Awesome phone with a few minor gripes

I've waited for this phone for months. First I thought the Moto Droid would be my LG Dare's successor. Then I saw the leaked photos of the Nexus One and finally the Incredible. After all this time, it has finally arrived and I've spent the last few days playing with it.

The number one question everyone will ask is "How does it compare to the iPhone?" and I think possibly for the first time ever, the answer is that it is *better* in many (or most) ways.

First, the hardware. In person this thing looks like a murdered out (black) version of the iPhone, with a few catchy red accents and a unique faschia around the back. It looks very cool and feels great in your hand. Some places have reported that the backside feels "cheap" and I'll agree -- when the back panel is removed, it feels cheap. But when it's on the phone (99.99% of the time), it feels quite solid and the whole package feels balanced and complete. I like the soft-touch backing because it doesn't show fingerprints. Nice. Yes, the screen will show fingerprints, especially if you run greasy.

Next, the interface. I had never used the Android OS before and wasn't sure what to expect in terms of simplicity, layout, and general elegance. In my opinion, Android nails it. No, this phone doesn't have the sheer simplicity of the iPhones interface. Instead, it gives you something that the iPhone doesn't: control. You get to decide where your icons are. You get to add widgets to your home screen(s). You get folders, program shortcuts, and various wallpaper choices (including animated wallpapers, if you're into that). The interface and customization options are really excellent. This is great if you have even a little bit of tech-geek in you, and it's still intuitive. Everything runs smooth and responsive. And it does multi-tasking, without breaking a sweat.

The external speaker (for music/speakerphone) is excellent for a cell phone; one of the best I've heard with little or no distortion. Of course it doesn't have any bass, but that's to be expected. Multi-touch works perfectly (there were some known issues with the Nexus One because it used an inferior touch processor that has been upgraded in the Incredible). There are all kinds of widgets and programs that come standard so you can get a good jump on customizing your experience. Camera is fine. Sure, it's 8mp (I'd rather have a 3mp with excellent picture quality). No, it is nowhere near a dedicated point and shoot camera. Above average for a cell phone, but don't expect miracles here.

I do have a few gripes so far, and some of them are more of an HTC/Google software thing and not a direct issue with this particular phone. First, the widgets, while nice, are limited in their customization. You often have a choice of 2-3 display styles for a widget, but aside from that there are very few "widget options". They each work pretty well but are limited in their individual flexibility.

Another small annoyance is in some landscape mode keyboards (like when writing a text or filling out a form) you have to hide the keyboard before accepting what you've typed; you can't just hit enter to accept or continue. Sounds small but at times it can be kind of annoying. In portrait mode this problem doesn't really exist, because either there's a button present or you can scroll through content to find it. (Landscape mode overwrites the page content with your text editing area.)

Random note in the middle of my review: the Android Marketplace does not have as many apps as the iPhone. Personally, I don't care. iDon't need a million apps to make my phone useful. The ones that are available in Android have provided everything I've needed (so far).

Finally, there are going to be a lot of people disappointed in battery life. I've only charged mine a few times so far, but this is definitely a phone you're going to need to charge at the end of the day with moderate use, or possibly even sooner with heavy-duty use. I wish they would have packed in a higher-capacity battery, but then at the same time with all of the features on these types of high-end smartphones, I can't expect the battery to do the impossible.

Overall this is THE best phone on Verizon and quite possibly ANY carrier, at least until the Evo 4g and next iPhone. Since Verizon is the best network, though, I give the Droid Incredible 4.5 stars and three big thumbs up. That's right, three.