After being announced during the CTIA event in early May, it looks like Verizon is finally getting around to launching a new smartphone that isn’t the Samsung Galaxy S III. That’s right HTC fans (myself among them), the Incredible 4G LTE is finally coming to a Verizon store near you.

The magical day is said to be July 5th, which has seemingly been confirmed by a screen cap of an internal Verizon’s website obtained by the folks over at Droid-Life. Pricing for the device looks to be $199 on 2-year contract, but there is still a chance that a $50 rebate will be attached, dropping the price to $149.

So, if this internal document is to be believed, we HTC and Sense 4 fans can pick up one of these beauties next week. Let’s hope it pans out because I, for one, would like to try one out.

If you’re an Android user who also enjoys using the Google+ social media service, you may have been a bit miffed to see the iOS version of the G+ app get a big update a few weeks ago. Well don’t worry, your time has come.

That’s right, Google today took the wraps off a big update for the Android version of the Google+ app and with it has come several improvements to the UI including the big thing you may love or hate: giant pictures. The new app also makes starting a hangout with your pals possible from a mobiel device.

In addition, there’s also a new navigation ribbon on the left side, much like the desktop version, that features quick shortcuts to all the areas of Google+ you might need to go to. You also get some new transitions as you scroll through feeds, the ability to download pics as wallpaper, the ability to edit posts inline and more.

The new app is available through the Google Play store. So, what do we think?

Google+ hasn’t quite caught on with people as much as something like Twitter or Facebook, at least not yet. However, that hasn’t stopped Google from trying make it the best social networking experience possible.

Going a long way towards that goal is the update to its Google+ app or iOS users, which the company rolled out late yesterday. With the new update, users will see a completely redone user experience and Google’s goal is to basically simplify and beautify Google+. They released a statement on this new philosophy:

To be clear, we’re not interested in a mobile or social experience that’s just smaller. We’re embracing the sensor-rich smartphone (with its touchable screen and high-density display), and transforming Google+ into something more intimate, and more expressive.

Sounds good. And if you check out the app, you can see they’ve done pretty much what they set out to do. The new version of the app is extremely well done and, dare we say it, quite beautiful.

To some, the arrival of the HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE is even more momentous than the recent announcement of the Samsung Galaxy SIII. Count me as one in this camp.

As a Verizon customer I’ve been waiting for something cool to hit the network which sports a lot of great new features and runs on Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich). This new device from HTC just may fit the bill.

For various reasons, we are not at the CTIA conference in New Orleans right now. However, the folks at Droid Life are and they managed to get some pics and video of the HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE (that’s a mouthful) and have graciously shard it with the world at large.

According the site, their initial reaction to seeing the device in the flesh (so to speak) was: “Smallish device with some great specs that will be a winner if priced right.” That pretty much jives with what we thought.

I would also agree with Droid Life’s assessment that this device isn’t the HTC One X or even the S. It fills a different segment of HTC’s market and will probably do pretty well.

If I didn’t hate AT&T so much I would consider an unlocked HTC One X or, perhaps, even this one with Verizon. However, for the moment, I will stick with the Galaxy Nexus unlocked on T-Mobile and my trusty iPhone 4S. I think that’s a great couple of devices.

Anyone have any other opinions? Also, be sure to check out the video after the break.

As with all cutting edge technology, something else comes along to displace the “new hot thing” very shortly after the new hot thing comes out. Case in point this time around is the flagship Android smartphone known as the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

Today, the contract-free price for the device has dropped to $399.00, down a hundred bucks. It’s now available from Google’s online Google Play Store for that price.

In case you haven’t been following the rise of this particular device, it was originally released last October and launched on Verizon Wireless in mid-December. But even though it’s been around for several months, it’s still got some very good specs.

Some of these specs include a 4.65-inch 720p Super AMOLED display, a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 16GB of internal storage, 1GB of RAM, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and GSM/HSPA compatibility with both AT&T and T-Mobile.

The best part is that this phone is unlocked and you can take advantage of some pretty good SIM only deals from AT&T or T-Mobile. At this price, it’s pretty tempting indeed.