[REVIEW] DROID DNA Review and Opinions - Update 12/1/12

[PsYcHoNeWb]

Blur >>>> Sense. Blur is very good right now. It's basically stock + improvements.

As for lag...the DNA shipped with Jelly Bean. Maxx HD doesn't have it yet. Should smooth it out.

I had Jelly Bean on the MAXX HD. Very laggy still. Reason that I hate blur is because it's close to AOSP and ruins it with lag and other cluttered features. If you want to make it look AOSP make it AOSP.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

 

[SEAL62505]

This thread was extremely helpful. Right now iOS is boring to me. Trying to decide between WP8 or the DNA. DNA scared me at first because so many screamed about battery.

 

[PsYcHoNeWb]

This thread was extremely helpful. Right now iOS is boring to me. Trying to decide between WP8 or the DNA. DNA scared me at first because so many screamed about battery.

This was the case for me. I came from a Droid RAZR MAXX HD which has the best battery life so it was a hit in that category. I would never go back to an iOS device and if I did it would be for 2 days then I would be bored. W8 intrigued me since I have it on my desktop and its not bad, would be much better for a touch screen which is why I considered the HTC W8x. That being said, I am an Droid guy all the way and only one thing would come from me buying anything else... a $35 restocking fee.

 

[Megaroad]

I had Jelly Bean on the MAXX HD. Very laggy still. Reason that I hate blur is because it's close to AOSP and ruins it with lag and other cluttered features. If you want to make it look AOSP make it AOSP.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

Even with ICS the Maxx HD is not "very laggy." And clearly you didn't have it with the final version of JB for it, hence it not being released.

 

[PsYcHoNeWb]

Even with ICS the Maxx HD is not "very laggy." And clearly you didn't have it with the final version of JB for it, hence it not being released.

For me, it was graphically laggy which is a huge con for me. Could have been the OS or the hardware, who knows but I know for sure that after testing it and using other phones such as the GS3, Nexus and now the DNA the MAXX HD had noticable lag compared to others. Most noticably when opening folders on the home screens. You may not experience the same lag because of homescreen layouts and what not, I don't know for sure but I had unacceptable graphical lag.

In regards to the OS, that may be the case but the leaked version I flashed was pretty close to a release version, basically the same that was running on the Droid RAZR M. Basically the same phone, just smaller screen. I would not be shocked if the released version will have the same issues, Verizon is more concerned with making it sure complies with their "enhancements" more than usability.

Believe me, I am not saying your wrong in anyway. I may have had an internal issue with the phone but I had multiple people who are also Droid enthusiasts look at my phone and they agree that there was certain points that the phone lagged when it shouldn't. It was a great phone, but I think Motorola had a major mistep by not releasing the phone with Jelly Bean. Also, they released a dual core phone when multiple devices (DNA and Note 2) are coming out with quad core CPUs. Yes, that would impact the battery life but with the huge battery in the MAXX HD it would have been a perfect match.

 

[Megaroad]

For me, it was graphically laggy which is a huge con for me. Could have been the OS or the hardware, who knows but I know for sure that after testing it and using other phones such as the GS3, Nexus and now the DNA the MAXX HD had noticable lag compared to others. Most noticably when opening folders on the home screens. You may not experience the same lag because of homescreen layouts and what not, I don't know for sure but I had unacceptable graphical lag.

In regards to the OS, that may be the case but the leaked version I flashed was pretty close to a release version, basically the same that was running on the Droid RAZR M. Basically the same phone, just smaller screen. I would not be shocked if the released version will have the same issues, Verizon is more concerned with making it sure complies with their "enhancements" more than usability.

Believe me, I am not saying your wrong in anyway. I may have had an internal issue with the phone but I had multiple people who are also Droid enthusiasts look at my phone and they agree that there was certain points that the phone lagged when it shouldn't. It was a great phone, but I think Motorola had a major mistep by not releasing the phone with Jelly Bean. Also, they released a dual core phone when multiple devices (DNA and Note 2) are coming out with quad core CPUs. Yes, that would impact the battery life but with the huge battery in the MAXX HD it would have been a perfect match.

I'd characterize the lag on the Maxx HD as very slight. I guess I'll find out how Jelly Bean is in the next few days, since it's rolling out now (I don't see how it's a "major misstep" when it took them like one month after release to get it done). I'm dubious about the assertion that it doesn't make a difference that you weren't using the final Jelly Bean build.

A lot of reviewers saw issues with the DNA that you didn't, including battery, call quality, and performance: HTC DROID DNA reviews.

 

[PsYcHoNeWb]

I'd characterize the lag on the Maxx HD as very slight. I guess I'll find out how Jelly Bean is in the next few days, since it's rolling out now (I don't see how it's a "major misstep" when it took them like one month after release to get it done). I'm dubious about the assertion that it doesn't make a difference that you weren't using the final Jelly Bean build.

A lot of reviewers saw issues with the DNA that you didn't, including battery, call quality, and performance: HTC DROID DNA reviews.

Thats the beauty of opinions. Some people love the phone while others hate it. Thats what makes the world go round and what drives competition, that is of course unless Apple gets their way lol.

I have come to flash enough ROMs and leakes on my phone that most of the unofficial leaks are so close to official builds that the performance or general features of the update are the same. The reason that I call it a misstep is because Samsung and HTC now and pushing out all their new phones with Jelly Bean and Motorola really can't pull the "It's a new OS and needs testing card" since the Galaxy Nexus has had it for a while and was well received. That's just my opinion, I think that Motorola should have released the phone with Jelly Bean simply because it would save them and Verizon the headache of update problems later.

Jelly Bean isn't that much of a change from ICS, it has minor tweaks and performance upgrades. Its a great improvement, but not a big one which again is why I am curious as to why Motorola didn't just release it. It's not like they would be releaseing it with Android 5.0.

As far as the slight lag goes, I would agree it was a slight lag. That being said on both my Nexus and GS3 I experienced no lag what so ever and I have yet to experience any lag on the DNA which is why I am bringing up that point. Some may be fine with the slight lag, like yourself, but to me even slight lag is a major annoyance.

 

[alan cohen]

Fantastic Review, Thanks !! But you left out one Important part of your reviews and one that most people use with most smart phones, the speaker volume...How is it? is it loud enough, does it distort at higher volume? What about wearing head sets, how does it sound... Thanks again..

 

[PsYcHoNeWb]

Fantastic Review, Thanks !! But you left out one Important part of your reviews and one that most people use with most smart phones, the speaker volume...How is it? is it loud enough, does it distort at higher volume? What about wearing head sets, how does it sound... Thanks again..

I actually am in the process of still testing it... been long couple of days at work so I haven't been able to fully test both speaker volume and heaphone volume. Today is a short day at work for me so I will do the testing a bit later today and update you!

 

[revtech]

Great review, thank you so much! Have an upgrade ready to go, so sure i was getting the maxx (I happen to like motorola, strange but true), but played with a dna last night and was quite impressed. Going to be a tough call . . .

 

[tuxly]

Great review! One thing I have seen very few reviewers mention is the ringtone volume or alarm sounds on naked phone are muffled when the DNA is laid on a soft surface such as leather couch armrest, mattress, padded chair or even stack of magazines. I missed several calls and notifications with phone right beside me, and even overslept the first few days until I realized this. Having a case on phone corrects this enough I kept the phone. This may be an issue for some people like me who are hard of hearing as there is only the one speaker on the back. Love my DNA otherwise!

 

[Megaroad]

I got Jellybean for the Maxx HD btw...I agree there's still some slight lag.