HTC Incredible S Pro Reviews

When we review a new phone, we're sensitive to the fact that they don't exist in a vacuum...meaning, we have to be cognizant of the phone marketplace today. If that weren't the case, we'd rate the Incredible S highly: it has a terrific screen, exhibits great performance, takes awesome photos, and it's loaded with the latest version of HTC Sense. But in a day when LG is releasing phones with 3D screens and multiple cores, Motorola is debuting its line of qHD high resolution devices, and Samsung is bringing forth next generation Super AMOLED displays, the Incredible S looks very much outdated. Perhaps if HTC introduced the phone at a more budget-friendly price, we could recommended the device, but given that it'll cost almost as much unlocked as the better upcoming smartphones of mid 2011, we just can't recommended that you go out and buy one. Heck, you can spring for the dual-core qHD Atrix 4G, unlocked, for just $50 more.

The Incredible S serves as a sterling exhibit of what can be achieved when devs and designers are given the time to polish up their work instead of having to reinvent the wheel with each and every new iteration. Of course, the flipside of that coin is that familiarity will inevitably breed some level of contempt, and this handset offers a compendium of good ideas from HTC's past rather than any revolutionary innovations of its own. Still, for those who disregard novelty in favor of a very well thought-out and produced device, the Incredible S delivers.

We like the HTC Incredible S. Its large screen is the optimum size for us, and the good main camera is a definite plus. But there's nothing that delivers a great ‘wow' - and for the price, we rather expected there would be.

So the HTC Incredible S is put in a quite awkward position. Not so much by its failure to perform as expected – it does just fine. The Incredible S main undoing is its creators’ failure to anticipate market trends and equip it with the hardware that would let it remain competitive for more than six months after its release.

Should you get the Incredible S? If you're a fan of the HTC Sense experience, and find yourself in need of a smartphone soon, the Incredible S is relatively future-proofed with an upcoming Android 2.3 Gingerbread update in Q2 2011. The average user will find this Android smartphone adequate, considering its price point at S$758 and its overall performance. If you're looking for something with more juice (we're talking about speed and stamina), it would be prudent to hold out for faster, more powerful smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S II or be an early adopter of dual-core smartphones as many choices are looming on the horizon.

The Incredible S, more than anything, serves as a testament for how HTC has come and how far it's pushing technology. When it first came on the scene, the company was often tasked with making low-end smartphones or basic feature phones that were almost immediately rebranded by carriers pretending that they'd designed the phones themselves. Providers didn't even want to acknowledge HTC existed. Today, the Incredible S wears the HTC badge conspicuously and exudes a sense of quality that wouldn't have been conceivable for most manufacturers even two years ago.

As we said at the start, it’s easy to discount the Incredible S from specs on a screen. A single-core processor, superseded version of Android and twiner display size all fall short on paper. In reality, though, the Incredible S manages to occupy a sweet-spot previously poorly served by HTC’s Android line-up. At 4-inches it’s more usable than the 3.7-inch Desire but not as unwieldy as the 4.3-inch Desire HD; the fact that the display itself is an excellent Super LCD panel does no harm either.

An unusual design sets the Incredible S apart, and it’s a quality all-round package too - at least until the dual-core wave arrives

Overall, the Incredible S is a likeable handset. It has a great screen, the Sense user interface is nicely integrated into Android and the phone feels speedy. That said, it's priced towards the premium end of the market yet doesn’t really feel like a next generation handset because it doesn’t offer anything new. The fact that we’re now seeing dual core Android handsets hit the market only re-enforces this feeling.

In the end, the HTC Incredible S would have been a tough handset to beat if it were released a few months ago, but instead, it’s being overlooked by the current crop of competition. Then again, it’s still a decent smartphone in its own regard.

Buy the Incredible S because you want a competent device which gives a good showing for itself and offers the friendly experience of HTC Sense. But be prepared for devices with better displays, more raw power or enhanced camera skills vying for your attention just around the corner.

The HTC Incredible S has a tough-feeling unibody aluminium construction and ran fine in the brief tests we ran at MWC - it's just a shame it currently comes with Android 2.2 rather than a later version. Watch this space for a full review of the HTC Incredible S in due course.