Why is the Incredible better than the Droid?

[junpar]

I think the reason the OLED display is not as good as it could be is because they are using a cheap OLED display. If they really used a quality one, the phone would be very expensive..

 

[BzB]

its underclocked to 768mhz

How can you go through a thread of DI owners, then look at reviews on the net, and then look at rebuttals, and then still say that?

cause i have the phone lol.

Lol. Where are you getting your info from? You know you can always go to the manufacturers website for the correct specs, right?

Here you go.... HTC Mobile Phones - DROID INCREDIBLE Verizon - Overview

Knowing is half the battle.

 

[jsh1120]

not under clocked. definitely running at the advertised 1ghz.

its underclocked to 768mhz

nope...it's true 1ghz.

Couldn't recall where I'd read the reference to the underclocking of the Incredible so I went googling. I didn't manage to find the reference but I did find another reference to it that perhaps explains this confusion.

It appears that one of the early Incredible reviews included a screen shot showing the device running at 768 mhz. Like the Droid, however, the Incredible varies its clock speed according to demand. So it appears that the momentary drop to 768 may have been the source of the erroneous "underclocking" impression.

P.S. One of my apps shows the current clock speed of my (unrooted) Droid. It varies between 250 and 550 from second to second. If I took a screen shot at a point where it was at the low end, the same erroneous impression would result.

PPS. Did some more checking and found that the 768 underclocking information comes more or less exclusively from pre-release articles. No telling whether it was independently confirmed information or just the usual repetition of a rumor on multiple internet sites. In any event, there doesn't seem to be any true confirmation one way or the other since the Incredible's release. Furthermore, simply citing the specs (1ghz) doesn't resolve the issue, either. The fact that the chip is capable of a particular speed doesn't mean it's actually clocked at that speed in a particular device.

 

[billpur]

I returned my moto after 30 days and went to the di. I did not want to start my 2 years with out the latest technology. I had prox sensor (light sensor) issues and the keyboard would open in my pocket. I've played with the di for about 2 days. No problems. I originally chose the moto because of the keyboard, but I only used it a couple of times. The other day, I went for several hours using voice and never really used the screen much. Being old and clumsy, I too was afraid not to have a keyboard, but i got over it very quickly. Good luck out there.

 

[jsh1120]

I returned my moto after 30 days and went to the di. I did not want to start my 2 years with out the latest technology...

Unfortunately, you'll probably have to suffer about 23 months of not having the "latest technology." Just the nature of phones these days. But if I were in your position I'd be sorely tempted by the Incredible.

 

[BzB]

Furthermore, simply citing the specs (1ghz) doesn't resolve the issue, either. The fact that the chip is capable of a particular speed doesn't mean it's actually clocked at that speed in a particular device.

We will just have to agree to disagree. Hard to dispute the manufacturers info when there is no other reputable information (other than rumor and unverified info) to back up claims to the contrary.

It's already been discussed that the incredible and the n1 have the same processor, only difference is that one chip is for cdma and the other is for gsm.

Either way the gist of this is that the incredible is blazing fast in everyday usage.

 

[adrynalyne]

@jsh

Go run Linpack and check your saved results. Is it lying that it says its clocked at 1ghz?

Like I said earlier in another thread, I don't play the specs game. I go for the cold, hard truth.

 

[jsh1120]

Furthermore, simply citing the specs (1ghz) doesn't resolve the issue, either. The fact that the chip is capable of a particular speed doesn't mean it's actually clocked at that speed in a particular device.

We will just have to agree to disagree. Hard to dispute the manufacturers info when there is no other reputable information (other than rumor and unverified info) to back up claims to the contrary.

It's already been discussed that the incredible and the n1 have the same processor, only difference is that one chip is for cdma and the other is for gsm.

Either way the gist of this is that the incredible is blazing fast in everyday usage.

Sorry. I must have been unclear. I wasn't disagreeing with you. I have no idea what the actual clock speed of the DI is. There's no dispute that the Snapdragon is a "1 ghz" processor. There are, however, devices where it HAS been underclocked to save power (Dell Aero for example.)

Given the relatively weak stock battery on the Incredible and the overhead of Sense UI, I can certainly understand why HTC (or Verizon) decided to do so on the device and not advertise the fact. On the other hand, you're absolutely correct that the claims of underclocking are, at least as far as I can tell, "unverified."

All of this is pure "bench racing" as we call it in the automotive world. I don't think there's much dispute that the Incredible runs faster and smoother in its stock configuration than an equivalent Droid. And frankly, I'd prefer to have an underclocked chip than an overclocked one even if the performance were identical. Though the risk may not be great, an overclocked chip is obviously more likely to malfunction than an underclocked one. Again, from the automotive world, there's simply no substitute for cubic inches.

Nor is there any dispute that neither the Droid nor the Incredible run at their maximum clock speed all the time. Each runs only as fast as it needs to to meet demand. (At least in stock form.)

If someone wants to resolve this rather academic discussion, they could simply download "SystemPanel" from the market. Assuming it runs on the Incredible, it shows current clock speed in real time.

 

[snappingfish]

Want some forum DATA?

http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-general-discussions/41693-leap-not-leap-question.html

Try this for opinions

 

[Flandry]

I know how OLEDs and LCDs work. There was a test done on the N1 screen and it did not perform how they should in theory. I'm not disagreeing that normally, OLEDs are better than LCDs, but currently the OLED display in the N1 vs the LCD in the Droid is not better.

I would post the link but I have posted it several times and I'd rather not search my posts again to link it again so nobody will read it again lol.

From what I read the OLED screen in the N1 is poor excuse for an OLED screen and the Droid's LCD is very nice.

I'm not aware of the link you've posted previously. But I consider DisplayMate's testing of the N1 to be the most comprehensive and scientific. It does point out some inefficiencies in the N1's power consumption. However, while the results indicate the display's power usage is "relatively high" for OLED technology, it is never stated to be worse than LCD. If you have a link to testing that disputes this, I'd be grateful for the opportunity to see it.

It's also important to consider the fact that while the AMOLED display is almost certainly the same Samsung display used in the N1 (not their best, but not "cheap" either as junpar suggests), the Incredible is not the N1. DisplayMate considers many of the color and power consumption issues with the N1's display to be software and set-up related, not hardware:

"The Nexus One OLED display has many spectacular qualities, but it is also loaded with lots of rough edges, hasty unfinished beta display drivers and Android software including principal applications like the Browser and Gallery, poorly implemented image processing, poor system integration together with sub-standard factory display calibration."
​

It's well-known that HTC made deeper OS modifications to the Incredible and they and Samsung may now have had time to address some of the driver and calibration issues. This could make a significant difference. For example, DisplayMate suggests that:

"The White Point is too blue, lower it to D6500, which will improve color accuracy, slow the aging of the Blue OLED, reduce power consumption, and improve battery run time."
​

So it may not be accurate to say the Incredible's color reproduction and power consumption are the same as the N1s. In some ways the Droid display can also no longer be said to be currently better than the N1's. Unfortunately some of the N1's color issues are due to 2.1 of the OS and when the Droid was upgraded, it adopted the same problems:

"Dr. Raymond Soneira of DisplayMate ... discovered that Android 2.1's picture gallery offers lower image quality than the previous version's gallery.

Using a Motorola Droid, he found that the picture gallery application in Android 2.0.1 offered 24-bit color depth, but after he updated the Droid to Android 2.1, the new picture gallery application had downgraded images to 16-bit color depth."
​

Google confirmed the findings with the following statement:

"The Gallery app in Android 2.0.1 is different from the Gallery app in Android 2.1. Google developed Gallery in Android 2.0.1, which uses 24-bit color rendered using 2D technology. On the other hand, Cooliris created Gallery in Android 2.1, which uses 16-bit textures rendered using 3D technology. We don't have anything specific to share at this time regarding the Gallery app in future versions."
​

A representative from Cooliris has said that the company is working on a fix. Hopefully we'll see it with the upcoming 2.2 update, though the Droid may take a performance hit:

"The Gallery application was originally developed for the Nexus One, and as such currently displays images in 16-bit color format, due to memory constraints using OpenGL textures," Michele Turner, executive vice president of products at Cooliris, in an email. "We will be working on a version that supports 24-bit color and scaling, but do not expect to see it implemented until after the next major Android release."
​

So I don't think the question of which display is better is quite so clear cut at this point. As I've mentioned, I too prefer the Droid's display. But I don't count vibrancy and power consumption among the reasons.

 

[WhatAboutBob]

Which to buy?

My wife's phone died so we went to vz store. Since I am primary, I was eligible for upgrade. We decided to do the buy 1 get 1 free upgrade, with the caviate that one had to be the moto or eros, but 1 could be the DI. DI was not available, but the moto was, so my wife got the MD and I have the DI on order. Is the DI the way to go or should I switch to the MD? I think the money is the same.

A second question, somewhat related, somewhat OT, should I get the vz insurance via assurance? It's $8/mth for each phone plus $89 deductible if you need to use it. It almost seems like paying vz another couple hundred bucks... How often do the droids - any make - tend to get damaged?

 

[bmb0205]

Played with my friends incredible for a while the other night, and I have to say I would never trade my Droid for one

 

[WhatAboutBob]

Played with my friends incredible for a while the other night, and I have to say I would never trade my Droid for one

Even if it cost no more? What did you dislike about it? Any positives?

 

[Johnly]

Interesting read...no comment.

 

[sethmo]

Incredible, 100%. I absolutely loathe my Droid's physical keyboard.