I’ve had some bad luck with cell phones over the years, including briefly owning the Moto F3 which was perhaps the worst excuse of a cell phone that ever graced this earth. I also, within a week of buying what turned out to be a broken Blackberry on eBay, dropped it on my rocky driveway and shattered the screen. But now, finally, I am pleased to announce that I have felled those cell phone demons and proudly own an absolutely splendid phone on the Verizon network: the HTC Droid Incredible.

You can find any number of technical reviews elsewhere, so this one will be Putin-Bush style — from the gut. Google’s Android operating system isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty freaking awesome. A giant leap from my Blackberry Curve.

Here’s the features I most enjoy:

• when I add something into my calendar app, it instantly syncs wirelessly with Google Calendar and iCal on my Mac. The google voice app gives me visual voice mail for free.
• The web browser is fast. I use the BeyondPod app to get podcasts that I can download or listen to on demand.  I can then play these through our car’s speaker system.
• With the NPR News app I can listen to MPR live at any time, or read or listen to popular news stories. It rocks Foursquare (I’m up to 6 mayorships, by the way).
• I can tether it to my laptop if I’m away from a wireless hub.
• The contacts automatically syncs pictures with Facebook accounts.
• I can track my runs with a free app, getting GPS reports of my speed, route, and then upload them to Twitter (which I don’t usually do, but I could).
• The camera and video recorder are smooth as silk, and the Navigation app is much better than our stand alone GPS. You can tell: I’m a fan.

That said, here’s the downsides I’ve experienced:

• I’m still getting used to the keyboard. It’s fine, but I get slowed down by dashes, exclamation points, etc.
• The battery life could be better. It was horrible last week in Decatur, but this week it’s better so I think it really gets drained if your Verizon signal is low. A higher capacity battery is on order, so we’ll see.
• I thought for a while, the Zagg screen protector I added was annoyingly plastic-feeling to the touch, but that’s changed after a week or two. Geez, I think that’s it for negatives, and I’m a pretty critical guy.

If you’re considering the HTC Incredible, but aren’t up for a Verizon update yet, check around the Verizon stores in your area. Strangely, the booth at the mall was able to upgrade me now, six months before the Verizon store near our apartment. I think the book was a “super seller” or something like that. And, yes, it’s difficult to make cell phone decisions not knowing what AT&T and Apple, Apple and Verizon are up to. Living in an area with non-existent AT&T coverage made that decision and easier one for me, and I’ve just figured you can’t know when/if Verizon will get the iPhone, so you have to live your like.  Also, now that I’m on Android I can support their openness and real support of developers in action as well as words (as opposed to Apple’s policies). Surely, in a few weeks, there will be something faster and better, but for now I’m finally pleased as punch with my phone.

image from Engadget