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

[reb422]

Phil... in the last podcast you said you wanna write about phones and "help people decide what to buy"... so why did you refuse to help me choose between the DNA and the GS3?

 

[wnflyer]

I think that Phil sincerely wants to "help" people decide what to buy, not tell you what phone he would/you should buy. With the feedback from Phil and others who currently possess the DNA and the various reviews that are surfacing, we are starting to see either "deal" breakers or makers. I loved everything that I'd read about the Note 2. It wasn't until I spent four or so days with one that I realized that it was a little wide for my tastes. The S Pen is really cool, but not anything that I cant live without. You may love the phone, many have and more will.

I say buy a DNA, I pre ordered one. I have mixed feelings about a non removable battery and no SD card, but hey, I would have jumped on a Nexus 4 if Verizon offered it (yes, the lack of LTE on VZ would feel like a step backwards). If you're unhappy, return it and see what shows up in a month or two. It's nice to have so many choices :beer:

Randy

Sent from my (insert latest/greatest here) using Tapatalk 2

 

[bellken]

I have a Droid DNA in hand, and, it is great phone. I think it could have been a real monster phone with more internal storage, or a sd card slot, and, bigger battery. But, I think if you add those features, and, it would have been a more expensive phone. The Rezound was $299 on contract, when it came out, the Droid DNA will be $199. I think when you factor in the price for the Droid DNA, it is a lot phone for price. And, I think most buyers will be plenty happy with it.

For those that need more storage, and/or more battery power, the Droid DNA was almost the phone for you, but, it is not. You will need to look elsewhere, or, wait, for the perfect phone for you.

 

[badbrad17]

Just a note here my wife has an iPhone 5 and with her use which I consider light to moderate (normally under 1Gb a month) if she isn't on WiFi her phone barely makes it and days that she does have heavy use she has to charge midday.. (actually I should say she *should* charge midday.. but normally forgets..)

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Android Central Forums

This would probably be due to LTE sucking the life out of it. One of my employees has one and when he is in the office on wifi he can easily go all day with moderate use. Compared to my SGS2 its not even close in the same environment.

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Android Central Forums

 

[badbrad17]

For those that need more storage, and/or more battery power, the Droid DNA was almost the phone for you, but, it is not. You will need to look elsewhere, or, wait, for the perfect phone for you.

And this is why people continually choose Samsung over HTC. Always a bridesmaid never the bride. She has everything going for her except the one thing that gets the job done. Meanwhile samsung wakes up every morning and just laughs at their stupid competition. I bet as soon as they saw the DNA they celebrated because they knew that this would be another One X vs S3 battle. And we all know how that turned out. The S4 will bury this phone and its a shame because the DNA is a better looking bride.

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Android Central Forums

 

[thefireguy286]

The Verge just killed it on battery life...rut-row.

HTC Droid DNA review | The Verge

 

[jamdmyers]

The Verge just killed it on battery life...rut-row.

Maybe While you can't compare a note2 battery size to DNA I also read the various battery reviews for several phones (note2/N4/G3)
The DNA was the only one to undergo the Verges Battery Test, all others were 'user' type impressions.. so even there they are not consistent in their review
I would have like to see a larger battery, but after Phils useage and comments of RealWorld use I'm not sure it's as bad as they 'artificially' made it sound

 

[talonsmith]

Whatever AC eventually says about their battery usage will ultimately send my money to HTC or not.

 

[thefireguy286]

Maybe While you can't compare a note2 battery size to DNA I also read the various battery reviews for several phones (note2/N4/G3)
The DNA was the only one to undergo the Verges Battery Test, all others were 'user' type impressions.. so even there they are not consistent in their review
I would have like to see a larger battery, but after Phils useage and comments of RealWorld use I'm not sure it's as bad as they 'artificially' made it sound

I agree with you, and I'm getting the phone regardless. I was more surprised as a 4 or so of the big reviews that are out already pegged at decent/in line with the GS3 which is frankly what I expected, but clearly they should have gone bigger with it for a cushion.

 

[EggoEspada]

The Verge just killed it on battery life...rut-row.

HTC Droid DNA review | The Verge

Yea, and the fact the phone actually has some lag is a turn off. How is that even possible, I do not know. As usual, HTC Sense and a small battery get in the way of a good device. I would have much preferred if they included a bigger battery, rather than built in wireless charging. Also, debloating Sense would be nice. I mean Samsung and Motorola both have feature packed overlays while keeping performance and battery in check and not making Android look so foreign.

Sent from my SCH-I535

 

[jmillum]

Will a host cable and flashdrive work with the DNA?

 

[michael4man]

Yes, it will right out of the box, no root required

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[bluesboss2]

Slice and dice. :-/

The J Butterfly is waterproof. Could the usb flap on the DNA mean that it is waterproof also? That would seem logical.

 

[Citizen Coyote]

Maybe While you can't compare a note2 battery size to DNA I also read the various battery reviews for several phones (note2/N4/G3)
The DNA was the only one to undergo the Verges Battery Test, all others were 'user' type impressions.. so even there they are not consistent in their review
I would have like to see a larger battery, but after Phils useage and comments of RealWorld use I'm not sure it's as bad as they 'artificially' made it sound

Their review of the Motorola Droid Razr HD included the same battery test, and that phone's 2300+mAh battery lasted nearly 10 hours (which shocked them). The other reviews I checked however (the LG Optimus G and Nexus 4 and Nokia Lumia 920) did not report the results of any battery test, just user impressions. Then again, I expected the battery life for the DNA to suffer if you had the screen on for long periods of time, so this doesn't surprise me too much.

I guess the question then is (if battery life is a concern) what you plan to do with the phone, and your everyday situation. If you're in an office all day with wi-fi and/or an outlet nearby, the battery shouldn't be an issue. If you don't check your phone often and just need good standby, anecdotal evidence in this thread also suggests you'll be fine. On the other hand, if you are often on the go and on a cell network, and like to stream movies/vids or are a heavy gamer, this may not be the phone for you. It's all about balancing your needs with your everyday environment.

Personally, I find the description of lag in the Verge review more disconcerting than what they say about the battery. Any early owners able to confirm or counter that point? Chrome seems to be the biggest culprit, based on the review.

 

[NightAngel79]

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

It installs and starts up but as soon as you start a board it kicks you out

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.

will try to remember to do this when i get home

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.

No friend stream, was deemed a 'battery hog'

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

not at all, i deleted the widget... outta sight, outta mind

How long does it take to boot up?

30 seconds from a cold boot

DROID DNA Boot Up - YouTube

That's gotta be with fastboot on.

def fastboot

 

[wnflyer]

I thought that the lag was in reference to Google Chrome.

Randy

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[EggoEspada]

NightAngel79, does disabling a lot of the apps help with performance and battery? Also, does Sense get in the way of the experience.

Oh, and how often is your phone on 4G LTE, and does it hurt the battery.

Sent from my SCH-I535

 

[NightAngel79]

NightAngel79, does disabling a lot of the apps help with performance and battery? Also, does Sense get in the way of the experience.

Oh, and how often is your phone on 4G LTE, and does it hurt the battery.

Sent from my SCH-I535

I got 13 hour battery life with LTE on the entire time and 4+ hours screen on time.

I personally love Sense so it doesn't get in the way for me. I disabled most of the VZW apps first thing just to get them out of my app drawer. Didn't mess around with them long enough to know if it effected performance, though I doubt it would

 

[bellken]

Their review of the Motorola Droid Razr HD included the same battery test, and that phone's 2300+mAh battery lasted nearly 10 hours (which shocked them). The other reviews I checked however (the LG Optimus G and Nexus 4 and Nokia Lumia 920) did not report the results of any battery test, just user impressions. Then again, I expected the battery life for the DNA to suffer if you had the screen on for long periods of time, so this doesn't surprise me too much.

I guess the question then is (if battery life is a concern) what you plan to do with the phone, and your everyday situation. If you're in an office all day with wi-fi and/or an outlet nearby, the battery shouldn't be an issue. If you don't check your phone often and just need good standby, anecdotal evidence in this thread also suggests you'll be fine. On the other hand, if you are often on the go and on a cell network, and like to stream movies/vids or are a heavy gamer, this may not be the phone for you. It's all about balancing your needs with your everyday environment.

Personally, I find the description of lag in the Verge review more disconcerting than what they say about the battery. Any early owners able to confirm or counter that point? Chrome seems to be the biggest culprit, based on the review.

I don't notice any lag, but, it is important to know that not all app's are optimized to work with a 1080 p display. It is possible, the lag they noticed was app related.

 

[qwertpiratej]

Verge review of the GS3 on Verizon has it lasting 4 hrs 12 mins on the same battery test where the DNA lasted 4 hrs 25 mins

Samsung Galaxy S III for Verizon: impressions and benchmarks | The Verge