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The iPhone 4 is today on Verizon's network. But the Droid distinction of smartphones, running Google's open-source Android operating system, is already there ... and it's not feat anywhere!

In an earlier article, I compared the iPhone 4 to the Droid X, Verizon's top-of-the-line Android smartphone. Now let's wager how it compares to the Droid Incredible: Verizon's budget Droid, at exclusive $99.

Droid does

HTC says that the Droid Incredible was inspired by an Italian sports car. It's not as minimalist as the iPhone 4's sleek, industrialized design, but the ridges along the backwards support you appendage the sound (per the Engadget review), and the extra buttons on the face serve a purpose. The schedule is hidden in most apps until you tap the Droid's Menu key, freeing you from distractions; and the optical trackpad seems useless at first glance, but when you need to function the indicator patch employed with text it's a lifesaver.

Because the Droid Incredible is an Android phone, it can do things that the iPhone can't. While you're browsing the web, it reflows text to fit the concealment width, so that you don't have to scroll horizontally patch you're zoomed in. It can ingest a restricted edition of Flash, and the bag screens can sport widgets, same the Mint direction digit that lets you wager your slope equilibrise at a glance.

HTC's Sense programme takes Android to a newborn level, with smooth custom apps and widgets that let you easily check Facebook and Twitter. It also lets you crop the concealment to ascent out, and wager every of your bag screens at once. HTC Sense is shiny, and the enlivened weather widget is a pleasant touch.

Droid doesn't

The Droid's most manifest element deficiency, compared to the iPhone 4, is its lack of a front-facing camera. Its important camera has an 8 megapixel resolution, compared to the iPhone's 5, but different the iPhone it can't achievement HD video. The Droid also has a peak of 40 GB of storage, compared to the iPhone's 16 or 32 GB, but exclusive if you acquire a 32 GB module card for it; it exclusive has 8 GB built-in. And you'll need at least a cheap 2 GB module card, because some apps require it.

Speaking of apps, the Droid lets you acquire them from Google's Android Market, which has over 150,000 according to Google CEO Eric Schmidt. But what he doesn't say is that digit think that number is growing so apace is because it's such easier to put an app on the Android Market than it is on the iTunes App Store. There's no support process, and many of the "apps" are just ringtones and cover packs. The Droid does have access to the essentials, same eBay and Angry Birds ... but it's also unexploded with substance Verizon apps that you can't uninstall, different the Verizon iPhone.

Finally, the Droid's AMOLED pass isn't as intense as the iPhone's Retina Display, and looks washed-out when you're outdoors.

The verdict

The $100 fund over the iPhone doesn't stack up to the outlay of a accumulation plan. If you same Android's features, go with the Droid Incredible; otherwise, go for the iPhone. Keep in nous that both are feat to go discover of date soon, though, with 4G Android phones and this year's newborn iPhone help on the way.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android sound and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been composition about profession and electronics since 2008.

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