HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE - Not Everyone Wants a Monster Sized Phone.

It seems to me that the blogging and technology review community as a whole is doing a disservice to the HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE with their constant comparisons to the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the HTC One series (which is NOT even available from Verizon).   I decided to do a series of informal posts with my experiences with the Inc 4G and provide comparisons to some of its older siblings, the Incredible 2 and the original competitor.

Just about every one of the tech blogs out there is repeating the same 3 things.

• The camera is not as good as HTC's One series, (Though the Verge says otherwise)
• The display on the Galaxy S3 and One X is bigger and brighter. 
• The processor is clocked faster at 1.5Ghz vs. 1.2Ghz on the Inc4G.  

They all then conclude that you should spend the extra $50 to get the Galaxy S3 on Verizon or the HTC One X on AT&T.  But, guess what?! Not everyone wants to carry around a phone that's half the size of a tablet or iPad and most people don't want to leave Verizon's superior coverage zone.

No, seriously, I don't care how thin it is, the Galaxy S3 (and even the smaller Razr phones) are just too big for me to comfortably keep in my pocket all day long.  Oh, and if you are concerned about 1.2 vs 1.5 processing speed, don't be.  There is no noticeable difference in real world application, and all of the benchmarks are only reporting 5 to 18% improvements theoretical speed.  Enough of that rant, back to the topic at hand, comparing the Droid Incredible 1, Droid Incredible 2 and Droid Incredible 4G.

I'll update this post with a link to each comparison as I publish them.

1.  Comparing the size of the HTC Incredible 4G LTE, Incredible 2 and Original Incredible
2. Comparing HTC Incredible 1, 2 and 4G OS and Sense improvements

Droid Incredible 4G LTE vs. Droid Incredible 2 vs. Droid Incredible 1

Having now owned all of the Verizon versions of the HTC Droid Incredible, I felt compelled to post a review and comparison of the original Droid Incredible versus the Droid Incredible 2 versus the Droid Incredible 4G LTE (I really wish they had just named it Droid Incredible 3 to keep things easier to say).  Anyhow, based on my ambition level, you'll get one or more posts, with this one comparing photos of the three and physical properties, such as look and feel.

Anyhow, first up are the pictures, probably what 99% of you came here to see.

Picture comparing side by side Incredible 1 next to Incredible 2 next to Incredible 4G LTE

Picture comparing side by side laying down Incredible 1 next to Incredible 2 next to Incredible 4G LTE

Picture comparing side by side Incredible 1 next to Incredible 2 next to Incredible 4G LTE

Picture comparing stacked Incredible 1 on Incredible 2 on Incredible 4G LTE

Incredible 4G LTE sitting on top of Droid Incredible 2

Droid Incredible 1, 2, 4G side by side

Back View of Droid Incredible 1 vs. Droid Incredible 2 vs. Droid Incredible 4G

So, here's what you can't really tell from the pictures, and you really need to touch these Droid Incredibles hands-on to really understand.

Feel and Grip
Overall, the Droid 4G LTE got it right.  It really got it right.  Although not an attractive design from the back, the rounded edges combined with just the right amount of thickness make the Incredible 4G one of the most comfortable smartphones that I have ever held in my hand.   Its just the right width, and even though thin is cool, those super thin phones are really just not comfortable to use in your hand.

I always thought the original Droid Incredible was more comfortable in the hand than the Incredible 2.  Well, the Droid Incredible 4G LTE is the most comfortable of the bunch.  It's also marginally lighter in weight than the Incredible 2, but somehow the weight feels distributed better.

The material and ribbed back on the HTC Inc 4G LTE feel very comfortable and the phone rests naturally in the curve of your hand.

Thickness
The Droid Incredible 4G LTE  is the thinnest phone out of the Incredible series so far.  But its only a hairline thinner than the Incredible 2.  It feels much thinner than both though because it has a nice steeply curved back as opposed to the sharp squared look of the other two phones.

 Height
 As you can see in the photos, the Incredible 4G is just a hair taller than the Incredible 2, both of which are taller than the original Droid Incredible.  In practical use, you don't notice any difference from the 2 to the 4G model.

Width
Although the original Droid Incredible still wins in having the slimmest waist, the Incredible 4G LTE is not far behind.  The Incredible 4G, on paper, is only marginally less narrow than the Inc.2, however, due to the rounded back, it actually feels more narrow than it is.

Droid Incredible Sizing Review
To conclude this part of my review and comparison of the original HTC Droid Incredible, the HTC Droid Incredible 2 and the HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE, I'd like to reiterate that the Droid Incredible 4G LTE is the winner as far as most usable and most comfortable phone of the bunch.  Dimensionally, I think that the Incredible 4G LTE is better in every way than its predecessors.

I may or may not write further reviews comparing the devices, depending on what others do and how the traffic fairs on this post.  Feel free to ask me any questions about any of the devices in the comments.

See more HTC Incredible 4G LTE Reviews:

• Comparing HTC Incredible 2, 4G and Original - OS and general user interface review
• HTC Incredible 4G vs. Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One series

What is the Blue Round Pill with L950 stamped on it?

I was digging through my medicine cabinet and ran into a random round blue pill imprinted with L950 on it.  A quick google search turned up nothing, but I was able to find the proper package that it came from and identify it for anyone looking to know what the L950 Blue pill is.

The Blue l950 pill is
Cool Mint Ranitidine 150MG Acid Reducer by Perrigo

In my case, it was purchased from BJ's Club under the Berkley & Jensen Acid Reducer, Maximum Strength.



In simpler terms, it is Generic Zantac 150 medicine, only much cheaper.

Replacement Insoles for Rockport Garnon shoes RM1213

I have two different pairs of Oxford Style Rockport Garnon business casual shoes.  I have the lighter colored, and I think discontinued, Rockport Garnon APM78779 pictured here and also have the  Rockport Garnon Flint Oxford shoe.  In both pairs the insoles (foot padding) barely lasted a year before wearing out (especially at the big toe).  The shoes themselves are still in great shape though.  So, I went online thinking it would be easy to find replacement insoles for the rockport shoes, since the existing insole was stamped with "RM1213", and I had the model number and names for the shoes.  However, searching all over turned up no factory replacements for rockport insoles.   So, I first bought some cheapo insoles that claimed to go up to size 13 from walmart, and they flat out were too small, made of cheap padding and slid all over the inside of the shoe.

Ultimately, I took a gamble and ordered some more expensive (but reasonably priced) Dr. Scholls inserts from Amazon.  I found that Dr. Scholl's Massaging Gel Sport 8-13 where practically a perfect fit for my Rockport Garnon size 13 shoes.  The Doctor Scholls inserts also have good grip so that they are not sliding around in the shoe.  Its my understanding that if you have smaller shoes, the Dr. Scholls inserts can also be cut down to fit.  At $13.50 shipped, I think they are a great buy to extend the life of your Rockports. They are comfortable, but not noticeably any more comfortable than the factory inserts when they were new. 

• Get the Rockport Garnon Replacement Insole on Amazon here.
  

For Searchers:
Rockport replacement insoles for model apm78779
Rockport RM1213 Inserts
Rockport Shoe padding factory replacement
Dr Scholls and Rockport Shoes
Dr Scholes for Rockport Garnon Flint