HTC Droid Incredible Motorola Droid X
When HTC unveiled the Droid Incredible, there was no doubt it was Verizon's top Android phone. Sleek, feature-rich, and fast, the Incredible is so hot that to this day the carrier is having a hard time keeping it stocked on store shelves.
However, as we all know, the tech world is a fast-paced one and there's always something bigger, better, and brighter right around the corner. Sure enough, within several months of the Incredible's release, the Motorola Droid X made its grand entrance.
Armed with a larger screen, an HDMI port, and mobile hot spot capabilities, the Droid X surely got people's attention; however, judging by all the reader e-mails we received on this topic, it also left a lot of Verizon customers confused: Should they get the Droid Incredible or the Droid X?
Well, we decided this would be the perfect subject for our latest Prizefight, so grab a seat and see who comes out on top in this inter-carrier battle. Let's have a clean fight, fellas.
Ding Ding!
Round 1: Sexiness and durability
Design and looks count for a lot when you're shopping for a cell phone, so here's where we examine the look, size, feel, and sex appeal of the devices
| player | Bonnie | Nicole | Brian | the winner |
| 5Personally, I think the Droid Incredible is sexier because of its slim, compact design. I also appreciate some of the finer details that HTC put into the device, such as the topographic design and colorful internal components. | 4The Droid Incredible is quite a looker, with a beautiful 3.7-inch display that is vibrant as it is sharp. It also has a neat topographic back and the size is nice and slim as well. | 4It fits in my hand quite nicely, it's perfect for the pocket, and its rubberized back can take a beating, but I'm still not a fan of that triple-layer booty. | 4.3 | |
| 4The Droid X's 4.3-inch touch screen is gorgeous. It's just the phone's large size is a slight turnoff to me. | 4I can't help but think of the Droid X as a huge lumbering cousin to the Incredible. Yes, I love the 4.3-inch display and its slim profile, but I can't get over how horribly large it is. So for me, it's a tie. | 3The 4.3-inch screen is gorgeous, and I'm a sucker for big shiny things, but believe it or not, this phone is bigger than the HTC Evo 4G is. It's taller and fatter at the top and I have to shift my hand to use the lock screen. | 3.7 |
Round 2: Controls and user interface
Sexiness is one thing, but are the phones easy to use? In round 2, we examine the design and usability of their user interfaces, keyboards, and navigation controls.
| player | Bonnie | Nicole | Brian | the winner |
| 4I've said it many times before, but HTC Sense provides the best user experience on Android. Also, I used to think HTC's keyboard was pretty great until I used the Droid X's keyboard. The touch-sensitive keys below the screen are OK, but I could do without the optical joystick. | 4I found the Incredible pretty easy to get around. I quite like the HTC Sense interface as well as the keyboard, which I find is way easier to use than the standard Android one. I wasn't a big fan of the optical joystick though, as it didn't make navigating that much easier, and I often accidentally brushed against it. The lack of a dedicated camera button is also annoying. | 4HTC's Sense interface is still my favorite flavor of Android. The touch screen and buttons are responsive and I like the optical joystick option that doesn't hurt the design. This is the most feature-packed operating system available, but you are going to have to learn how to use it. | 4 | |
| 4Motorola's done a good job of toning down Motoblur, but it's still a little clunky compared with HTC's Sense. That said, the keyboard is awesome and the physical navigation controls are a plus, so this round is a draw for me. | 4I much prefer the Droid X's physical hot keys to the touch sensor ones on the Incredible, so I give points there. However, I do think the MotoBlur interface isn't as refined as HTC's, and it's not as easy to skip between home screens. | 3Physical buttons are nice, but why did Motorola swap the Menu and Home buttons that have been a staple for almost every Android phone? The interface is definitely Android, but it's not as clean as HTC's Sense interface and you feel that immediately. | 3.7 |
Round 3: Features
What do these phones offer under the hood? Here we examine the features in each device and rate which phone offers more.
| player | Bonnie | Nicole | Brian | the winner |
| 4The Droid Incredible and Droid X are evenly matched in terms of core features, but the X pulls ahead with a couple of extras, such as mobile hot spot capabilities and an HDMI port. | 4With its 8-megapixel camera, music player, Wi-Fi, and GPS, the Droid Incredible has all the features you would want in a modern smartphone. Its Google integration is great, as is the variety of apps you can get from the Android Market. | 4Both phones have 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, as well as all the great Android features like voice search, voice commands, turn-by-turn directions, speech-to-text messages, and more. | 4 | |
| 5See comment above. | 4The Droid X matches the Incredible's features pretty closely, so we give it the same marks as well. | 5You're getting a couple of extra features on the Droid X that give it the edge. The mobile hot spot feature is killer and it has an HDMI port on the bottom. Boo yeah! | 4.7 |
Round 4: Web browsing and multimedia
These handsets do a lot more than just make calls--they also have Web browsers and multimedia players. We tell you which phone offers a better media and Web browsing experience.
| player | Bonnie | Nicole | Brian | the winner |
| 4The Droid Incredible provides a perfectly fine Web browsing and multimedia experience. The pinch-to-zoom gesture works smoothly on the browser, and its page load times are swift. Also, HTC Sense gives the music player a nice Cover Flow-like interface. | 4The Web browsing felt intuitive and smooth, and we had no problems engaging the accelerometer. Videos look fantastic on its display as well. | 4Both share the same Web browser with multiple windows and bookmark previews. Both phones have 8-megapixel cameras with flash and 720p video. One advantage is HTC's Sense interface that has a more polished media player. | 4 | |
| 5The Droid X offers a similar experience to the Incredible; however, it supersizes it on a 4.3-inch touch screen, making Web browsing and video watching that much better. | 5There's little doubt in my mind that despite my loathing for the size of the Droid X, its 4.3-inch display does allow for a vastly superior multimedia experience. The video looks stunning, and Web pages really take advantage of every pixel. | 5It's all about the screen here. Size matters here because the screen enhances every action from Web surfing to watching movies. | 5 |
Round 5: Call quality and general performance
Cell phones aren't worth much if they don't make good calls and can't keep up with your demands. In the final round, we check out just how well devices work as a phone and everything in between.
| 5The Droid Incredible's call quality is good, with little to no background noise or voice distortion. Its battery life could be better, but the phone's general performance is outstanding. | 4Call quality was fantastic, overall; however, I did hear a bit more clicking and fuzz with the Incredible than I did with the Droid X. | 3I was disappointed with the call quality on both of these phones. I've heard better from other Verizon phones, and I heard noise pops and breaks in multiple calls. Its battery gives you a solid 5.5 hours of 3G talk time. | 4 | |
| 5The Droid X's call quality was as good as the Incredible's. The phone didn't feel quite as snappy as the Incredible, but its battery life was better. I'm calling this round a draw. | 5While I heard some minor clicking and popping on the Droid X, I felt its audio quality was better than that of the Incredible in the end. There was hardly any background noise as well. | 4Call quality was pretty much the same for both phones, but it's always dependent on your location. The Droid X's 3G talk time was impressive with 7.5 hours of juice. | 4.7 |
The winner is...
Motorola Droid X
Despite taking an early lead, the Droid Incredible lost steam in the latter half of the match as the Droid X overpowered it with its extra features and 4.3-inch touch screen. But remember, one size does not fit all. If you find the Droid X a bit much, you're still getting a solid product in the Droid Incredible.
Score :
HTC Droid Incredible | Motorola Droid X
4.1 | 4.4
