I must have been putting too much stock into high-end brand names. Or, any stock at all. That’s my bad. I’ll take full responsibility. But, that doesn’t make it any less confusing as to why I’m looking at the newest member of the DROID lineage, courtesy of HTC, and scratching my head in utter confusion. Why is Verizon launching this phone? Why did HTC make this phone? And, here’s the biggest question: is Verizon going to sell this phone for their normal $299 launch price for a smartphone with 4G LTE connectivity?
I’m not sure if you feel the same way, but here’s how I look at most things, especially in regards to technology. Why would I buy one thing, when I can just as easily buy something else that’s already available, and better? To me, that just makes sense.
And that’s exactly what’s going on with the DROID Incredible 4G LTE.
Yes, it’s new, and it’s announced. But, we still don’t have a launch date, and we still don’t know how much it’s going to cost once it finally does land on Verizon’s store shelves. But, unless this device is the first Verizon 4G LTE handset to launch for $99 with the DROID branding, it’s already overpriced.
Because the HTC Rezound exists, and it does everything the DROID Incredible 4G LTE does, but in some (most?) cases, better. Let’s just break it down, shall we?
We’ll start with the newcomer. The DROID Incredible 4G LTE by HTC features a 4-inch Super LCD display, with a resolution of 540x960. It has a pixel density of about 275 ppi. Under the hood, we’ve got a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage (expandable to 32GB with a microSD card). The camera on the back is 8MP with an LED flash, and the front-facing shooter is 1.3MP. It is launching with Android 4.0 and HTC’s Sense 4.0 user interface.
And then we’ve got the HTC Rezound, which launched at the end of last year. It features a 4.3-inch Super LCD display, with a resolution of 720x1280. It has a pixel density of 342 ppi. As we dig into the device, we find a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage (which is also expandable to 32GB from a microSD card). As far as cameras go, there’s an 8MP variant on the back with an LED flash, and a 2MP front-facing shooter on the other side. The Rezound is still running Android 2.3, and running HTC’s Sense 3.5 user interface.
Some similarities, but for the most part the two devices are quite different. And, to put it bluntly, the HTC Rezound is a better handset. Why? Because of the better display (even if it does measure in at .3-inches bigger), the faster-clocked processor (just by the numbers, mind you), the additional memory out of the box, and the fact that the Rezound is also 4G LTE-connected.
Yes, the DROID Incredible 4G LTE does have Android 4.0 and Sense 4 right out of the box, but that’s honestly the only thing going for this device. So, unless HTC and Verizon are seriously considering never upgrading the Rezound to the latest version of Android or HTC’s Sense UI, then I’m at a loss as to why anyone would really choose the DROID Incredible 4G LTE over the Rezound.
Because of the DROID name? Please. As of right this moment, the HTC Rezound is listed at $199.99. If the DROID Incredible 4G LTE launches at a higher price than that, or even the same price, I will be even more confused. I see absolutely no reason why the DROID Incredible 4G LTE would be priced anywhere near the Rezound, let alone more than it.
What do you think? Are you just as confused about the upcoming release of the DROID Incredible 4G LTE? Why didn’t Verizon and HTC work on releasing a One Series, or even something close? Let me know what you think in the comments below.
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