HTC's Droid DNA is the American version of the HTC J Butterfly, the manufacturer's first 1080p Android. The handset features 2GB of RAM, a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC, and 16GB flash storage. It has an 8-megapixel main camera, 2.1-megapixel front-facer, and arrives running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The five-inch HD display is protected by Gorilla Glass 2, and the phone is equipped with a 2020mAh battery.
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by Jaime Rivera | December 18, 2012 7:00 PMRead OnWatch today's Pocketnow Daily as we go through our initial coverage of the much-anticipated Samsung ATIV S. Then we go through more Samsung news, only that this time with some unexpected, and not-so-stellar Galaxy Grand announcement. Then we talk about the HTC M7 leaks along with the bad news that the HTC Butterfly won't reach Europe. Google makes the news afterwards as their Play Store fills our Christmas hopes with lots of deals until January 1st 2013. We end today's show talking about Nokia's plans to bring Windows Phone 7.8 to previous Lumia devices, and the news aren't good. All this ...
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by Stephen Schenck | December 14, 2012 3:46 PMRead OnVerizon employees have been lucky enough to get access to some limited editions of the carrier's most popular Androids, and the situation's no different with HTC's latest flagship, the Droid DNA. While the regular DNA isn't afraid to show off a little bold accent work, with its distinctive red stripe border's the handset's edge, Verizon and HTC have really gone all out with the phone's limited edition design, taking that red stripe and pulling it around to cover the phone's entire back. As a result, we end up with something that almost looks like one of the manufacturer's colorful Windows ...
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by Michael Fisher | December 12, 2012 2:53 PMRead OnThe Galaxy S III's barely old enough to warrant an After The Buzz episode, but we're already talking about the Galaxy S IV. In any other venue, that would be a sign of jumping the shark; on the Pocketnow Weekly, it's just business as usual. Tune in for our best speculation on what Samsung might include in its next sensational superphone, from unbreakable screens to bone conduction. Then keep on listening for an extended debate about the merits of Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 versus iOS, drilling down into their UIs and design philosophy. Finally, after some extended talk about how useful ...
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by Michael Fisher | December 11, 2012 7:01 AMRead OnFront-facing cameras have for years been the red-headed stepchildren of the mobile world: included out of a sense of obligation or an attempt at differentiation when mobile video-calling first came on the scene, the tiny face-capturing modules were under-specced and underpowered -- and they've never really grown up. Even today's high-end smartphones typically feature front-side shooters with only 25% the resolution of the primary camera around back. The only company to really take the front-facing camera seriously in today's landscape is HTC: the webcam on the company's Windows Phone 8X ...
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by Michael Fisher | December 7, 2012 2:52 PMRead OnNormally, a company launching a variant of an already-released smartphone isn't huge news. Variations on a common theme are business-as-usual in the mobile tech world, not blockbuster paradigm shifts -- especially as mobile offerings grow more and more streamlined across different carriers and markets. Sometimes, though, a handset comes along that deserves special mention. The new Butterfly, quietly unveiled just this morning on HTC's website, is one of those devices. It's a new variant of the design that served as the basis for Japan's Butterfly J and the impressive Droid DNA for ...
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by Stephen Schenck | December 6, 2012 7:22 PMRead OnUp there with the Galaxy S III and the Nexus 4, HTC's Droid DNA is one of the hottest Androids around at the moment. We were pretty darn impressed with the Droid DNA, giving the phone an 8 out of 10; say what you will about the usefulness of 1080p on a five-inch screen, but the display on this handset just looks absolutely fantastic. For such a high-end Android, it's almost surprising that Verizon didn't try and stick it with an on-contract price closer to $300, making the phone available for just under $200, instead. Still, if that's a smidge more than you'd like to shell out for the ...
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by Michael Fisher | December 6, 2012 1:23 PMRead OnMicrosoft kick-starts the smack-talk machine, which blows up in its face just as Nokia sells its own headquarters. The Lumia 822 gives us an excuse to launch a brand-new review format, while a Nexus 4 trade lets us take a post-review look at Google's latest smartphone. The iPhone 5S breaks its cover -maybe- while the Nexus 10 gives everyone a reason to care about big Android tablets - again, maybe. Rumors of a new 1080p device from LG get the speculation bonfire going again, but a cool bucketful of Google Play-colored cold water got us back on track. And, of course, it wouldn't be a ...
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by Michael Fisher | November 28, 2012 5:37 PMRead On1080p displays. On smartphones. I never thought I'd see the day, but it's here. Call the front desk; I'm checking out. No but, for real: around these parts, the notion of full-HD resolution -1920 x 1080- on a smartphone screen has for months prompted a range of reactions, from skepticism to disbelief to glee. Listeners of the Pocketnow Weekly podcast can sometimes hear that entire range in one sitting: pixel-density enthusiast Brandon Miniman is keen on the absurdly high-density panels, while I often profess not to be able to tell the difference. Anton D. Nagy, Joe Levi, or Jaime ...
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by Michael Fisher | November 28, 2012 2:40 PMRead OnYou know what happens when you get a bunch of geeks swapping hot new gadgets and talkin' tech? The Pocketnow Weekly podcast, that's what. We just hit our twentieth episode, and to celebrate, we decided to tie the podcast into our latest giveaway contest. So in addition to in-depth discussion on the Nexus 4 versus the world, the Lumia 920's camera ups and downs, and the Android-to-Windows Phone learning curve, there's something special for your ears only. Somewhere in today's episode of the Pocketnow Weekly is the special hint word you need to email us at contest [AT] pocketnow [DOT] com ...
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by Brandon Miniman | November 27, 2012 11:23 AMRead OnThis holiday season, the Nexus 4 and Droid DNA are going to be two of the hottest smartphones for sale. The DNA brings the first 1080p display on a smartphone to the table, plus it has fantastic HTC build quality. The Nexus 4 is one of the most affordable high-end smartphones ever, plus it's running the latest version of Android, with no fluffy interface to slow it down. Both are powered by the brawny Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU and have 2GB of RAM. While so different in terms of hardware but quite similar in terms of specifications, how do they compare in terms of performance? Check ...
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by Anton D. Nagy | November 25, 2012 2:56 AMRead OnBefore the availability of the Droid DNA on Verizon early model owners were able to unlock its bootloader using the HTCDev website. Once the device went live though this was no longer possible and the phone is currently out there with locked bootloader status. This, however, like everything in Android-land, can be changed. Those who know their way around tweaks and mods will know what this softmod does: it will basically change your CID (carrier id information) to a model which is indeed supported by the HTCDev website. If you just have to have an unlocked bootloader on your Droid DNA then ...
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by Jaime Rivera | November 23, 2012 7:00 PMRead OnWatch today's Pocketnow Daily as we go through the leaked images of the HTC DLX or Deluxe DLX, which is the international GSM variant of the Droid DNA. Then we talk about some Black Friday deals for the iPhone 5 on AT&T, even thought this isn't the conventional iPhone 5 you can buy at any store. Later it's all about Black Friday deals, but mainly when it comes to Software on your respective platform. The Nokia Lumia 920 takes the spotlight also as we talk about its current sales performance at Amazon.com. We end today's show talking about the recent discovery that there may be a simple ...
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by Jaime Rivera | November 21, 2012 7:00 PMRead OnWatch today's Pocketnow Daily as we go through the official launch of the HTC Droid DNA, which we've already reviewed extensively. Then we cover the new reports regarding FaceTime now working on the iPhone 4S on tiered data plans and even the old unlimited data plans. Later it's Nexus talk as we go through our recent comparison of the Nexus 10 vs the Nexus 7 and even the old Motorola Xoom. We later cover additional rumors regarding the Samsung Galaxy S IV and its specs. We end today's show talking about the ridiculous news of Google fixing some issues that a customer complained about more ...
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by Michael Fisher | November 21, 2012 2:00 PMRead OnThe Nexus 4 launches, and a man in Pennsylvania does his best to keep Google's latest and greatest -and slipperiest- from sliding off tabletops. The Lumia 920 lands, and a man in Boston moves back into an old apartment called Windows Phone - but the place isn't the same as he left it. The Droid DNA launches, and all America is atwitter with talk of 1080p, nonremovable storage, and HTC making Sense out of Jelly Bean. And over in Romania, one man watches, waits, and wonders what all the fuss is about. That's about the shape of this week's installment of the Pocketnow Weekly podcast, on the ...
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by Anton D. Nagy | November 21, 2012 3:52 AMRead OnNovember 21 was the day announced for the HTC Droid DNA's availability on Verizon and, as promised, the phone can be now purchased. It goes for $199.99 given you sign a two-year agreement or $599.99 if you only want to purchase the phone. However, those who wanted this phone and hoped for an unlocked bootloader will have to wait a little more. If there were previous reports that HTC's Dev website was able to unlock the Droid DNA, recent ones seem to bring bad news: the latest Droid is allegedly no longer supported by HTC in terms of unlocking via the website. However, the community, as ...