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Inc4G vs Inc2: A Comparison

hilmar2k

hilmar2k

Android Expert
Since there are many Inc2 owners out there considering upgrading to the Inc4G, I thought I'd share my thoughts on the two, since I upgraded from the Inc2 (and now it's my wife's).

Screen:

I had a hard time choosing a winner here. The screen on the Inc4G is definitely sharper, and has slightly better colors, but I prefer the aspect ratio of the Inc2 to the Inc4G. The more I use the Inc4G, the more okay I am with it, so I think I am leaning toward the clarity and overall quality of the screen on the Inc4G.

Reception:

Haven't had a ton of time to compare, but my initial observations say the reception is better on the Inc4G. I'll update as I get more concrete data.

GPS:

This is a no contest. The GPS on the Inc4G locks way faster than on the Inc2. Uisng my golf GPS app (Golfshot) showed this. Inc2 would often take 30-45 seconds or more to give a yardage while it waited for the GPS to get a pinpoint lock, but Inc4G is basically immediate. Very impressive.

Speaker:

The external speaker on the Inc4G is both louder, and clearer than that of the Inc2. I always thought that was a weak point on the Inc2, so it's nice to see it was addressed.

Battery:

Here's where the Inc4G falls short of the Inc2. Not surprisingly, the Inc4G can't match the ridiculous battery life of the Inc2. That said, however, battery life of the Inc4G seems more than adequate, and should provide all day battery life.

Camera:

Haven't compared fully yet. Took a couple of indoor comparison pics, and without flash, the Inc4G has less noise, but the color is off. Color is better on the Inc2, but it is extremely noisy. Flash on, the Inc4G quality was excellent, with the Inc2 being only good. Inc4G is the clear winner for indoor pics. I did take some outdoor pics with the Inc4G which were excellent, but I did not take comparison pics with the Inc2.

Size/Design:

I really like the design of the Inc4G. It definitely feels more like a high end phone than the Inc2. The texture on the battery door is very nice. It just feels better.

Software:

The combination of ICS and Sense 4.0 is fantastic. A nice improvement to GB and Sense 2.1.
 
Just curious on your battery comparison, I just want to clarify what your data setup was, either:
1. 3G+LTE with WiFi
2. 3G+LTE without WiFi
3. 3G only with WiFi
4. 3G only without WiFi
5. WiFi only

The reason I ask is if the Inc4G had both the 3G & LTE radios running, it wouldn't be a fair test since the Inc3 only has a 3G radio. And while an LTE signal can drain battery life, so can a lack of an LTE signal (since the radio would be constantly searching for an LTE signal). I'm not asking you to do it again, I'd just like to know how your data connection was setup was so I can factor that into my decision.

I remember my Inc2 having excellent battery life as well. I could usually get about 1.5-2 days on a charge. I reasoned that the TBolt & Rezound were worse on battery because of both the larger screens & being LTE equipped.

Thanks for the test, it definitely gives former Inc2 users an idea of what to expect if they pick this phone up!
 
Yesterday I was on 3G with WiFi on but not connected to a WiFi network for about half the day, with the other half on LTE with WiFi connected.

Basically everything was on, and it connected to whatever was available.
 
How much battery life did you get on the Inc2 and how much battery life are you getting on the 4G?
 
A.Nonymous said:
How much battery life did you get on the Inc2 and how much battery life are you getting on the 4G?
Click to expand...

I almost never went beyond about 16 hours without charging, regardless of battery level, as I always put my phone on the charger overnight. However, my Inc2 generally had between 40-60% battery left after that ~16 hours. Yesterday the Inc4G went on the charger at ~35%.

I'll continue to monitor and report back (I know how interested you are in the battery life ;)).
 
hilmar2k said:
Yesterday I was on 3G with WiFi on but not connected to a WiFi network for about half the day, with the other half on LTE with WiFi connected.

Basically everything was on, and it connected to whatever was available.
Click to expand...


Just speculating, but that sounds like the Inc4G would have comparable battery life to the Inc2 had you set it to 3G only. With everything on, the LTE radio would've been constantly looking for an LTE signal, so you might have seen better battery life if the LTE radio wasn't in the picture. I mean that only for comparison purposes, since you have LTE in your area, no reason not to use it.
 
hilmar2k said:
I almost never went beyond about 16 hours without charging, regardless of battery level, as I always put my phone on the charger overnight. However, my Inc2 generally had between 40-60% battery left after that ~16 hours. Yesterday the Inc4G went on the charger at ~35%.

I'll continue to monitor and report back (I know how interested you are in the battery life ;)).
Click to expand...

So the Inc4G went on the charger with 35% battery left after 16 hours? Considering most batteries don't reach their full potential until about a week and you're on your 2nd or 3rd charge, this definitely sounds promising.
 
The incredible 4g is a FAIL phone.

The screen is SMALLER than the Incredible 2. Just look how skinny and narrow the screen is on the incredible 4g.

Even though both are 4" diagonal the screen on the Incredible 4G is SIGNIFICANTLY smaller becuase it uses a 16:9 ratio vs the 16:10 on the incredible 2.

HUGE fail by HTC.
 
ArtificialMind said:
The incredible 4g is a FAIL phone.

The screen is SMALLER than the Incredible 2. Just look how skinny and narrow the screen is on the incredible 4g.

Even though both are 4" diagonal the screen on the Incredible 4G is SIGNIFICANTLY smaller becuase it uses a 16:9 ratio vs the 16:10 on the incredible 2.

HUGE fail by HTC.
Click to expand...

The difference is <0.1" between the two. It is narrower, but in HTC's mind, conforming to the standard 16:9 format was more important.

Huge fail? I don't think so.
 
ArtificialMind said:
The incredible 4g is a FAIL phone.

The screen is SMALLER than the Incredible 2. Just look how skinny and narrow the screen is on the incredible 4g.

Even though both are 4" diagonal the screen on the Incredible 4G is SIGNIFICANTLY smaller becuase it uses a 16:9 ratio vs the 16:10 on the incredible 2.

HUGE fail by HTC.
Click to expand...

I don't get how you consider that a fail. You'd rather have a 16:10 ratio with the black bars at the top & bottom? Personally, I'd rather watch widescreen content without the black bars.

The narrower form factor also means the phone isn't as wide & therefore easier to hold.

I don't know if you're just trolling to get responses but if you don't like the phone, buy something else. It's not that difficult.
 
ArtificialMind said:
The screen is tiny on the Incredible 4g compared to the Incredible 2. Just look at them side by side. The screen is TINY. See for yourself.

HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE Vs HTC Droid Incredible 2 - Review & Comparison - YouTube
Click to expand...

So you're saying the 4" screen on the Inc4G is smaller than the 4" screen on the Inc2? No matter how you change the aspect ratio (16:10, 16:9, 4:3, etc.) the screen is the same size. You seriously can't make one 4" screen smaller than another 4" screen, it's impossible. Keeping a 4" diagonal measurement, if you make the screen narrower you have to then make it longer to keep a 4" diagonal measurement.

The only reason it may look smaller is the resolution bump. I currently have a Rezound with a 4.3" screen. But the icons on the screen are smaller than the ones on my old Inc2. I noticed that the first time I fired it up, then held it next to my Inc2 to confirm. It's no different than if you change the resolution on your computer/laptop screen. If you go with a resolution of 800 x 600, then change it to a resolution of 1280 x 720, all of the icons on the screen will be smaller. But, that also allows you to view more of a picture, or put more icons on a screen.

Both the Inc1 & 2 had resolutions of 800 x 480, or WVGA, but the Inc1 had a 3.7" screen & the Inc2 had a 4" screen. The Inc4G has a 4" screen with a resolution of 960 x 540, or qHD. The Rezound has a 4.3" screen with a resolution of 1280 x 720, or 720P HD. Without having seen an Inc4G in person yet, I would almost bet that the icons on the Inc1, Inc4G, and Rezound will be the same size to the eye. The reason for that is, starting at the Inc1 and going to the Inc4G, there is a bump in screen size (+ .3") and resolution. Then going from the Inc4G to the Rezound, again there is a bump in screen size (again + .3") and resolution. The oddballs are the Inc2 & the Thunderbolt. While both have a 16:10 aspect ratio, the difference is the resolution. Both the Inc2 & Tbolt have 800 x 480 resolution. The Tbolt would have the largest icons, with the Inc2 the second largest, and the Inc1, Inc4G, & Rezound being the third largest icons.

But the main point is, you simply cannot make one 4" screen smaller or larger than another 4" screen, it's physically impossible. But you can make it look that way by changing the resolution. And if you're planning to go to any phone with HD resolution, to get the same size icons as what you have on the Inc2, you're looking at going for a phone with a screen size of 4.6" or higher.
 
ArtificialMind said:
The screen is tiny on the Incredible 4g compared to the Incredible 2. Just look at them side by side. The screen is TINY. See for yourself.
Click to expand...

See, I actually own them both, so I don't need some YouTube video to do a comparison.

Like it or not (you apparently don't, for some yet to be determined reason), it is an excellent phone. If you want a bigger screen....buy a different phone. The screen size is irrelevant when determining the quality of a phone. That would be like saying a Ferrari is not as good as a Corolla because it only seats two people.

EDIT: The "TINY" screen on the Inc4G is 1.961" x 3.486", compared to 2.058" x 3.43" on the Inc2. So somehow being 0.097" narrower (and 0.056 taller) makes the screen "TINY".
 
vzwuser76 said:
So you're saying the 4" screen on the Inc4G is smaller than the 4" screen on the Inc2? No matter how you change the aspect ratio (16:10, 16:9, 4:3, etc.) the screen is the same size. You seriously can't make one 4" screen smaller than another 4" screen, it's impossible. Keeping a 4" diagonal measurement, if you make the screen narrower you have to then make it longer to keep a 4" diagonal measurement.

The only reason it may look smaller is the resolution bump. I currently have a Rezound with a 4.3" screen. But the icons on the screen are smaller than the ones on my old Inc2. I noticed that the first time I fired it up, then held it next to my Inc2 to confirm. It's no different than if you change the resolution on your computer/laptop screen. If you go with a resolution of 800 x 600, then change it to a resolution of 1280 x 720, all of the icons on the screen will be smaller. But, that also allows you to view more of a picture, or put more icons on a screen.

Both the Inc1 & 2 had resolutions of 800 x 480, or WVGA, but the Inc1 had a 3.7" screen & the Inc2 had a 4" screen. The Inc4G has a 4" screen with a resolution of 960 x 540, or qHD. The Rezound has a 4.3" screen with a resolution of 1280 x 720, or 720P HD. Without having seen an Inc4G in person yet, I would almost bet that the icons on the Inc1, Inc4G, and Rezound will be the same size to the eye. The reason for that is, starting at the Inc1 and going to the Inc4G, there is a bump in screen size (+ .3") and resolution. Then going from the Inc4G to the Rezound, again there is a bump in screen size (again + .3") and resolution. The oddballs are the Inc2 & the Thunderbolt. While both have a 16:10 aspect ratio, the difference is the resolution. Both the Inc2 & Tbolt have 800 x 480 resolution. The Tbolt would have the largest icons, with the Inc2 the second largest, and the Inc1, Inc4G, & Rezound being the third largest icons.

But the main point is, you simply cannot make one 4" screen smaller or larger than another 4" screen, it's physically impossible. But you can make it look that way by changing the resolution. And if you're planning to go to any phone with HD resolution, to get the same size icons as what you have on the Inc2, you're looking at going for a phone with a screen size of 4.6" or higher.
Click to expand...
You my friend have MUCH to learn.

Incredible 2 has a 4" 16:10 screen = 5.23cm
 
hilmar2k said:
See, I actually own them both, so I don't need some YouTube video to do a comparison.

Like it or not (you apparently don't, for some yet to be determined reason), it is an excellent phone. If you want a bigger screen....buy a different phone. The screen size is irrelevant when determining the quality of a phone. That would be like saying a Ferrari is not as good as a Corolla because it only seats two people.

EDIT: The "TINY" screen on the Inc4G is 1.961" x 3.486", compared to 2.058" x 3.43" on the Inc2. So somehow being 0.097" narrower (and 0.056 taller) makes the screen "TINY".
Click to expand...
Thats an entire 1/10th of an inch narrower which is HUGE when you consider how small the screen already is. Not only that you can clearly see the difference. Its tiny.
 
hilmar2k and others, I appreciate this thread, as I have an Inc2, and am thinking about this phone, and seeing a comparison between them is incredibly (pun intended) helpful. I get the difference in screen size, I don't think we need to spend more time on it; I am interested in other things, as you started to enumerate. One important one, battery life...

My battery life is just barely what I need on the inc2. I use it most of the time with WiFi, and I would probably be in the same boat with the Inc4g. I don't need LTE most of the time, so might have that turned off and only turn on occasionally, not sure. But assuming I am on WiFi most of the time, I was hoping that the Inc4g would be BETTER than the inc2...and it sounds like I might be just hoping for it to be nearly as good as?

Again, I think the battery vs LTE conversation is interesting, and any insight given my usage pattern would be helpful.
 
How on Earth could you need better battery life than the Inc2? That thing went forever on a charge.

As far as LTE, I don't think the newer S4 based phones have the same battery issues while on LTE as the first gen phones did. I am in and out of 4G and don't notice any difference one way or the other.
 
vzwuser76 said:
Okay, so we're arguing over a square cm? Well then I don't know what I was thinking. Hell, it might as well be a 2.5" screen as on my iPod classic.

Seriously, what are you trying to accomplish here? You obviously don't think the phone is worth buying or upgrading to, so what would YOU like everyone to do. Are you here to tell everyone that for only $50 more we could be getting a Galaxy S3, because you're a little late, EVERY review I have seen has said this.

Here's the thing. Most of the people on here are looking for a phone smaller than 4.3". Now you're telling us how big a difference 1 square cm is, so should they go for a phone that's 8/10" larger? I get you don't like the phone, but what do you want us to do about that. From everything I'm seeing, this phone will serve my needs, MY needs. I'm sorry that it doesn't fit yours but there isn much I can do about that.

Btw, congrats on getting up to 5 posts!
Click to expand...

Exactly....I have a Droid 1. I was expecting to see a size difference like that....lol. As with most things in life, some ppl will always find something to complain about.

Anyway....this seems like a nice phone. With the newer internal hardware....should make for a better experience than other older LTE phones.
 
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