HTC Incredible S
The HTC Incredible S (S710E) (s710d), also known as the Incredible 2, is a smartphone designed and manufactured by Taiwan's HTC Corporation originally running the Android 2.2 operating system (since upgraded to 2.3.4 Gingerbread and followed by 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich[1] except for US Droid Incredible 2[2]). Officially announced by HTC on February 15, 2011[6] at MWC 2011 in Barcelona, Spain, alongside the HTC Desire S and the HTC Wildfire S, the HTC Incredible S was launched exclusively in the UK to Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy on February 26, 2011[7] marketed by Sarah Harding of Girls Aloud.[7]
Manufacturer | HTC Corporation |
---|---|
Series | Incredible |
Compatible networks | Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz HSPA/WCDMA Europe/Asia: 900/AWS/2100 MHz (S710e) OR 850/1900/2100 MHz (S710a) |
First released | United Kingdom February 2011 |
Availability by region | United Kingdom February 26, 2011 (Vodafone) Russia March 17, 2011 Australia May 1, 2011 (Optus) South Korea June 30, 2011 |
Predecessor | HTC Incredible |
Successor | HTC Incredible 4G |
Related | HTC Thunderbolt |
Type | Smartphone |
Form factor | Slate |
Dimensions | 120 mm (4.7 in) H 64 mm (2.5 in) W 11.7 mm (0.46 in) D |
Mass | 135.5 g (4.78 oz) including battery |
Operating system | Android 2.2 Froyo (Upgradeable to 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich)[1][2] |
CPU | 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 |
GPU | Adreno 205 |
Memory | 768 MB |
Storage | 1.1 GB |
Removable storage | 32 GB microSD supplied |
Battery | 1,450mAh, 5.6Wh, 3.7V Internal Rechargeable Li-ion User replaceable |
Display | S-LCD, 4.0 in (100 mm) diagonal 480×800 px WVGA |
Rear camera | 8.0-megapixel (3264x2448) Dual LED flash Autofocus 720p HD video recording |
Front camera | 1.3-megapixel (1.3.1 mp) Fixed focus |
Connectivity | 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP FM stereo receiver micro USB 2.0 IEEE 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi |
Data inputs | A-GPS, Ambient light sensor, Digital compass, G-sensor, Multi-touch capacitive touchscreen, Proximity sensor |
SAR | 0.876 head, 0.776 body (both values w/kg@10g) |
Hearing aid compatibility | M4/T4 [3] |
References | [4][5] |
The Incredible S is the successor to the Droid Incredible.
History
Hardware
The HTC Incredible S is the latest of a long line of smartphones based around the 1 GHz Snapdragon chipset made by Qualcomm. In terms of hardware, it is very similar to the Desire HD with a few notable differences:
- Smaller screen: 4.0" compared to 4.3"[10]
- Larger Battery: 1,450 mAh compared to 1230mAh[10]
- Screen technology: An S-LCD screen compared to the original Desire's AMOLED display. However, the Desire's screen was replaced with an S-LCD on later versions.
- Addition of a 1.3 MP fixed-focus front-facing camera for video calling
In a move seen as a new trend for HTC, the antenna for the phone is built into the back cover of the case (this is also true of the HTC Sensation). A unique feature of the Incredible S is the auto-rotating nature of the capacitive buttons below the screen.[11]
Despite HTC recent design trend, the back is made of a rubberised plastic instead an aluminium body, presumably to help improve signal reception. The front is mainly covered by a sheet of Gorilla Glass, with a thin aluminium surround. In addition to the specification already mentioned, the Incredible S houses dual microphones for noise cancellation.
Regional variations
The version that has been made available in Canada for reviewers has been seen to have chrome accents around the screen, speaker grill, camera lens, LED flash bulbs and loudspeaker which the European and Asian version do not have.[12] A red version is in production and has been spotted in Hong Kong and Singapore.[13]
As of November 24, 2011, the HTC Droid Incredible 2 has been available in a limited edition red color, instead of the usual black.
Software
HTC announced that the Incredible S will be upgradable to the Android 4.0 ICS,[1] though the software update still has not been released for its U.S. counterpart, the Droid Incredible 2, more than two years later.[2] The device was shipped with the second version of HTC's Sense, which includes satellite navigation software developed by TomTom using maps from Route66 (30 day free trial included) and a digital bookstore from Kobo fully integrated into the system. For the UK release, the UK and Northern Ireland maps are pre-loaded onto the bundled 8 GB microSD card. The device is a part of the new generation of HTC phones that have a signed bootloader. As a consequence, the phone cannot be easily rooted, and the user is denied administrative rights to the phone.[14] However, users have achieved root despite the signed bootloader.
References
- "HTC Incredible S Ice Cream Sandwich update rolling out now". AndroidAuthority. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
- "Droid Incredible 2 Ice Cream Sandwich Update Same Story 8 Months Later". GottaBeMobile. 29 April 2013. Archived from the original on May 31, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
- "DROID INCREDIBLE 2 by HTC". Retrieved 2011-12-15.
- "HTC Incredible S". HTC. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
- "HTC Incredible S - Full phone specifications". HTC. Archived from the original on April 10, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
- "HTC LAUNCHES THREE NEW SMARTPHONES WITH HTC SENSE™". HTC. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
- "THE INCREDIBLE S… THE INCREDIBLE SARAH HARDING". Carphone Warehouse. Archived from the original on August 25, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
- "Verizon's spring plans confirm Android details". CNET. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
- "Final Droid Incredible 2 details coming into focus". CNET. Archived from the original on April 13, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
- "HTC Desire HD Specifications". HTC. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
- "HTC Incredible S auto-rotating buttons explained?". Engadget. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
- "HTC Incredible S Review". HowardForums. Archived from the original on April 10, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
- "HTC Incredible S Phone Details". SmarTone Mobile Communications Limited. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
- "HTC Incredible S has a signed bootloader and recovery, will HTC phones become less custom ROM friendly?". gsmarena. 24 March 2011. Archived from the original on July 1, 2011. Retrieved May 24, 2011.