Man versus Technology: The HTC Droid Incredible

I am not new to technology. I have embraced technology wherever it reared its homely head. I own many devices that purport to be the latest innovation in communication technology. In recent years I have developed a fondness for Apple products and now regularly use an Apple desktop, two MacBook Pros and an iPad 2. So why in God's good name did I choose an HTC Droid Incredible over an iPhone when it was time to put my old BlackBerry out to pasture? Good question.

"Oh Lord, won't you buy me an HTC Droid. My friends all own iPhones which I must avoid. I'm kind of impatient and easily annoyed so Lord, don't buy me an HTC Droid." (Thanks, Janice)

Actually, both my sons own Droids and seem to be pretty happy with them but it took me exactly 48 hours to become aware of Droid's fatal flaw: it won't hold a charge for shit. Today, for example, I turned mine on around 8 this morning (fully charged), got one phone call, a couple of notifications, read two emails on it and it's already under 50% power. That doesn't seem right, does it? Apparently, this is a very common problem with this product. I posted a complaint on Facebook yesterday and got feedback from a number of Droid-owning friends who tell the same story. One woman said she bought a charger for home, office and car and still worries about whether she'll have power if one of her kids has to call her. Another friend has dubbed her phone "Incredibly Frustrating."

If you search the Internet (which maybe I should have done earlier) you'll find a whole bunch of sites telling you how you can extend Droid's Incredibly crappy battery life. I tried a couple of their suggestions: turn off GPS and Bluetooth, completely discharge the battery before recharging it, use -- or not use -- your Advanced Task Killer (some disagreement on that) but like those home remedies the Graedons hype on their show People's Pharmacy, none of them seem to work.

I guess in the rush to top iPhone, the HTC marketers trumped the engineers and put out this amazing device that unfortunately can't be amazing for a whole day at a time. It's like Ferrari selling a vehicle that goes 200 miles per hour but gets only 3 miles per gallon and has a ten gallon tank. Either that or their business plan depends on selling lots and lots of chargers.

If you got suckered into buying one of these devices and have to deal with a dead battery before dinnertime as well as the smirks of your iPhone-owning friends, let me know (just don't try to call me, my battery will be dead).