Gadget blogs continue to ferret out information on forthcoming devices based on Google’s Android smartphone.
The latest find is another list of specifications of the Android 2.1-based HTC Incredible smartphone, which Verizon Wireless is reportedly preparing to offer to consumers later this month.
Boy Genius Report offers this equipment specification sheet with the Verizon logo on it. Verizon can no longer deny the existence of the Incredible, which some peg for an April 29 release date.
When eWEEK showed Verizon documentation of the Incredible and asked when it will come to market, a spokesperson for the company told eWEEK:
“Looks like a great Android device. Everyone will want one. No comment.”
Verizon would do well to upgrade its smartphone portfolio. Verizon’s Motorola Droid and HTC Droid Eris are getting a little long in the tooth for the No. 1 U.S. wireless operator, whose last big piece of Android-related news was the Droid’s upgrade to Android 2.1 March 30.
The carrier hasn’t yet secured the right to sell Apple’s iPhone, so why not sell Android devices with software that approximates some of the iPhone’s functionality? Android 2.1 enables pinch-to-zoom multitouch and multitasking, among other newfangled features.
Moreover, why not pump out the device two full months before the release of the iPhone 4.0, expected for June 22?
In other words, if you can’t join Apple, beat them to market. Certainly there is some advantage to pre-empting Apple’s widely anticipated device, giving consumers in the market for a new smartphone some pause to think over their options for a high-end device.
To wit, the document from BGR shows the Incredible packs the 1GHz Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm that powers the Google Nexus One.
The black device sports a 480-by-800-pixel, 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED display. The smartphone will offer an 8-megapixel camera with auto-focus and dual LED flash to go with 8GB of internal memory and a fat 32GB of swappable microSD storage.
The smartphone also employs the full Google experience, meaning it is preintegrated with Google Search, YouTube, Google Latitude, Google Maps with Navigation turn-by-turn GPS, Google Gmail, Google Calendar and Talk. Push e-mail support for Gmail and Microsoft Exchange is included, along with 312 minutes of talk time.
Meanwhile, phone maker HTC is reportedly weighing whether or not to write its own smartphone operating system to pair with the popular gadgets it makes. HTC CFO told Bloomberg the company continues to mull this move, which would require years of work.
There is also conjecture that HTC could buy the embattled Palm, which would instantly give the phone maker some software technology.