window just appears.
The Nexus One and HTC Incredible have the same underlying hardware, but the missing animations and smoother scrolling are key to making the Incredible feel faster. If you go to launch the web browser on both of these phones at the same time you’ll find that the Incredible finishes faster simply because it’s not stuck animating the window.
Not all animations are gone however, just most of the sluggish ones.
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Loser - Monday, May 10, 2010 - link
There is something wrong with the weight you have noted there130 g (3.6 oz) 130 g (4.6 oz)
Both 130g? :)
Anand Lal Shimpi - Monday, May 10, 2010 - link
Woops, fixed. Thank you :)puffpio - Monday, May 10, 2010 - link
I was reading your article, and one part that is slightly incorrect:When you use Goggles and look at buildings, but do not actually take the picture...the tags you see at the bottom of the screen are based off your GPS position and compass..it's not doing any image recognition of the scene until you take the pic...
But it's still cool nonetheless
The0ne - Monday, May 10, 2010 - link
"I honestly doubt if there are many folks who are on the fence between the two."Consumers respond very well to marketing and if the comparison of Incredible to iPhone came down to what you've stated,
1. UI
2. Flexibility
3. Apps
Then it's great. However, your review of the iPhone, in comparison to this review, has all the "ooohh.....aahhhh" associated with it. Little as it may seem, not to Apples awesome marketing team mind you, your review will persuade some consumers to go for the iPhone instead of others regardless of the factors listed.
Please do a respectable tech review and leave your personal opinions and comments for a section dedicated to that purpose. Judging by this review I say the phone stinks mainly because there's not cheering from you. We do respect you, I've followed you since you started the site. I don't like the bias "ohh...ahhs" that comes with the reviews.
Anand Lal Shimpi - Monday, May 10, 2010 - link
A lot of my excitement over the original iPhone has to do with the fact that it was first to deliver the things that made me go ooh and ahh. I'd argue the same is true about Android with features like Goggles. Only Palm has really impressed me in the same manner since then.What I was trying to say with that statement is that if a user plays with both devices they'll quickly figure out which type of person they. The two platforms are very polarizing it seems. As I mentioned in the Nexus One Review, there are folks who are totally unimpressed by the iPhone and others who are very disappointed by Android. It largely has to do with the differing approaches to UI design and role the smartphone plays in their respective corporate strategies.
I stand by my original statement. I believe those who like the iPhone won't find any Android device a suitable replacement. While those who are frustrated by the iPhone's limitations wouldn't dream of anything other than an Android.
Take care,
Anand
teohhanhui - Monday, May 10, 2010 - link
"While those who are frustrated by the iPhone's limitations wouldn't dream of anything other than an Android."There are those who are looking forward to MeeGo...
Anand Lal Shimpi - Monday, May 10, 2010 - link
I'm holding back excitement on that one until we see the right combination of hardware/software. But yes, MeeGo could be very good (not to mention forthcoming Palm/HP stuff).Take care,
Anand
T2k - Thursday, May 13, 2010 - link
MeeGooo? Pleahhhhse.Nokia so far managed to blew everything it's got including the super-widespread, #1 OS of the world Symbian - years after years of clueless mismanagement and still nothing from Nokia.
Nokia is a mess, they just started the third reorganization in 12 months or so... completely clueless MESS and their main dev head just left them recently.
It's Android, people, nothing else - Symbian is waaay behind especially if you consider the breakneck speed Google is developing Android, iPhone and Apple in general is rapidly becoming completely irrelevant especially when Flash won't even work in it.
The only question is WebOS - now that HP is behind Palm we might get some surprise competition for Android: real innovation instead of fake re-badging efforts at ripoff prices a' la Apple.
The0ne - Monday, May 10, 2010 - link
Well said.sebmel - Tuesday, May 11, 2010 - link
Hi Anand, thanks for a great review and contrary to the opinion of 'TheOne' please feel free to express your feelings regarding products. I have read your site for many years, just like 'TheOne' but unlike him I have come to recognise you as someone with intelligence and a good eye for design flair who understands that sometimes the best expression of recognition of design excellence is exactly an ooh or ah.I'm a fan of TopGear, the UK car program. I can just imagine the Soviet dullness that would ensue were 'TheOne' to exercise an editorial veto. The show would flounder in a morass of directives on equal time, exactly duplicated lighting and monotone intonation of spec sheets. I also found his request that you do a 'respectable' review an uncalled for snipe.
It was obvious to any reader that you were enthused about the iPhone because it pushed forward mobile phone OS design significantly. It is also obvious that AnandTech has a number of readers that have difficulty coming to terms with a revitalised Apple corporation and respond to any positive comment with partisan angst. The DailyTech news site you link to unfortunately still thinks its 1990 and regularly trolls for clicks with headlines designed to bait flaming. The result is all to obvious in the ensuing comments.
So, please don't make your reviews lifelessly unemotional. Express pleasure... express surprise. It means something to your readers that someone who spends so much time using the latest products is occasionally moved to pleasure by the competence of designers or developers. Product designers are not driven to greatness by spec. sheet competition. They only achieve it when they attempt to delight. Jonathan Ive, Apple's designer, regularly repeats that he is as proud of what he leaves out of products as what he has included. It is something that you, Anand, obviously understand. I suspect Ive repeats it as often as he does because there are still so many, raised in the Windows 'just add a buggy new feature, break the old format, and call it a new version' years who do not.
We are in a new era in which design excellence and not the politics and skulduggery of format wars is becoming essential. Reviews expressing sincere pleasure or disappointment are entirely appropriate to such a market and provide the kind of feedback that manufacturers and developers need in recognition of their efforts. How on earth can one quantify elegance in terms of grams or bytes? I felt the need to confirm to you that you do have readers who understand your emoting such things.
Keep up the good work.