I have a DROID DNA. You have questions. Fire away!

[thedean0375]

This is from the cnet labs

I was surprised by the HTC Droid DNA?s battery performance, as well. Despite the phone?s large screen and swift performance, the handset?s embedded 2,020mAh battery lasted for a long 8 hours and 43 minutes on the CNET Labs video battery drain test. By comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S3 offered an even longer 9 hours and 24 minutes on the same benchmark, whereas the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx HD kept going for an unbelievable 14 hours and 53 minutes.

 

[NightAngel79]

Does the DNA support threaded group sms/mms out of the box like Droid Razr Maxx or the iPhone for that matter. If I am not mistaken the Rezound and Incredible 4g LTE DO support this function, but the Incredible 2 and Rhyme do not. Does this phone have that feature in the HTC Messaging app?

My rezound did so I would have to say that yes it does

Can one of you put the DNA side by side with an iPhone5 and give an opinion as to image quality between the two? Home screen, apps, photos, video playback, etc. Are the extra pixels noticeable next to the "coveted" retina display? If Apple marketing is to be believed the quality should be perceived as pretty much identical.

Thoughts?

I actually have both phones (iphone is for work) the iphone cannot hang with the DNA in any way

Five homescreens, and the wallpaper doesn't move.

Oh, and speaking of that ...

But you can add 2 more

Does the DNA come with Swype? And I know people have already said the speaker w/ amplifier is loud... but can someone please elaborate on that a little. I like to listen to podcasts on my Thunderbolt but it's almost impossible without headphones because the speaker is utter crap on the Bolt.

No swipe, but stock htc keyboard has 'trace' ability

Gizmodo already did.

but can you really trust gizmodo to be subjective? really?

Battery life is very important to me and that's my main concern I do wish it would had come with more internal storage. Plenty of legit questions here.
But I'm surprised these questions hadn't been asked, we buy a phone to be used for that the rest should be second to call quality and signal strengths. So my questions to those whom have this phone how is the signal strength, have you had dropped calls? How loud is the speaker on the phone? Living in the country I've got to have a phone with a great radio in it to get calls in and out, this is where my rezound shines . Please if someone can get into a fringe area with this phone and test it instead ad right smack in the middle of several cell towers and report on the radio signal this would be great.

James

Call quality has been excellent, even better than my rezound

do apps fit the screen normally?

Everything looks great, everything scales perfectly.

Angry Birds Star Wars doesn't work though (i know, deal breaker)

Good question. How are apps and web sites scaling to the new resolution. Is the experience pleasant in terms of quality.

Sent from my SCH-I535

Everything looks great

 

[NightAngel79]

Currently, not apps support the new screen. In some cases, you may need the HD version - Angry Birds Space for example.

I had a problem with swiftkey3, too, so, I am trying the default keyboard, which, is actually quite nice. The swiftkey3 keyboard disappeared, while trying to set up permissions for the Amazon App store. Switching back to the default keyboard solved the problem.

Hmm, my swiftkey has been working fine...

 

[EggoEspada]

So there's no real noticiable distortion?

Sent from my SCH-I535

 

[bellken]

Hmm, my swiftkey has been working fine...

I think swiftkey3 worked everywhere else, but, the default keyboard works well enough for me, that, I don't miss swiftkey3.

 

[Markster1]

but can you really trust gizmodo to be subjective? really?

Well I liked the fact they show the five phones together for size comparison and color tint but I thought the pixel comparison a little cheesy. They say the note 2 is the worst in comparison but i have played with the note 2 and like the screen.

The Nottinator

 

[Mooem]

I don't think I've seen this asked in the thread yet...how's the haptic feedback and overall vibration? Is it weak or strong?

BTW, this thread has convinced me to cancel my Nexus 4 order and pre-order the DNA. I know I'm giving up the stock Android experience and software upgradeablity, but I have my Nexus 7 for that.

 

[Thetaman]

Angry Birds Star Wars doesn't work though (i know, deal breaker)

No....that sucks. Doesn't it not install or just not work?

 

[X0LARIUM]

How about reading apps like iReader and Kindle?

How is the text? As good as a paperback novel?

Sent from my RaZr HD.

 

[swenpro]

Would someone kindly test the DNA dB signal strength (actual numbers) side-by-side with other phones, e.g. GS3, Razor, etc.?

I currently have a DInc2 and signal strength is not the best.

 

[Optimus Nexus]

I want to know if the DNA has Friend Stream?

I have never had an HTC phone before but when I used play around with my brothers Incredible I liked Friend Stream so much. So much so that I made an account and my first post asking about it.

 

[Citizen Coyote]

In regards to the battery, it seems like people (and I included myself in this group, initially) are a little too fixated on a number. Specifically, 2020. It seems small for a device of this size, and perhaps it is compared to other large phones. But it's just a single number. The iPhone 5's battery is less than 1500mAh according to iFixit, and yet my wife's Verizon iPhone 5 has robust battery life. Several posters who have the DNA have said the battery life is actually pretty good. If this spec had never been listed, and all we had to go on were real-world battery usage reports and impressions, would we even care that the battery is "only" 2020mAh?

Perhaps it's time to stop fixating on specs and focus on performance before busting out the pitchforks and torches. With that said, both CNET and PhoneArena have already posted reviews. CNET said the battery life was great, PA said it was average for Verizon LTE phones. At the least it's not terrible, and at best it's pretty awesome. So Phil, now that you've had the phone for a few days, any impressions on battery life or will we have to wait for the full review? My pitchfork is calling to me...

 

[Phoneguy108]

I am ok with getting 8 hours out of the phone with moderate use. My concern is with the battery lifespan. After a hundred charges/discharges how much life can we expect out of this battery? I don't want to sign a 2 year contract and have the phone a year later with 2 hours of battery life. Like I mentioned before, I am on my third HTC replaceable battery now. What do people with embedded batteries do besides simply upgrading the phone? I have asked around and most tell me they just suffer with poor battery life until they are eligible for an upgrade. Is this a legitimate concern or am I missing something?

 

[Ry]

Does all the Amazon stuff fundamentally change how you use the phone?

 

[weblos]

In regards to the battery, it seems like people (and I included myself in this group, initially) are a little too fixated on a number. Specifically, 2020. It seems small for a device of this size, and perhaps it is compared to other large phones. But it's just a single number. The iPhone 5's battery is less than 1500mAh according to iFixit, and yet my wife's Verizon iPhone 5 has robust battery life. Several posters who have the DNA have said the battery life is actually pretty good. If this spec had never been listed, and all we had to go on were real-world battery usage reports and impressions, would we even care that the battery is "only" 2020mAh?

Perhaps it's time to stop fixating on specs and focus on performance before busting out the pitchforks and torches. With that said, both CNET and PhoneArena have already posted reviews. CNET said the battery life was great, PA said it was average for Verizon LTE phones. At the least it's not terrible, and at best it's pretty awesome. So Phil, now that you've had the phone for a few days, any impressions on battery life or will we have to wait for the full review? My pitchfork is calling to me...

This.I was as guilty as anyone. You know what they say when u assume.Haha. Im so fricking excited to buy this phone. Battery was my only question. As long as it wasnt terrible i was gonna buy it. It actually seems like its average or a little bit better than average.

 

[mdawg64e]

How long does it take to boot up?

 

[weblos]

mobiletechreview said it should last a day with no problem

 

[Optimus Nexus]

I am ok with getting 8 hours out of the phone with moderate use. My concern is with the battery lifespan. After a hundred charges/discharges how much life can we expect out of this battery? I don't want to sign a 2 year contract and have the phone a year later with 2 hours of battery life. Like I mentioned before, I am on my third HTC replaceable battery now. What do people with embedded batteries do besides simply upgrading the phone? I have asked around and most tell me they just suffer with poor battery life until they are eligible for an upgrade. Is this a legitimate concern or am I missing something?

Don't underestimate non-removable batteries. My iPhone 4 from a year and half ago that I gave to a relative is still just as good as it was when I bought it. It outlasts my S3 and the S3's battery is amazing. Additionally, my brother works at Verizon, and he says that with unibody (non-removable) phones, if anything were to go wrong with your phone, the warranty covers it and you just get an entirely new phone; which I am okay with.

 

[Optimus Nexus]

How long does it take to boot up?

I saw a video (forgot where) and it booted up VERY FAST. I mean stupid fast!

 

[colonel_panic]

I am ok with getting 8 hours out of the phone with moderate use. My concern is with the battery lifespan. After a hundred charges/discharges how much life can we expect out of this battery? I don't want to sign a 2 year contract and have the phone a year later with 2 hours of battery life. Like I mentioned before, I am on my third HTC replaceable battery now. What do people with embedded batteries do besides simply upgrading the phone? I have asked around and most tell me they just suffer with poor battery life until they are eligible for an upgrade. Is this a legitimate concern or am I missing something?

I don't know, I've had two Blackberries and my current Droid X for two years each, and battery life never seemed to change on any of them.