Geek stuff explained, I shall continue.

Earlier this week, Verizon Wireless started pushing the 2.2 update for the Dinc. I thought I’d wait, but then I found this at Android Central and said to myself “how hard could it be?”.

And it wasn’t. Total time was about 15 minutes and it went without a hitch. And I’m very glad I did it!

First up the Dinc is now considerably faster. Places where there would a little bit of screen lag (like when scrolling through the photo gallery) are now smoother. Games open faster and perform better. Internet pages seem to open a bit faster as well.

Another bonus is the updates to the camera. The photo camera is much faster when taking photos and resetting. The video camera now records up to 720p.

(be sure to select the 720p option)

It’s not going to replace my Canon HF100, but for something I carry in my pocket it’s more than acceptable. I don’t think I’m going to stop using the The Flip either, since it has better sound and doesn’t suck away battery from my communication device when I use it.

Speaking of battery life, it is also better. Still not able to go a full day on a charge in the field, but I am able to go until 2 instead of 1. For sure I’m going to be picking up a 1750mah battery for this. I’m sure that will give me a solid 12 hours of my normal use, which I really need.

Other changes that I have noticed in Froyo include an update to the messaging app, making it slightly more streamlined, update to the app manager, making it super easy to move apps to the SD card or from the SD card to the phone or, or, or.

If you are running the Dinc, this update will suit you fine. If you haven’t gotten it OTA yet, follow the link above to do it yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

Full WordPress. Mobile compatibility. Lightbox.

Who’s next?

So far I’ve used this telephone to broadcast live video and take 8MP photos. I’ve used this telephone to get me to where I needed to go during MTTS when I was driving with someone else or was on foot. It still amazes me that this device (and your iPhone 4) are also designed for voice communications.

You’ve read all about this phone everywhere already, but here is what you want to know. First of all, it is about the same size as an iPhone 3gs and it’s weight is also about the same. I like the way it feels in my hand and all of the buttons are where you expect to find them and are easy to operate.

About the camera; some of have said it’s just ok. I beg to differ. This shot.

Was taken with the Incredible and only lightly processed in iPhoto. As for video quality, here is a short sample.

Keep in mind that the video camera does get bumped to 720p when/if Verizon Wireless releases Android 2.2 (Froyo) for this device.

Otherwise it makes calls like a champ, plays media well and it’s fast! Never a delay switching between apps or with scrolling on a screen. Stuff happens and happens now!

If you are on VZW and are interested in getting an Android phone, don’t need a keyboard or a monster screen, then this is the phone for you. Nice too that they are finally in stock! The only thing I would do is click over to the Android Central store and pick up a 1700mh battery like I’ve mentioned before.

If you have an specific questions about the Droid Incredible, go nuts in the comments and I will do my best to answer them.

I spent 9 days in a MINI

I’m in the process of completing my worded wrap-up of MINI Takes the States 2010. It’s going to be a multipart series spread over a few days. Why? Quite a lot happened over the course of those 9 days and it is taking more words than I thought to tell the story. So far, I’m up to day 4 and I’ve written almost 1500 words.

Usually I would have done this during the event as we went along. Usually. This event was different from any other that I have ever done which threw me off a bit trying to find, for lack of a better term, my rhythm.

Normally, when the show covers a large MINI event, it’s a process. There are people. There is the team. There is even paper (and all y’all know how much I love that). There is a process. Todd does the interviews/audio, I do the photos and video, Gabe stands around and looks pretty. That’s not it exactly, but pretty much. It’s a good system that has served us for years. Everything gets covered, everything gets posted and the MINI community rejoices.

This time however, we were separated. The boys were coming from the East, I was coming from the West solo. I was a photo taking machine as you have seen. I even managed live video twice a day. Even got the photos uploaded to flickr. But honestly, I fell short.

After spending 9 hours in and around a MINI, with a few stops thrown in for photos or bathroom breaks and, as I was told, being ‘on’, I was usually too wiped out to write. At the end of the day, there was enough time to hook everything up to charge, get photos uploading and grab a bite or do the owner event. By the time all of that was done, I was back in bed to rest for the next 400+ mile drive tomorrow.

I’m not complaining at all here, and hope it’s not coming across that way. It was this trip that made me realize a few things.

• The MINI community is pretty awesome
• With White Roof Radio, I get to do some pretty cool shit, and people enjoy it
• I need to do more driving to places I’ve never been before
• I have a new found appreciation for the work that Todd and Gabe (and even Michael and Chad) do on the show

The drive and all of it’s associated events were epic. Dare I say life changing. I can’t even accurately put it into words, so you will just have to take my word on it.

All was not sunshine and unicorn feathers however. By the time I got to Denver I started getting sick. And I was tired. That combination is never good for me, and I got pissy. And I’m sure I pissed off quite a few people. If that was you, and I’m sure you know who you are, please allow me to apologize. I don’t have any excuses, it just happened.

Next time will be better.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have another 1500 words to write, proof, edit and add photos to. If you are a fan of my work with the MINI, keep an eye out for it starting, I hope, tomorrow.

It’s not a phone. It’s a handheld computer.

That’s right. Go ahead and read it again. And, once more until it sinks in.

Like a computer, it’s affected by bad software. Like a computer with a more mature OS, it’s affected by power. Like a computer, it has tell tale signs that something isn’t right. For example, I would have the phone powered on, all apps shut down and all hardware services (bluetooth, wifi, 3g, gps) turned off and the screen sent to the lowest brightness setting. Even after that it was still running hot, which means something was hammering the CPU pretty good. It was the task killer I was using, so I uninstalled it.

I ran it yesterday without it. And without WiFi (which I shouldn’t have done) or bluetooth or GPS. I was able to go about 5 hours with moderate use of Twitter, Facebook and taking a few photos while I was hanging around MINI of Ontario waiting for them to sort a few things out.

Or, in other words, using it like a portable computer.

That is right on par with the ASUS EeePC battery life for normal, off the juice, battery life. Not bad for a portable computer, not good, in my opinion, for a phone. Another example would be the Blackberry Tour 9630. If I would have been carrying that yesterday, using it the same as I did the Incredible, I might have used 50% power. Maybe. Still with access to Twitter and Facebook. Still taking photos. Still replying to emails. Granted the experience isn’t nearly as rich as it is with the Incredible. And that’s the trade off.

I think an up-grade to a 1700mh battery would definitely help since the current battery only has a 1300mh capacity. The 1700 fits without replacing the back cover too, which makes me wonder why HTC didn’t include that size in the first place. That, and more diligent watching of the apps and services might make this phone useable for at least 12 hours under normal use, maybe more.

Full review to follow now that I have the battery issues narrowed down.

• Battery life. I’ve had laptops that go longer on a charge than this phone does when it’s being used. During MTTS, some days I was lucky if it went 2 hours on a charge, but that was with heavy network and video use. Back at home base, I was able to completely drain the battery in less than 6 without using the camera or 3g.
• Reliability. Another minor issue is that this device decided when it will and won’t work. Sure, will work is 97% of the time, but it’s the other 3% that come up EXACTLY when I need it work.
• Crash prone. I don’t have a gazillion apps running or installed, but this phone sure gets crashy, especially when, wait for it…., it’s making phone calls. Not very cool.
• Battery charging. It would appear that the only way to effectively charge this device is by using the OEM charger. Sure it will charge over USB, but it takes, literally, over night to complete, if you are lucky.
• More about the battery. It would also appear that letting the battery go completely dead isn’t such a great thing for this device. It happened to me last week and I ended up having to do a complete factory restore to make it work again. Again, not cool.
• If I’m not mentioning it here, then it works pretty great, including the camera and the network (except in Denver)
• HTC Auto-correct. A brilliant piece of software engineering, but you really need to mind when it is putting on your screen to avoid too many Drunk Mustards.

I’m still compiling notes for a full review. I also want to get a call into tech support to see if the problems I’m having are particular to the phone or unique to me. I still think it’s an ok device but am starting to think that either I will be needing to switch back to the Blackberry for the battery life/reliability or purchase a charger for every room/car that I will be carrying the phone in as well as putting in the larger 1700mh battery.

From August 6th through August 15th I will be away from my desk attending MINI Takes the States. If you would like to follow along, you can do exactly that at Whiteroofradio.com.

I expect normal service to resume on or about the 16th.

Nobody is in charge this time. Just don’t forget to close the fridge door. All of the cheese went bad last time and that stuff is expensive!

Really not too bad. This will improve once Froyo is released, bumping video resolution to 720p among other features*. Enough about this, here is what I think so far, keeping in mind that I have used an Android phone prior; The Motorola Droid.

• Size/form factor is perfect for my hands. It is very close to the iPhone 3gs in this respect and much better than the Moto Droid with it’s ‘chin’
• Speed. This phone is wicked fast so far.
• Sense UI. The Moto had stock android which I liked. The Incredible is running the latest version of the HTC Sense UI which I love. The keyboard is much better with this form factor and it works well. Predictive text has been fairly accurate so far and it learns quickly. And the scenes feature, allowing you to setup 7 home screens per, gives unlimited amounts of customizing.
• The screen. I don’t think I’ve got the AMOLED screen, but it doesn’t matter. It’s very sharp and easy to read. Touch works like you expect it to as well.
• Phone calls sound fantastic from both ends.

This photo take with the Droid

It’s not all perfect however. These are minor things I’ve noticed so far that kinda bug me.

• Skype will not work if the WiFi radio is on. I know it doesn’t use WiFi on VZW, but to make me turn WiFi off is a pain in the arse.
• There is a button, joystick style, at the bottom of the device. So far I have no idea what it does or why it’s even there.
• Making calls. If I’m honest, there are too many options. I’m still playing with it.
• No in-phone video editing. I have no idea why nobody has done this and am guessing when Froyo is more widely available this might get some attention.

So far, everything you have read or heard about this phone is 100% spot on. It’s the right size and shape, it’s fast and the HTC Sense UI on Android is a great combination. If you are on Verizon Wireless and don’t want a phone the size of your navigation device, I highly recommend it.

*Froyo is bringing 720p video recording, WiFi hotspot, faster speed with a new JIT compiler and chrome-to-phone among others.

Don’t worry, full review to follow. And yes, this post was typed on the Incredible. Do I really need to say it?

No much, really. Just one small thing that I’m going to give you.

For reasons unknown to pretty much anyone, the CDMA carriers in the United States (Verizon Wireless and Sprint) have a penchant for loading their handsets up with junk apps and bloatware. Think back to the days when that new Compaq you picked up for $500 was loaded with so much bloatware that it took your PC 3 days to boot. Or, better still, the “free” PC you got because you signed up for a 2 years MSN account.

With 1 minor difference. You see, on the PC, you could spend a few hours and uninstall all of those apps. It would be terribly time consuming, but you could get it done. Or, you could always format the drive and excluding installing that crap altogether. Not so with a VZW phone.

Not only that, but VZW also like to push apps to it’s subscribers. Bing for search, something for media, NASCAR apps, what have you. Wouldn’t be a terribly huge deal except you are unable to delete or uninstall said pushed apps.

Think if Microsoft or Apple included something in an update or installation (Safari with iTunes on Windows comes to mind) that you didn’t want and then didn’t let you remove it. My god! Mr. and Mrs. PC user would be so bent out of shape it’s not even funny. Mac users would probably be overjoyed with the fact that Steve thought highly enough of this particular app that it must be made of pure awesome, rainbows and unicorn tears.

But I digress.

It’s really not that big of a deal, really. More of an annoyance than anything else. It’s not going to drive me away from Verizon for my phone service or anything like that. I just wish they asked first, or provided an uninstall option for this crap.

Because I don’t want it.

450 voice minutes, unlimited texting and required data plan. AT&T is $84.99 (2GB Data), Verizon Wireless is $89.98 (5GB Data). Pricing based on new accounts, not the account you have now.