Free SMS and voicemail transcription using Google Voice service

I love Verizon. Although it's expensive, they have great coverage. I once travelled across the States and had no problem with the reception where ever I stopped. But I think charging for unlimited messaging is a bit too much. If you are lucky enough to get an invitation to the Google Voice service, you can set it up to be your messaging service. Here's what you have to do.

1. Sign up with Google Voice and get a new phone number.
2. Under the Phone Settings, activate Google voicemail for your number. This will allow your voicemail to be transcribed and emailed to you.
3. Setup Google Voice to forward SMS messages to your email.
4. On your Droid Incredible, download the Gmail app from the Market. Set it up to receive email notification.
5. On your Droid Incredible, download the Google Voice app from the Market. Login to the Google Voice app.

Must have apps for HTC Droid Incredible

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Apps:
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Advanced Task Killer -
App Lock - Protect any number of applications with a lock code.
Astro File Manager -
Audiobooks -
Battery Indicator - Display an icon on the status bar that shows your battery level as a percentage.
Bubble -
Calculator -
Call Confirm -
ColorDict -
ColorNote -
Compass -
Coupons -
DC Metro Transit Info -
Dolphin Browser HD -
Favorite Recipes -
Flashlight -
Goggles -
Google Translate -
Hanping CE -
Hypnotoad -
Listen -
Live Scores -
NYTimes -
Pandora -
PdaNet -
pFinance -
Rehearsal Assistant -
Remote Droid -
RMaps -
Runner -
Shanghai Subway -
Shazam -
Shopper -
ShopSavvy -
Translate - Google translate supports more than 50 languages
Twitter -
USA Today -
Voice - Allows you to place calls and send/receive SMS (for free) using your google voice service.
WiFi Buddy -
World DroidCup
Swype - The fastest way to input text http://www.mediafire.com/?5dhtkjoty5m
Zedge -

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Games:
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Air Control -
Bonsai Blast -
Coloroid -
CopyCat Lite -
Jewels -
LineUp -
Papijump
Phit Droid -
Robo Defense -
Solitaire -
Texas Holdem
Trap! -

Battery Life Saving Settings

There is a thread over at androidforums.com with all the tips on how to conserve the battery life on your Droid Incredible. I'm going to recap some of those tips here that pertain to adjusting the settings on the phone.

1. Don't use live wallpaper. If it's on, turn it off by selecting MENU -> Wallpaper -> HTC wallpapers/Photos.
2. Adjust screen timeout time. I have mine at 30 seconds. Go to MENU -> Settings -> Sound & Display -> Screen timeout -> 30 seconds.
3. Turn off haptic feedback. Go to MENU -> Settings -> Sound & Display -> Haptic feedback.
4. Turn off phone vibrate. Go to MENU -> Settings -> Sound & Display -> Phone vibrate.
5. Turn off audio touch tone. Go to MENU -> Settings -> Sound & Display -> Audible touch tones -> Off.

Start with a Clean Slate

The default scenes (Verizon, HTC, Social, Work, Play, Travel) that come with the phone are great. However, I like to setup my own scene with my own favorite apps. Let's go ahead and start with a Clean Slate. From the HOME screen, select MENU -> Scenes -> Clean Slate -> Done.

One of biggest complaints about the Droid Incredible is that the battery life is average compare to other smart phones therefore it's important to keep track of what devices are on in my phone. HTC provides a set of widgets to enable/disable the GPS, WiFi, Mobile (3G), and Bluetooth. To add these widgets to your HOME screen, select the + sign -> Widget -> Settings -> Bluetooth/GPS/Mobile Network/Wi-Fi.

Now I have four icons on my HOME screen that allow me to keep track of what devices are on.

Resetting your Droid to factory default

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BACKUP your data before continuing...You will need to activate your phone once it is rebooted.

Resetting your phone to the factory default settings is quite easy. From the HOME screen, select MENU -> Settings -> Privacy -> Factory data reset. Then select Reset phone -> Erase everything.

The phone will restart. Once it is backup, you will need to re-activate your phone by following the instructions on the screen.