Google and its smart phone partners have been on quite a roll lately.
Last fall, Motorola introduced the Droid, the first hit phone based on Google’s Android operating system. Droid not only was the best Android phone, but it also was the best smart phone on the market at the time other than Apple’s iPhone.
In January, Google and Taiwan-based manufacturer HTC topped the Droid with Google’s Nexus One. Although sales of the Nexus One have been disappointing, the device took Android to the next level with its sleek physical design, refined three-dimensional interface and speedy processor.
Now, with the new HTC Droid Incredible, Google and HTC have raised the bar once more.
The Droid Incredible shares a lot in common with its sister phone, the Nexus One. It’s got the same snappy 1-gigahertz processor and the same bright 3.7-inch OLED screen. And like the Nexus One, it runs Android 2.1, which is the latest version of Google’s operating system.
But the Droid Incredible offers some significant improvements over the Nexus One. The first thing users will notice is that the Incredible comes with HTC’s Sense interface. Sense is a program that runs on top of Android and helps organize the phone’s home screens.
Users see a big clock when they turn on and unlock their phones and icons of commonly used programs. Double-tapping the Incredible’s home button allows you to see thumbnail views of each of the phone’s seven home screens.
Instead of having to swipe across the screen multiple times to get to the page you want, you can simply tap on its thumbnail and go to it directly.
Sense also lets you customize your home screens with scenes that correspond to particular uses or times of the day. So there’s a “work” scene that includes links to your e-mail box and calendar and stock chart…