For a device that released at the start of 2011, consumers will still be hoping that the device gets updated to Ice Cream Sandwich at the very least, especially if the chances of getting an official Jelly Bean update are zero – which obviously looks that way now with the Droid DNA taking focus.

It still remains a mind boggling practice for us, when carriers and manufacturers can decide themselves when to provide official Android software updates – not the other way round with the consumers in charge, or some official law making carriers stick to a strict deadline at least.

Manufacturers and carriers don’t mind pulling out all of the stops to get you to sign on that two year dotted line, but when that period is up and consumers are still expecting some level of official support – where is it? We are now starting to see signs of this with carrier versions of the Samsung Galaxy S3, which is obviously by no means an ‘old’ handset – arguably still the best Android phone available in fact.

While HTC has obviously taken their time in getting Android 4.0 out to frustrated Droid Incredible 2 owners, they have sent out the following Tweet which provides a little clarity on the delay, as noted by Droid-Life above. As you can see, HTC are citing ‘connectivity problems’ for the delay, which is actually pretty open of them as they could have given a bog standard reply and not said anything at all.

With the Droid DNA now available to buy, does it give HTC more time to get working on these apparent connectivity problems and finally push Ice Cream Sandwich out for their patient customers? Hopefully the easy answer to this is yes and that it also means that a HTC Thunderbolt Ice Cream Sandwich update is coming soon as well.

You can see MacWorld’s fully detailed review here, they say that it is a worthy successor to the original HTC Incredible, however perhaps it should be a little bit cheaper as it currently retails for $200 (as part of a contract). People looking to buy an Android smartphone from Verizon will probably spend an extra $50 and get the 4G LTE compliant HTC Thunderbolt instead.

In terms of build quality and design the Incredible 2 is a success, it feels tougher and more elegant than its predecessor and the massive 4-inch display is a welcome addition. The display’s resolution and viewing angle is impressive, however in sunny outdoor conditions it struggles. There is nothing that unique in terms of software as it runs Android 2.2 FroYo and features HTC Sense.

As for multimedia capabilities the SRS WOWHD surround sound is said to be impressive, as for video playback there were no problems with the Incredible 2. The camera takes great photos and shoots great videos, indoor photographs are not quite as impressive as outdoor shots, but on the whole MacWorld’s Ginny Mies seemed pretty happy.

Performance was great and multitasking capabilities weren’t too shabby either, sadly the 3G connectivity limits the phone’s potential as we are getting used to seeing super-fast 4G connections speeds these days.

Have you purchased the HTC Incredible 2? If so, are you impressed?

Perhaps the best news of all, is that we’re hearing that the HTC Incredible 2 will come pre-loaded with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, on top of the HTC Sense UI. We now have the first image of the device to show you below, which has been provided courtesy of Android Spin:

It looks pretty slick you have to agree, and we also have the first list of specs which may turn out to be final once Verizon officially announce the device. While the device is similar in appearance to the Droid Incredible S, we’re pleased to say that the specs are slightly improved for the Droid Incredible 2.

It won’t come with a dual-core processor, but it will apparently come with a 1Ghz Qualcomm MSM 8655 processor which is a different model to the 1Ghz Qualcomm MSM8255 that will be featured on the Droid Incredible S. The Incredible 2 will also come with an 8 megapixel camera, 1.3MP front camera, 768MB of RAM, 4GB of storage and a 4-inch display screen.

What are your thoughts on the design and specs? Did you expect at least a dual-core processor for the Incredible 2? We’ll bring you more details on the handset as we get it. You can view more pictures of the device in the link above.

If you were watching the collection of handset reveals at Mobile World Congress, you were probably as disappointed as we were with the unveiling of the HTC Incredible S – a minor refresh to the popular Droid Incredible with pretty average hardware specs. You can find out what the handset offers in our previous report here.

That was before though, and now an image supposedly taken from Verizon’s internal database has revealed that another ‘Incredible’ handset is on the way – You can see the image over at AndroidandMe here.

We’re hoping that this is indeed the ‘true’ successor to the Droid Incredible, and it will come with second generation hardware specs that the title ‘Droid Incredible 2′ deserves. By this we’re talking about a dual-core processor of some sort, 1080p recording and playback, and an 8 megapixel camera with an equally decent front-facing camera for high quality video chat.

We’re not asking for much here HTC, so let’s hope they and Verizon make our visions a reality once this device is unveiled properly. Give us your thoughts on a possible ‘real’ successor to the Droid Incredible.