HTC Incredible S

Available now
15th February 2011

The HTC Incredible S fits into the small gap between the Desire S and Desire HD in HTC's product range. It is an Android smartphone with a 4" 480 x 800 pixel display, an 8 megapixel camera and a 1GHz processor.

The name "Incredible" comes from the DROID Incredible, a popular Android phone sold on the US Verizon Wireless network. The Incredible S is a bit better specified that the US version, which probably gives it the "S" tag that HTC have used on their recently "improved" smartphones.

However, a look at the spec sheet shows that the Incredible isn't really that incredible after all. Yes, it has a 1GHz CPU with 768MB of RAM, an 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash and HD video recording, a secondary camera for video calling, WiFi, 3.5G and GPS - but in a month where we've seen dual-core and even 3D devices launched it seems a bit.. well, tame.

HTC haven't confirmed what version of Android the Incredible S is running, but some reports are that this is only running Android 2.2 at launch with an upgrade to a hitherto unannounced "version 2.4" in the works. If this is true, then it does take the shine off this device and indicates that perhaps it has spent a little while in development. The Incredible S runs HTC Sense on top, which will make it nicer to use than a vanilla Android installation.

Inside is a fairly average 1450 mAh battery, quoted as giving up to 6 hours talktime and 15 days standby time on 3G, although real world figures will vary. There is 1.1GB of internal flash storage, expandable by up to 32GB using the microSD slot. Measuring 120 x 64 x 12mm and weighing 136 grams, the HTC Incredible S is very typical for this type of handset.

HTC say that the Incredible S should be available during Q2 2011, but did not give any guidance on pricing. Our best bet is that this phone will retail for around €500 SIM-free at launch.