New to Android, have a few questions

[SpaceHippie]

Well, ive ben hating on android for a while now. I was an avid blackberry user and could never see myself without. Last month i grew bored with blackberry and there outdated OS. Not liking the android OS, i picked up a palm pixi. This phone is a slight upgrade but stil crap. So with no other choice, ive turned to android. After playing with an Incredible at the store ive bought into the idea. But i have a few questions.

1. Is the incredible still new enough that it will be receiving updates for a while?

2. Is the HTC sense ui able to be turned off?

3. Is the incredible getting gingerbread? and if so when?

4. How does the incredible stack up against the top phones out there like the evo?

5. Is there mobile Hotspot and is it free like on the palm pixi? I had the smartphone data plan on my pixi, is that all i need for the droid?

Thanks all and i hope to become a android fanatic very soon.

 

[sivartk]

1. Is the incredible still new enough that it will be receiving updates for a while?

It is about 7 1/2 months old, while no update is a given, but I'd say yes. There have been rumors of a major (2.3) upgrade in March.

2. Is the HTC sense ui able to be turned off?

Not without rooting the phone, but I like it better than other standard (motorola, samsung) UI's.

3. Is the incredible getting gingerbread? and if so when?

See # 1

4. How does the incredible stack up against the top phones out there like the evo?

The only thing it really lacks is a front facing camera, but I'm not into those anyway. To me the 4.3" screen is just too big on some of the other phones.

5. Is there mobile Hotspot and is it free like on the palm pixi? I had the smartphone data plan on my pixi, is that all i need for the droid?

Technically, you have to pay extra per month for the hotspot, but there are other ways to do it (even without rooting the phone). Just search Google. It is one of the few Android phones that can do a Wifi hotspot without rooting.

 

[Nephilim_80]

Well, ive ben hating on android for a while now. I was an avid blackberry user and could never see myself without. Last month i grew bored with blackberry and there outdated OS. Not liking the android OS, i picked up a palm pixi. This phone is a slight upgrade but stil crap. So with no other choice, ive turned to android. After playing with an Incredible at the store ive bought into the idea. But i have a few questions.

1. Is the incredible still new enough that it will be receiving updates for a while?

2. Is the HTC sense ui able to be turned off?

3. Is the incredible getting gingerbread? and if so when?

4. How does the incredible stack up against the top phones out there like the evo?

5. Is there mobile Hotspot and is it free like on the palm pixi? I had the smartphone data plan on my pixi, is that all i need for the droid?

Thanks all and i hope to become a android fanatic very soon.

lol, First and foremost, you should probably not state your dislike for an operating system that is the entire focus of this forum, also, you shouldn't really be acting as though "well, I can't get anything better so I guess I'll settle for an android". With that said, I'll try and answer your questions accurately.(you can always search the forum though)

1. Yes, the incredible will definitely be seeing more updates.

2. No, you can't actually turn off sense, but you can root your phone and put a vanilla/stock android rom on it. I am using Cyanogenmod 6.1 for example.

3. The incredible will absolutely be getting Gingerbread, when is yet to be determined. Probably sometime in the first quarter of 2011, hopefully January or February at the latest.

4. The Evo and the incredible are pretty much the exact same phone, only difference, The Evo has a front facing camera, 4.3 inch screen (INC has 3.7) and I believe Evo supports HDMI. The Incredible is still an excellent phone that will not be ignored by developers.

5. You can download 3rd party apps for mobile hotspots that are free, I believe you might have to be rooted though.

Hope this was of some help. I think you will definitely change your attitude on Android once you have had one for a couple days.

 

[bigk]

1. Is the incredible still new enough that it will be receiving updates for a while?

I would say so, the specs are up there for sure. Droid 2 is the only phone faster then the incredible. The droid 2 has a 1.2ghz processor, but still a little sluggish. The incredible is well worth it and very snappy. (Was playing with the D2 at best buy and it does seem slower...) I would most definisly recommend the HTC Incredible.

I would compare the other phones that Verizon has to offer, no phone comes close to Incredible. (Except the Droid 2.)

4. How does the incredible stack up against the top phones out there like the evo?

Incredible is pretty much the EVO minus the front facing camera and the larger screen.

No need to reharsh what other people have said I would say I recommend it.

Pick a carrier that suits you best then find a phone you want I wouldn't pick a phone first then jump to that carrier. What if their coverage sucks?

3. The incredible will absolutely be getting Gingerbread, when is yet to be determined. Probably sometime in the first quarter of 2011, hopefully January or February at the latest.

4. The Evo and the incredible are pretty much the exact same phone, only difference, The Evo has a front facing camera, 4.3 inch screen (INC has 3.7) and I believe Evo supports HDMI.

Source or link regarding gingerbread coming to the incredible?

Also I believe the incredible also supports hdmi out via tv out. Or wait, is it composite? (Red, white and yellow cables lol I can't remember the correct name.)

 

[menschmaschine5]

Well, ive ben hating on android for a while now. I was an avid blackberry user and could never see myself without. Last month i grew bored with blackberry and there outdated OS. Not liking the android OS, i picked up a palm pixi. This phone is a slight upgrade but stil crap. So with no other choice, ive turned to android. After playing with an Incredible at the store ive bought into the idea. But i have a few questions.

1. Is the incredible still new enough that it will be receiving updates for a while?

2. Is the HTC sense ui able to be turned off?

3. Is the incredible getting gingerbread? and if so when?

4. How does the incredible stack up against the top phones out there like the evo?

5. Is there mobile Hotspot and is it free like on the palm pixi? I had the smartphone data plan on my pixi, is that all i need for the droid?

Thanks all and i hope to become a android fanatic very soon.

1. Yes, it will be receiving updates. Even though it's almost 8 months old, it's still one of Verizon's top smartphones and probably has a pretty long life ahead of it.

2. You can if you root the phone (which, if you do become an android fanatic, you'll probably eventually do). But without rooting and flashing a custom ROM, you're stuck with Sense. It's not a bad thing, though, I personally really like Sense. In fact I switched back to Virtuous ROM after trying Cyanogen because I missed Sense.

3. Probably. No one knows when, though. Updates generally just happen, there isn't a big announcement of when it will. It may take a while, like the Froyo update, because they have to add Sense to the OS and probably want to make sure it runs very smoothly. Hopefully, we'll get the new version of Sense with Gingerbread as well.

4. I'd say it stacks up pretty well. I'd hazard that it's still Verizon's best phone (its biggest competitor is the Droid X, but the X uses Motoblur, which is a pretty bad interface, and has a locked bootloader so you can't use custom kernels). The Evo, obviously, has a front facing camera and 4G capabilities over the Dinc, but other than that they're not very much different aside from the service provider. Also, if you get into rooting, there are tons of custom ROMs out there for the Dinc. Of course, if you want to wait a little bit, you can get a phone for Verizon's LTE network when they start coming out, but they're unlikely to be that much of an upgrade other than 4G capabilities.

5. There is mobile hotspot. Verizon tacks on a $20 charge in addition to your data plan to use hotspot and tethering (ridiculous, but Verizon is always looking to make an extra buck). You can, of course, circumvent these charges easily if you root the phone, and Verizon probably won't even notice unless you start downloading large files.

 

[Jude526]

I came to Android with having been on BB for a few years. And I am paying retail for my Incredible. I have had issues with BB recently and was just tired of it. I am amazed with Android and the Incredible. It lives up to its name, that is for sure. No turning back for me. It is worth every cent and then some ! Wait till you have experienced the browsing for a few days. You will be glad you jumped over. But to say you were an Android hater prior to even experiencing it is not conducive to an intelligent statement. I was used to BB from selling wireless and liked it. Android is new, just a few years out and I didn't know anything about it.
I certainly wasn't going to be negative on a platform that was unknown to me. I researched and played with the devices. I read about Android, the pros and cons. I felt it was well worth the exploring. To have a great device like BB lack on internet, and freeze and lag was starting to get to me. I didn't mind the battery pulls, but I did mind not being able to do things on the device that I knew I would be able to accomplish on Android.
BB is still good. I certainly wouldn't tell someone not to get it.
I had to see what all the excitement was about. I am not young by any means, but I consider myself intelligent and tech savvy. I did have a few questions and this forum has helped me out a great deal. But I am also a hands on type of person. It has a learning curve, but it hasn't been that difficult to figure out. I don't like the battery life but I will get an extended battery. First to pay for it !
I like the Droid Incredible. I like the touchscreen. I had played with my BB the other night and even though I have only had the Incredible since the 7th, the BB felt weird. I am really getting used to the touchscreen and it is awesome.
You are going to find some really great options with Android that BB users have to pay for. I used VZ Nav a lot 9.99 a month. Having the Incredible, I now have voice Google Nav and it is free ! It works great !
I am amazed what this device does.
So, don't be saying you were an Android hater. No one can hate something that they haven't tried out. That's like saying you hate driving a 5 speed when actually you don't know how to drive one .

Take the Incredible for a spin.........you will be impressed.

Thanks everyone for welcoming me to Android and assisting me. I know my BB exp has helped a lot on Crackberry. Both are great. I really think this is a great forum and I love my Incredible !

Happy Holidays

 

[SpaceHippie]

Thanks everyone for the help. And my apologies if i came off as rude. In the beginning i was not a fan. I was aware of the speed and such but did not like the ui. But like i said, i tried one out and kinda started getting used to it. Which is why i think it's funny how i used to dislike android and now im a user. Hence my signature lol.

 

[Nephilim_80]

Thanks everyone for the help. And my apologies if i came off as rude. In the beginning i was not a fan. I was aware of the speed and such but did not like the ui. But like i said, i tried one out and kinda started getting used to it. Which is why i think it's funny how i used to dislike android and now im a user. Hence my signature lol.

It's cool man, The great thing about android is that you do not have to settle for just one UI, there are lots and lots of Roms available so you can try as many as you need to find the one that fits

 

[SpaceHippie]

awesome

 

[mclarryjr]

You can run a different launcher like Launcher Pro or ADW which will take Sense off your home screens and give you the Vanilla look. You won't be able to completely turn it off like said above without rooting.