The HTC Droid Incredible Review, Clearly Better than the Nexus One
by Anand Lal Shimpi on May 10, 2010 1:27 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Snapdragon
- Droid Incredible
- HTC
- Android
- Mobile
Seeing The Future with Better Goggles
In my Nexus One review I mentioned an Android specific app called Goggles. Point your cameraphone at anything, take a photo and the app will use Google’s own libraries to recognize the image and search for similar images around the web.
The latest update to Goggles made things even better. Now you can use Goggles to take a photo of any block of text and the app will perform OCR on the text and translate it into any language supported by Google translate. In theory, you could use it to understand what various street or warning signs meant in foreign languages. It works relatively well, although it’s still limited by the accuracy of Google translate.
Another great feature of Goggles is the ability to identify buildings and landmarks just by pointing your camera at them. Fire up the Goggles app and point the Incredible’s camera at a building and you’ll get a real time listing of what it is you’re looking at. This worked well walking around Washington, DC. I’d walk by a building that looked interesting, my parents would ask me what it was, I’d pull out the phone and point it at the building and sometimes I’d get a little label at the bottom of the screen telling me what I was looking at (Update: Apparently this works using location data, for landmark recognition you need to actually hit the shutter button). The few times that it worked was enough to make my dad ask for an Incredible, telling me that he wasn’t impressed by his iPhone.
Like Goggles before the update, the feature is more neat than absolutely functional at this point. It turns out that most buildings look alike and thus you need to point the camera at distinctive features in order for it to work. The feature also doesn’t seem to work in portrait mode, only landscape. Other limitations include available light (it’s still a camera after all) and other objects in the photo, but you see where things are headed.
We’re not too far away from Goggles (or a similar app), being able to do real time detection of anything you point your camera at. It completely changes the way being a tourist works. It could permanently put an end to the “what’s that?” question.
This actually highlights a major difference between the Google and Apple approach to their respective smartphone platforms. While Google is fine releasing something early, slapping a beta label on it and shipping it, Apple wants to keep its sandbox a lot neater. Today Goggles doesn’t work in more situations than it does. Apple’s approach promotes a more consistent, clean, everything just works as you’d expect it to experience, but in doing so you miss out on some potentially cool apps on the way.
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LoneWolf15 - Tuesday, May 11, 2010 - link
"I’d say that HTC’s added polish is a real benefit. It makes me wonder why Google doesn’t do some of this on its own."Google fails in this way with almost everything they put their hands to. I like their stuff, really, I do. But Google sometimes seems to have a major case of ADD --every product would be awesome, if it had a bit more polish, or additional support, or some bugs fixed, or a feature people have been asking for for xx amount of time.
We have Google Apps for Domains where I work. The problem is, half of Google's neat software toys for GMail and individual users won't work the moment you have your own custom domain --GMail Notifier is a good example, as are some other apps. Or, you have to figure out ways to make them work that aren't well-documented. By the time I'm done, I want to pull my hair out. Don't even get me started on how Chrome is --it's a great browser that was designed with absolutely no regard for use in the enterprise.
Other than their search engine, Google Maps, and perhaps Google Earth, so many things seem like something an excited kid started working on, got halfway there, and then walked away from to start something else. I wish they could concentrate on getting what they have going --there are some 65-85% projects that would just be insanely cool if they were ever fully baked.
strikeback03 - Tuesday, May 11, 2010 - link
As you didn't mention it, not sure you are aware, but there is no 3G voice in Verizon. Voice and test messages are always carried over the 1x network, while other data uses 3G. Thought this might be relevant to your battery life tests.strikeback03 - Tuesday, May 11, 2010 - link
test messages should be text messages, of courseJaybus - Tuesday, May 11, 2010 - link
One thing to note on battery life is that these phones are multitasking. The iPhone 3GS may have a better task management interface, I don't know. But the Droids come without one, more or less, so that's not saying much. If you didn't kill all the unneeded tasks on the HTC, then who knows what it was running during your battery tests. Was the camera active? The lack of a decent task manager is a glaring omission on the Droids, but there are good task management apps available as free downloads. In any case, the battery tests should be performed with only the necessary apps running (on both iPhone and HTC).v12v12 - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - link
While I would like to comment on the other features of this phone, the one thing that absolutely burns me up is this fake LED "flash," crap.True “flash:” Xe (true) flash provides ~400 times the light output, better light distribution, much longer range, color temperatures match closer to natural sunlight, and much sharper image capture… The only problem with Xe is simply that, it “flashes,” and thus it’s not continuous like an LED, which hinders low-light videos, esp with these tiny+crappy lens provided in most phones. There needs to be a combo of both; each of which serves a dedicated purpose much better than the other. Xe gobbles power if it’s continuous, LEDs; not so much. I’m not going to spend this much on a phone, while it still comes with antiquated technological features, in which people put to use just as much, if not more than they talk on the dang things.
People use these phones as daily replacements for point-&-shoot, dedicated digi-cams... so this issue is NOT some tiny "inconvenience" as it seems. If the camera/video SUCKS, it's a big deal as many people have actually replaced their P&S cams with their phones for everyday use or don't really use their P&Ss very much at all vs their phone.
strikeback03 - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - link
A real flash is also rather thick compared to the little LEDs used in these phones. I wouldn't be surprised if the flash assembly in the average P&S is as thick as the Incredible. So I imagine someday someone will make a phone that can really compete with decent P&S cameras, and for all I know Nokia does now (not available on Verizon so I really don't care) but the Incredible's image quality isn't nearly a match for even an average P&S so I don't think the lack of a real flash is exactly a deal-breaker for most.v12v12 - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - link
PRIVACY: These new “smarter,” aka modernized PPCs are going to be the DOOM of us all. Everyone seems to think all these scannable pic/bar-code/GPS features are so “convenient,” UNTIL future legislation comes about allowing misc corp + govt agencies to directly link to your phone and read/view everything you’re doing. They’ll use it to track you (how did Apple find the guy, so fast, that had the alleged “stolen” aka lost, 4G Iphone? Apple actually sent “AGENTS” to his dorm, then the police magically raided Chen’s house soon afterwards) and soon tax you based on where you are. Etc…__I want to see more in-depth reporting about the major privacy issues that these (and esp future) phones present. What about LSO/DOM “super cookies,” and *.sol (FLASH based) files that hold tons of data (1-100K!) about where you’ve been browsing etc? What about sites tracking you with these phones etc. I mean, since they are basically pocket-PCs, who knows wtf “they” are doing with all this data you are voluntarily (in ignorance) revealing to them? These phones are inadvertently creating active profiles of any and all users that use them. Don’t you think that all of this immensely private data would be extremely valuable to private corps/govt? Data-miners, marketing, advertising, police and law enforcement agencies, the NSA, the government at a large would LOVE to know where you are, what you’re doing, with who you are with etc. All of this tracking data is extra-ordinarily valuable to said agencies and many more.
__These days tracking and profiling large groups of consumers is worth millions of dollars to corps/private groups as it provides near exact future estimations about how populations move, when and where they go, why they go, what motivates them etc. If you can accurately and consistently (there are super computers that are designed to PREDICT all of this with enough input data) predict all of the above (and more) you can essentially design products, marketing and advertising schemes around this data, to then constantly feed and predict what the general (or smaller sub-groups) consumer populous will do in and if certain situations arise…. The MILITARY is very, very, very interested in this kind of data, as it directly applies to wartime strategy.
People please take this stuff very seriously, the “internet” is the “wild-west,” and as we know, there’s many a predator and parasite out there waiting for you to feed them with your info and “profile.” Do you really think these groups wouldn’t attempt to subvert or pay off politicians/controllers of industry for said data? It’s happened before in the past and it’s happening right now as we speak. Hell the FBI can turn your phone into a GPS/audio/video BUGGING device, even if your phone is turned “off,” but the battery is still in. Who says they aren’t doing it now with out legal consent; A La the NSA ILLEGAL, warrantless wire-tapping scandal (which is STILL active today).
__Yeah-yeah I know, “well if you’re not doing anything ‘wrong,’ then what do you have to hide…” That’s presumed GUILT of action(s)… this is supposedly a “free” nation, but in reality who’s “free,” if unknown entities can track and trace your every move, on-demand, with-out notice/warrant? This is nothing more than a silent version of "Papiere, Bitte" (translation: "Papers, Please”), minus an authority asking you; these phones just GIVE them your “papers,” with out fuss…
How about this scenario: Law enforcement mistakenly taps your phone, b/c you and some alleged “terrorist,” have the same name and thus you’re on some “list,” that you don’t even know about. Since you’re now on this “list,” “they” can DOWNLOAD ALL of your pictures, files and info from your phone, courtesy of the Patriot Act-I and II. HAHA yep, they can take everything that’s considered “private” to you, view/listen/read it, and then determine if you’re a “treat.” If you’re not, *shrug* so be it, they ignore you, BUT someone else now is in possession of YOUR pictures/identity/”profile.” Do you trust “them” to honestly delete said info after the secret investigation is complete? I don’t, and I don’t want people having the ability to do so with out presenting ME with a legal warrant etc.
Anand please take this issue seriously, as it uncovers very serious privacy concerns, much more so than what’s on your home computer… Haven’t any of you ever found a lost cel-phone and taken a look inside; of course some of you have, and you know that someone’s phone can provide you so much more info about this person and their likes, dislikes; it’s like a txt/video, mini-dairy of their behavior/associations with their peers etc. Very unnerving to say the least… Be smart folks before you jump on the band-wagon.
strikeback03 - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - link
Tin foil is on aisle 3.Seriously though, this type of thing is a concern in any internet activity if that's your thing. If the gov't is going to allow access to phones, the same could be said for landline ISPs. If you are really concerned, don't use these services.
v12v12 - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - link
Tin foil LMFAO dude you're in pure ignorance to say the least... GOOGLE it then if you don't seem to follow the NEWS reports of this happening to people daily. Damn I love how the ignorant among the populous loves to chime in, when in reality you don't know crap about history nor of the misdeeds of this and other governments/law enforcement around the globe.The only person that's crazy or UNINFORMED is you buddy... You've already made a fool out of yourself; GOOGLE THE info I've posted, then please report back so we can see just how much you are out of touch with.
How about Operation Northwoods? The Gulf of Tonkin? The Tuskegee project? The sinking of the Lusitania?... Oh SHIT guess what; ALL of these are DECLASSIFIED government operations designed to DEFRAUD the public for financial and political gain... YOU are the ignorant FOOL as these are FACTS and indisputable lmao. Damn the mass public is so stupid and brainwashed lol... But we know what history has in store for deniers of reality like you; naked, starving and soon to be dumped in a mass grave lol... Enjoy the dirt, dunce...
Here take a read and educate yourself boy-flounder:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10451518-38.html
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/declassified/archiv...
Laugh now genius.
rpmurray - Monday, May 17, 2010 - link
"how did Apple find the guy, so fast"Because one of his roommates called the Police and told them where he was and what he had. But wait a minute, maybe the roommate is a mole planted by the CIA to keep tabs on the guy! Yeah, that's the ticket.