HTC and Verizon Wireless today announced the Droid Incredible smartphone, which will be available for pre-order beginning on Apr. 19, with the official release on Apr. 29. The Android 2.1-based Droid Incredible offers a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 8GB of internal memory, an eight-megapixel camera, and a 3.7-inch, 800 x 480 AMOLED display, say the companies.

Most of the new details on the HTC Droid Incredible leaked out last week. HTC and Verizon have supplied a photo, however (below), and have confirmed most of the leaked specs, with only a few discrepancies.

HTC Droid Incredible
(Click to enlarge)

The Incredible is HTC's second "Droid" model after the lower-end Droid Eris, which is still available on Verizon along with the best-selling Droid by Motorola. The Droid Incredible may not match the top-of-the-line specs of the Sprint WiMAX-enabled Evo 4G, but it lines up well against HTC's earlier Google-branded Nexus One and the more recently announced HTC Desire and Legend phones, all of which similarly run Android 2.1 on a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.

The Incredible offers a 3.7-inch, 800 x 480 display, which is smaller than the Evo 4G's 4.3-inch display. Like the ones on the Desire and Legend, however, the display is equipped with AMOLED technology, for easier viewing and brighter colors, says HTC and Verizon.

While Verizon has not provided all the phone's specifications, it says the device comes with 8GB of internal memory, with an option to move up to 16GB. Meanwhile, a previous report by AndroidandMe claimed the Incredible would have 576MB of RAM and a microSD slot that accepts up to 32GB of memory.

Verizon gets its first eight-megapixel camera

Confiemed details include the presence of an eight-megapixel camera (Verizon's first such model), which is now said to offer dual LED flash, autofocus, and video capture. Today's release by Verizon also confirmed previously known features including aGPS, Bluetooth, a speakerphone, a 3.5mm headset jack, proximity and light sensors, plus a digital compass.

Interestingly, the specs cite only an 802.11b/g WiFi capability instead of the 802.11b/g/n capability mentioned in the leaked reports. There is no mention of the previously reported dual-band 1xRTT, EVDO Rev A cellular support, although considering this is Verizon, this could be assumed.

Other listed hardware features include an optical joystick, plus dedicated, touch-sensitive home, menu, back and search keys. The phone measures 4.63 x 2.30 x 0.47 inches, and weighs 4.6 ounces, says Verizon. Talk time is said to last up to 312 minutes (five hours and 12 minutes), with standby time listed as up to 146 hours.

Incredible software: a new Sense

The software features mentioned by HTC and Verizon for the Incredible include the Android 2.1 release, along with the latest version of HTC's Sense UI layer. The new Sense interface offers a seven-panel home screen with a wide selection of interactive widgets. It is also said to supply HTC's "Friend Stream" technology for unified Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter updates, according to the companies.

The Incredible provides "seamless integration" with Exchange ActiveSync, as well as access to Android Market, say the companies. In addition, the partners note that shortly after launch, customers will have access to two new "exclusive" apps from Verizon Wireless: NFL Mobile and Skype mobile.

Additional features listed by Verizon include push Gmail, speech recognition, a bilingual English/Spanish interface, embedded ringtones, and vibrate alert. The company also mentions extras such as a calculator, alarm clock, calendar, and a stopwatch.

Availability

The Droid Incredible will be available for pre-order online at Verizon Wireless, beginning Apr. 19, and will be available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores on Apr. 29. Pricing will be $200 after a $100 mail-in debit-card rebate and a new two-year customer agreement, says Verizon.

The Verizon sign-up page for more information on pre-orders may be found here, and a Verizon page listing some features not mentioned in the press release (and vice versa) should be here.

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