HTC Droid DNA Hands-On
by Jason Inofuentes on November 13, 2012 12:22 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Snapdragon
- HTC
- Verizon
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- APQ8064
- droid dna
Today’s HTC Droid DNA announcement brings a few big advancements over the HTC One X that never made it to Verizon's line-up. We'll start our hands-on discussion with the most obvious change: the screen.
The Display
The rapid advance of screen technology means that we're just a year removed from the arrival of 720p displays, and just two years removed from WVGA being the defacto resolution. Today we see the efforts of Sharp’s display team come to fruition with a seemingly uncompromised 5" 1080p display. The pixel density is an unchallenged 440 ppi, and it seems to retain the brightness and fidelity of its predecessors, most recently seen in the HTC One X.
Hands-on events aren’t the place for detailed analysis, the time is too short, and the venues to cramped to pull out a colorimeter. What I will say is that the display is easy on the eyes and offers such a glut of pixels that no amount of squinting allowed me to discern. Viewing angles seemed good, with no distortion noted, and colors were bright without being oversaturated. So, at first glance, a somewhat expected excellent for the display. Here’s the thing: do we want a 1080p 5” display? At this pixel density, we would be approaching an angular subtense of two thirds of a degree. That's well below the human ability to discern at twelve inches. So is the likely battery hit worth the improved pixel density? We'll have to wait and see.
The Design
The great display is surrounded by narrow bezels all around, and the result is a body that is just 6.2 mm longer than the One X, despite the larger screen, and less than a millimeter wider. Gorilla Glass 2 is used and actually extends across the entire face of the device and forms part of the edge of the handset, a surefire sign of confidence in the strength of the glass. The effect is to make the front glass and back seem fused into one solid piece. Accent grills adorn the sides of the device, in the bright red we’ve come to expect from HTC phones on VZW. The back is a softly curving single expanse of matte black, with the HTC logo etched and inlayed in silver. An LTE logo, Beats Audio logo and the single speaker grill grace the bottom of the back, and the 8MP rear-shooter sits at the top. One particularly unique feature on the back is a concealed status LED to the left of the camera lens. When the phone is face down and a notification is received, the LED will blink to alert the user. The LED is also used to alert self-shooters when the shutter will release.
At nearly a centimeter at its thickest point, this is not the thinnest phone; but the way the back tapers down to the edge gives it an excellent in the hand feel, and makes it feel thinner than its specifications would indicate. Despite deviations from the One series design language, the solidity that defines that lineage can be seen here.
| Physical Comparison | ||||
| HTC Droid DNA | HTC One X (AT&T) | Samsung Galaxy S 3 (USA) | LG Nexus 4 | |
| Height | 141 mm (5.55") | 134.8 mm (5.31" ) | 136.6 mm (5.38") | 133.9 mm (5.27") |
| Width | 70.5 mm (2.78") | 69.9 mm (2.75") | 70.6 mm (2.78") | 68.7 mm (2.7") |
| Depth | 9.73 mm (0.38") | 8.9 mm (0.35") | 8.6 mm (0.34") | 9.1 mm (0.36") |
| Weight | 142 g (5.01 oz) | 129 g (4.6 oz) | 133 g (4.7 oz) | 139 g |
| CPU | 1.5 GHz APQ8064 (Quad Core Krait) | 1.5 GHz MSM8960 (Dual Core Krait) | 1.5 GHz MSM8960 (Dual Core Krait) | 1.5 GHz APQ8064 (Quad Core Krait) |
| GPU | Adreno 320 | Adreno 225 | Adreno 225 | Adreno 320 |
| RAM | 2 GB LPDDR2 | 1 GB LPDDR2 | 2 GB LPDDR2 | 2 GB LPDDR2 |
| NAND | 16 GB NAND | 16 GB NAND | 16/32 GB NAND with up to 64 GB microSDXC | 8/16 GB NAND |
| Camera | 8 MP with AF/LED Flash, 2.1MP front facing | 8 MP with AF/LED Flash, 1.3 MP front facing | 8 MP with LED Flash + 1.9 MP front facing | 8 MP with AF/LED Flash, 1.3 MP front facing |
| Screen | 5" 1920 x 1080 LCD-TFT | 4.7" 1280x720 LCD-TFT | 4.8" 1280x720 HD SAMOLED | 4.7" 1280x768 HD IPS+ LCD |
| Battery | Internal 7.47 Whr | Internal 6.66 Whr | Removable 7.98 Whr | Internal 8.0 Whr |
The Camera
Cameras, like displays before them, were long ignored as just value adds, and not features that must be optimized and perfected. It’s really exciting to see manufacturer’s compete for the best phone camera and not just through software trickery. HTC’s approach is, perhaps, the most traditional, and that is to provide an optical package that mimics the higher-end discrete glass you’d find on a proper SLR. The same f/2.0 28mm optics package is used here, as in the One X, and most likely the same sensor is in play. The ImageChip ISP remains a feature, and the software (now called Sense 4+) has a few additions to improve usability. It’ll be interesting to see how Sense 4+ and Android 4.2’s new camera software will play together, but for now the camera seems intuitive and the results look to match that of the One X.
The front-camera from the HTC WIndows Phone 8X finds a home here, bringing its f/2.0 optics, ultra-wide angles and 2.1MP sensor, which shoots 1080p video.
The SoC
Obviously, we’ve spent a little time with this particular SoC, recently. UI performance was smooth, and hard to trip up, even with the graphical flourishes HTC favors. The home screen carousel is no more, but cycling through home screens remains a wrap around affair and a second tap on the home button still brings an overview of all your home screens. All those flourishes render fluidly, and hopping in an out of apps and the app drawer, I didn't notice any particular hiccups. Performance should be excellent in our typical tests, based on SoC alone, but software is always a key component to the experience, and it'll be interesting to see how this S4 Pro equipped handset differs from the Nexus 4 and LG Optimus G.
The Audio
HTC has been focusing on handset audio for sometime, including their investment in and use of Beats Audio's DSP algorithms. Beats Audio remains, and there’s even a VZW tie-in with the Beats Pill, a portable Bluetooth speaker. Added to the mix is a dedicated 2.55v headphone amp, which should be able to drive even the most high-end cans. Sound quality should be improved in all headphones, and they were certainly able to power my modest earbuds well. No specifics were provided, but a dedicated amp for the rear speaker should give audio a boost there, as well. This sort of focus on audio quality is always nice to see, and we’ll be excited to put the DNA through its paces to see how it stacks up.
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Chaser - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Time to dispell some of the overblown complaints from online reviewers so far are:1. "Battery dies quickly." Not the case on mine. I have had a SG2, SG3 and this one holds its own fine unless you are subjecting it to nonstop use all day long. Otherwise its comparable to the competition. I suspect the phone's specs might be forcing self fullfilled prophecies.
2. "1080P display nice but not all that noticable major compared to the latest phones." I find it hilarious when the world was having screengasms over retina and now with this phone's present reviews it's: -Not raelly noticably different from most phones- etc The display is absolutely beautiful.
3. Temper tantrums over the bottom USB cover insert. Really? This is a major issue? Ever try using your fingernail?
4. Phone's too big. Fits in my average sized hand very nicely. It is NOT big.
5. The power and volume rocker are too concealed. really? Which one did you buy? I just tap the top center and the power comes on. The volume rocker is easy -but not too easy- to work even in my pocket. Really, the subtleness of those buttons is very smartly designed yet still quite functional.
Reality: This phone is amazing. It's a polished effort by HTC that most certainly will get them back into the game. The Sense version compliments Android nicely. Neither overpower each other whatsoever. It may not suit Android purists that would complain about anything but otherwise it's touches are useful.
Christomichael - Thursday, December 6, 2012 - link
Each pixel has four subpixels,the fourth being yellow.EmilyGreen - Monday, December 24, 2012 - link
Been thinking about getting this phone. Just wow. And it runs on AT&T's 4G LTE! I work as a graphic designer in New York, and I’ve been looking for a powerful phone I can use as a mobile workstation... this phone is perfect.BlueInAtlanta - Monday, December 31, 2012 - link
I got this phone before moving from Atlanta to San Francisco and it was great! Now I'm on AT&T (and the 4G LTE network) so i went with the Galaxy Note 2. Both phones are great for my graphic design work, especially the Note, for doodling ideas when they hit me.