***Official HTC Incredible Thread***

[DroidAV8R]

I then told him I doubted that because of the big iPhone rumor that turned out to be false. He then told me it wasn't false. He said that VZW didn't want to have the iPhone compete with the Palm Pre Plus and the Droid, but that it is indeed coming to VZW in the future. I asked him how he knew that. He told me that the VZW area rep told him that.

Does this even make sense? Both the N1 and Incredible will compete with Palm and Droid. I think the CSR, his rep, or both are full of it. iPhone would be just another device to get VZW more subs, and thus make them more money.

 

[kyler13]

Regardless of what any VZW CSR says, the nexus one will be sold by google and only google...they will NEVER give up on their dream of changing the cell industry...especially after only three months. IDK why any of you guys would think differently...sure, it would make perfect sense cause it would sell better, yes, but google...being the billion dollar corporation that it is, isn't into selling the nexus one because they want to make a billion dollars...they are selling it to shake up the industry, to show off android as they see it...thats it, I just got home from a St. Pattys day parade in Hoboken NJ and I'm drunk...so don;t mind me lol

What Google probably realized with the T-Mobile launch is that you just can't survive the mobile market with a single online sales outlet. People like walking into stores and demo'ing items before buying. You can buy an iPhone directly from Apple online (or an Apple store if one is in your area), but you can also get it from an AT&T store or AT&T authorized retailers all over the country. VZW stores and premium retailers may end up being just a retail outlet for the Nexus One (and future Google phones, possibly). I get that this is Google's grand plan, to change the cell phone industry, but give credit where credit is due. Their plan isn't set in stone and will likely evolve to maximize its effectiveness. The first step in the evolution would be expanding sales to retail outlets.

 

[Ruben]

I think what they should do is in a section of the store they should have a table with like 4 Nexus Ones to demo, and then next to that desk would be a kiosk where you could order the Nexus One via google.com/phone

 

[Steven58]

I think the CSR, his rep, or both are full of it.

Agreed. That's why I used the smiley.

 

[droidoholic]

Who thinks our beloved "Incredible" will still be named so at launch? I created a poll here:

http://androidforums.com/htc-incredible/51284-will-still-named-incredible-launch.html

I'm interested in what you guys think.

 

[DroidAV8R]

Agreed. That's why I used the smiley.

Yeah, I saw that. My comments were definitely NOT directed at you. I just love how some of these CSRs decide to make things up as they go along. If they don't know what's going on with something, then fine- just say so. But it's the "I don't know, so I better come up with something" approach that creates confusion for their customers.

 

[DroidAV8R]

I think what they should do is in a section of the store they should have a table with like 4 Nexus Ones to demo, and then next to that desk would be a kiosk where you could order the Nexus One via google.com/phone

Great idea. +1 for me.

 

[DroidAV8R]

Just to set the record straight, there's no connection between LTE and CDMA with respect to an iPhone model supporting CDMA. An iPhone on Verizon today would require a separate build by Apple to support CDMA, which they may not want to build. An LTE model, say next year, would be multi-carrier compatible and would still permit Apple to build a single device. Qualcomm has a new radio that supports LTE with fallback capability to both CDMA and GSM 3G standards. Sorta like a "one device fits all" which is exactly what Apple would want.

Absolutely true. That's why, IMHO, we will not see an iPhone on VZW that doesn't support LTE. It doesn't make sense for Apple to build a CDMA/EV-DO iPhone, just to replace it six months later with a new one with the LTE radio that kyler is talking about.

 

[MrSmoofy]

I was looking at the leaked video's again has anyone commented on the watermark on the screen of HTC Confidential and some numbers?

 

[droidoholic]

I was looking at the leaked video's again has anyone commented on the watermark on the screen of HTC Confidential and some numbers?

It's been mentioned but I don't think anyone has been able to make heads or tails of it. Seems to be some internal coding or labeling of some sort.

 

[MrSmoofy]

It's been mentioned but I don't think anyone has been able to make heads or tails of it. Seems to be some internal coding or labeling of some sort.

Ok thanks there are so many posts it makes my head spin and wasn't sure if anything was said about it.

 

[kyler13]

Absolutely true. That's why, IMHO, we will not see an iPhone on VZW that doesn't support LTE. It doesn't make sense for Apple to build a CDMA/EV-DO iPhone, just to replace it six months later with a new one with the LTE radio that kyler is talking about.

For reference, here's the Qualcomm radio:

Qualcomm Introduces World?s First Complete Multi-mode 3G/LTE Integrated Solution for Smartphones: QCTConnect.com

"the industry

 

[woop]

It's been mentioned but I don't think anyone has been able to make heads or tails of it. Seems to be some internal coding or labeling of some sort.

Yeah.. I tried looking into it a while back when the vid first came out but couldn't figure it out. I also tried doing some research on those numbers on the bottom left on the most recent leaked pics, but again, no luck. I doubt you'll be able to find anything useful with those anyways.

Day 2 of no new info.

 

[tluv00]

Google will not allow the N1 to flop in sales again hence they will have VZW sell in stores and will allow it to go on any plan. If not then they are idiots....especially with the cracked screens, buggy 3g connection conversations going on out there. I will lose a ton of respect for Google as a business if they try it that way again. Maybe they will offer something extra to order through them (cheaper since they don't have the overhead of a brick and mortar store) but it will be in stores.

 

[greggds]

Yeah.. I tried looking into it a while back when the vid first came out but couldn't figure it out. I also tried doing some research on those numbers on the bottom left on the most recent leaked pics, but again, no luck. I doubt you'll be able to find anything useful with those anyways.

Day 2 of no new info.

I would believe that the only people that would find the watermark and serial numbers "helpful" are the internal HTC staff that put them there in order to track the devices.

When the second image was enhanced, it highlighted numbers that Aaron had said he meant to blur out as well.

 

[DroidAV8R]

For reference, here's the Qualcomm radio:

Qualcomm Introduces World?s First Complete Multi-mode 3G/LTE Integrated Solution for Smartphones: QCTConnect.com

"the industry

 

[Montana Man]

Just thought I'd interject with my VZW tales for what they're worth.

I happen to know two Verizon store managers in my local area. One works for a Verizon Corporate store and his superiors treat him like a mushroom - they keep him in the dark and feed him sh*t. So he really doesn't know much of anything. In fact, everything that I have told him from what I have gleaned from the Web has always been news to him! However, the other manager works for a Verizon Wireless store named "Wireless Connection," and he has a wealth of various information channels at his disposal. He and I are like brothers, and there's honestly nothing that he wouldn't tell me because he knows I won't rat him out if he were to tell me anything that I am not supposed to know.

So in picking his brain over the past few weeks, he has told me that he doesn't know the release dates of the coming phone(s) and he highly doubts that his district manager does as well. He thinks that THAT knowledge is from the regional managers on up - and they sure as hell aren't talking. He also goes on to say that they literally get two to three days notice when it comes to an official release date of a much-anticipated device. For as big as the Droid was, he received an email less than 48 hours prior to launch and then all of the inventory was sent Fed-Ex overnight to his store. BAM! Just like that! He was then instructed by Verizon to hold a mandatory storewide training session, after regular hours, the night before launch. The Droid release training consisted of a 6-hour intensive training session. The next day, all of the employees were largely up-to-speed on it - enough to get their feet under them for launch day, anyway.

So what I gather from all of this is that there will probably be VERY LITTLE notice prior to an official, confirmed release date. Sure, they very well might advertise that "Device X" is "coming," but they simply don't want to tip their hand to their competition by providing an exact date - especially if said "Device X" is their new flagship smartphone! Thus, this gives the competition little - if any - time to react in the event that they have any hidden agenda of their own in the works.

In closing, this manager HAS BEEN INFORMED that two "upper end devices" are coming to Verizon channels "in the near future," but nothing's been confirmed by ANY means as of now - and we probably won't get much of a "heads-up" either! Like the rest of us, he fully expects SOMETHING to be said at or before CTIA. It just goes to show that when this whole thing breaks, a LOT of people will all find out at the SAME TIME!

 

[woodraskam]

What Google probably realized with the T-Mobile launch is that you just can't survive the mobile market with a single online sales outlet. People like walking into stores and demo'ing items before buying. You can buy an iPhone directly from Apple online (or an Apple store if one is in your area), but you can also get it from an AT&T store or AT&T authorized retailers all over the country. VZW stores and premium retailers may end up being just a retail outlet for the Nexus One (and future Google phones, possibly). I get that this is Google's grand plan, to change the cell phone industry, but give credit where credit is due. Their plan isn't set in stone and will likely evolve to maximize its effectiveness. The first step in the evolution would be expanding sales to retail outlets.

The reason I hesitate to follow this idea is that Google has never had any kind of presence outside of the internet. They don't advertise except for the internet. I feel like Google's intentions for the N1 were to help (read fund research) to create an iPhone competitor. Mission accomplished. Their money isn't in the hardware. It's in the OS and the google integrated services like gmail. If it can create buzz for android, they've succeeded in their mission. They're not a consumer goods business. They're an ad selling business which relies on the companies to buy ads to place in the services they provide. Why else would they give their sweet services for "free." This is why it doesn't matter to google which android device you buy as long as you buy an android device.

 

[woop]

The reason I hesitate to follow this idea is that Google has never had any kind of presence outside of the internet. They don't advertise except for the internet. I feel like Google's intentions for the N1 were to help (read fund research) to create an iPhone competitor. Mission accomplished. Their money isn't in the hardware. It's in the OS and the google integrated services like gmail. If it can create buzz for android, they've succeeded in their mission. They're not a consumer goods business. They're an ad selling business which relies on the companies to buy ads to place in the services they provide. Why else would they give their sweet services for "free." This is why it doesn't matter to google which android device you buy as long as you buy an android device.

I feel the exact same way as you. The N1 didn't "flop" for them, it did exactly what they wanted at a very low budget: created buzz about the Android OS and got more people to create Google accounts. What they went out to do (well, the gist of it) has been accomplished, and will continue through Verizon. The sales of the phone are just an additional bonus for them

 

[woop]

Just thought I'd interject with my VZW tales for what they're worth.

I happen to know two Verizon store managers in my local area. One works for a Verizon Corporate store and his superiors treat him like a mushroom - they keep him in the dark and feed him sh*t. So he really doesn't know much of anything. In fact, everything that I have told him from what I have gleaned from the Web has always been news to him! However, the other manager works for a Verizon Wireless store named "Wireless Connection," and he has a wealth of various information channels at his disposal. He and I are like brothers, and there's honestly nothing that he wouldn't tell me because he knows I won't rat him out if he were to tell me anything that I am not supposed to know.

So in picking his brain over the past few weeks, he has told me that he doesn't know the release dates of the coming phone(s) and he highly doubts that his district manager does as well. He thinks that THAT knowledge is from the regional managers on up - and they sure as hell aren't talking. he also goes on to say that they literally get two to three days notice when it comes to an official release date of a much-anticipated device. For as big as the Droid was, he received an email less than 48 hours prior to launch and then all of the inventory was sent Fed-Ex overnight to his store. BAM! Just like that! He was then instructed by Verizon to hold a mandatory storewide training session, after regular hours, the night before launch. The Droid release training consisted of a 6-hour intensive training session. The next day, all of the employees were largely up-to-speed on it - enough to get their feet under them for launch day, anyway.

So what I gather from all of this is that there probably will be VERY LITTLE notice prior to an official, confirmed release date. Sure, they very well might advertise that "Device X" is "coming," but they simply don't want to tip their hand to their competition by providing an exact date - especially if said "Device X" is their new flagship smartphone! Thus, this gives the competition little - if any - time to react if they have any hidden agenda of their own in the works.

In closing, this manager HAS BEEN INFORMED that two "upper end devices" are coming to Verizon channels "in the near future," but nothing's been confirmed by ANY means as of now - and we probably get much of a "heads-up" either! Like the rest of us, he fully expects SOMETHING to be said at or before CTIA. It just goes to show that when this whole thing breaks, a LOT of people will all find out at the SAME TIME!

Great post. And it is with that reasoning, that I honestly take what some of the VZW reps say with a grain of salt. In some regards, I think they are saying things so they don't have to respond with "Umm, I really don't know." That does NOT look good on them nor their company. As I said, having worked retail.. if I was unsure of something, I'd make an educated guess rather than telling a customer "well, to be honest, i have no clue." We have exhausted every possible source available to us. It is a waiting game now, were just going to have to wait and see. BE PATIENT.. things will eventually reveal themselves.

Edit: What we DO know is that SOMETHING will happen at CTIA.

 

[DroidAV8R]

Just thought I'd interject with my VZW tales for what they're worth.

I happen to know two Verizon store managers in my local area. One works for a Verizon Corporate store and his superiors treat him like a mushroom - they keep him in the dark and feed him sh*t. So he really doesn't know much of anything. In fact, everything that I have told him from what I have gleaned from the Web has always been news to him! However, the other manager works for a Verizon Wireless store named "Wireless Connection," and he has a wealth of various information channels at his disposal. He and I are like brothers, and there's honestly nothing that he wouldn't tell me because he knows I won't rat him out if he were to tell me anything that I am not supposed to know.

So in picking his brain over the past few weeks, he has told me that he doesn't know the release dates of the coming phone(s) and he highly doubts that his district manager does as well. He thinks that THAT knowledge is from the regional managers on up - and they sure as hell aren't talking. he also goes on to say that they literally get two to three days notice when it comes to an official release date of a much-anticipated device. For as big as the Droid was, he received an email less than 48 hours prior to launch and then all of the inventory was sent Fed-Ex overnight to his store. BAM! Just like that! He was then instructed by Verizon to hold a mandatory storewide training session, after regular hours, the night before launch. The Droid release training consisted of a 6-hour intensive training session. The next day, all of the employees were largely up-to-speed on it - enough to get their feet under them for launch day, anyway.

So what I gather from all of this is that there probably will be VERY LITTLE notice prior to an official, confirmed release date. Sure, they very well might advertise that "Device X" is "coming," but they simply don't want to tip their hand to their competition by providing an exact date - especially if said "Device X" is their new flagship smartphone! Thus, this gives the competition little - if any - time to react if they have any hidden agenda of their own in the works.

In closing, this manager HAS BEEN INFORMED that two "upper end devices" are coming to Verizon channels "in the near future," but nothing's been confirmed by ANY means as of now - and we probably get much of a "heads-up" either! Like the rest of us, he fully expects SOMETHING to be said at or before CTIA.

Thank you! (As if we needed it) this confirms what we have all been saying about the CSRs / store employees knowing nothing other than what they read on the internet about upcoming devices until right before they launch.

Also, it's nice to hear that there are 2 devices coming to Verizon channels in the near future. Incredible is obviously one, and most likely N1 is the other, meaning it may very well be sold directly by VZW as well as Google.

Although, has anybody heard any rumors of any high-end devices (Android or other) besides Incredible or N1 coming to VZW?

And Montana, any new chatter on the HTC web site you are able to access?

 

[woop]

Just curious, since Montana's friend said "Upper end devices".. what exactly does that cover? Would it only be top-tier phones or does something in the middle also get grouped into this? Because if it is indeed top-tier, and I'm pretty sure one of those devices is the Incredible, then we can put to rest the mediocre specs right? Any thoughts on this?

 

[Montana Man]

The HTC site that I have access to has been ABSOLUTELY CONSUMED by this whole lawsuit with Apple. That, and the huge launch preparation of the Desire in Europe.

 

[Montana Man]

Just curious, since Montana's friend said "Upper end devices".. what exactly does that cover? Would it top-tier or does something in the middle also get grouped into this? Because if it is indeed top-tier, and I'm pretty sure one of those devices is the Incredible, then we can put to rest the mediocre specs right? Any thoughts on this?

"Upper end devices" sure sounded pretty vague, yet intriguing, to me as well.

 

[woodraskam]

Just curious, since Montana's friend said "Upper end devices".. what exactly does that cover? Would it top-tier or does something in the middle also get grouped into this? Because if it is indeed top-tier, and I'm pretty sure one of those devices is the Incredible, then we can put to rest the mediocre specs right? Any thoughts on this?

Granted I wasn't there for the conversation, so I don't know if they exclusively talked Android devices, but top tier devices doesn't necessarily mean only Android devices. I fully expect a new palm device to be announced at CTIA and WinMo will undoubtedly produce another device. So it's very possible that two top-tier devices would include something other than just Android handsets. But Montana Man might be able to clear this up.