*DROID DNA reaction, discussion, and first impression thread*

[orcsbane13]

I'm researching this for my wife's replacement, she has the original TB as well and always complains about the battery, so that is huge, along with boot up time and phone quality. I have the Galaxy Nexus and while I like the phone, call quality is not what I expected. She doesn't need lots of storage so that's a non issue for her. I'm also looking at the Droid Maxx HD from Motorola which is supposed to have great battery life. She's thinking about the iphone 5 but isn't sure she'll like learning a new system and the lack of a back button on the iphone worries her as well. Looking forward to battery use reports. Thanks again, NA

If her biggest complaints are battery and call quality I'd definitely go with the maxx hd. Nothing is going to beat it's battery life esp if you use the smart actions and moto usually has the best phone quality.

I

 

[NightAngel79]

I was wondering how you were so sure of the 2020 battery BTW Lol! Yeah the storage is a real bummer for me they were so close to making my dream phone!

I tried to be discreet, LOL!

I know! It was in danger of being the perfect phone, lol! Guess it had to have one flaw (i dont think the battery is a flaw)

This device feels way better in my pocket than my Rezound. Especially considering that I had the extended battery on it, which made it an absolute brick.

This thing is slim enough that I don't even feel it there. Feels a lot like my GS3.

Completely agree, I have the extended on the rezound and WOW to the difference in my pocket. I can tell it is longer/wider but **** is it thin!

And that was my waffle. I like the SG3 features with TouchWiz (text to phone call, left right swipe from contacts); but being stuck out in a mill with no signal makes my life miserable.

I also assume that should I get giggly I can use launchers on this phone as well? I also want to dive into Tasker and NFC tags as well because...well just because I am a dork!

I simply can't use my better half's SGS3, I'm a sense fanboy so perhaps I'm biased (even she likes my sense phones better)

I'm researching this for my wife's replacement, she has the original TB as well and always complains about the battery, so that is huge, along with boot up time and phone quality. I have the Galaxy Nexus and while I like the phone, call quality is not what I expected. She doesn't need lots of storage so that's a non issue for her. I'm also looking at the Droid Maxx HD from Motorola which is supposed to have great battery life. She's thinking about the iphone 5 but isn't sure she'll like learning a new system and the lack of a back button on the iphone worries her as well. Looking forward to battery use reports. Thanks again, NA

No worries, I'm glad to help.

I actually have the iPhone 5 (its a work provided phone) and they just cannot be compared. I have found the iPhone to unnecessarily complicated to do simple things. There def is a learning curve.

I also can't compare battery life between the two cause I just can't seem to use it for most things, screen to small, etc....

If her biggest complaints are battery and call quality I'd definitely go with the maxx hd. Nothing is going to beat it's battery life esp if you use the smart actions and moto usually has the best phone quality.

I

Can't really argue with that, Moto has long been the leader in radio quality and obviously the battery is a MONSTER. But it is still a Moto,

Ugly, IMO. Plus Sense > EVERY other UI

 

[funkbucket007]

I'm very seriously considering dropping my GNex for this. I love everything I can do with the Nexus but the radio is horrible and I cannot get over 2 hours of screen on time...ever. My wife's line is up for renewal on 12/22 but she was just given a Nexus to replace her Droid X from VZW so I can use that but I'd lose unlimited so it looks like $599 for me. I haven't used an HTC device since the TouchPro 2 (WinMo) and hope I don't regret it because I loathed that phone. Hahahaha.

 

[TrooperThorn]

I also assume that should I get giggly I can use launchers on this phone as well? I also want to dive into Tasker and NFC tags as well because...well just because I am a dork!

Yeah I fired up Nova Launcher Pro and it was silky smooth.

I'm researching this for my wife's replacement, she has the original TB as well and always complains about the battery, so that is huge, along with boot up time and phone quality. I have the Galaxy Nexus and while I like the phone, call quality is not what I expected. She doesn't need lots of storage so that's a non issue for her. I'm also looking at the Droid Maxx HD from Motorola which is supposed to have great battery life. She's thinking about the iphone 5 but isn't sure she'll like learning a new system and the lack of a back button on the iphone worries her as well. Looking forward to battery use reports. Thanks again, NA

Yeah, for me, this battery is plenty to get me through a full day, and actually it's a little bit longer than a full day (a day and a half or so). But if you don't have access to a charger during the day, I imagine you'll be charging it nightly just to be safe.

 

[sirius]

How is the response of the phone when you are flipping between screens? or navigating up and down the current screen? Is it as smooth as the SG3?

 

[Bearcats]

Yeah I fired up Nova Launcher Pro and it was silky smooth.

Hot diggity dog!

 

[dpeagle]

i waited for this phone like many of you. i have always had good luck with htc phones (apache-ppc6700, evo and currently evo3d). my company is moving over to verizon so i needed to choose something and this looked like it was going to have it all. but somehow along the design path they have saddled this device with 2 fatal flaws. the inability to expand it's meager storage capacity, and it's non replaceable undersized battery will absolutely kill potential sales. after yesterdays show i preordered the GN2. this business of non replaceable batteries which is just the manufactures way of killing the used phone market is something i wont support. i want to see what kind of battery life you get after 1 year of a 2 year contract. i also have no idea what they were thinking with just a 16gb version. as long as companies like samsung and motorola continue to build phones with battery options and expandable storage, they will get my business. this phone is sort of like a ferrari with a 1 gallon gas tank, it's fun for about a day.

 

[NightAngel79]

How is the response of the phone when you are flipping between screens? or navigating up and down the current screen? Is it as smooth as the SG3?

My girl has a Zagg screenie (which I hate) but it is NOTHING comapred to how smooth the DROID DNA is.

Everything I have done on the DROID DNA has been 'butter' smooth. Even while it was doing 10+ updates in background. You couldn't even tell!

 

[victek]

this business of non replaceable batteries which is just the manufactures way of killing the used phone market is something i wont support. i want to see what kind of battery life you get after 1 year of a 2 year contract.

Is the battery non-replaceable or is it just not replaceable by the user? If the battery weakens can it be replaced by HTC (or whomever) and how does one go about that?

 

[NightAngel79]

i waited for this phone like many of you. i have always had good luck with htc phones (apache-ppc6700, evo and currently evo3d). my company is moving over to verizon so i needed to choose something and this looked like it was going to have it all. but somehow along the design path they have saddled this device with 2 fatal flaws. the inability to expand it's meager storage capacity, and it's non replaceable undersized battery will absolutely kill potential sales. after yesterdays show i preordered the GN2. this business of non replaceable batteries which is just the manufactures way of killing the used phone market is something i wont support. i want to see what kind of battery life you get after 1 year of a 2 year contract. i also have no idea what they were thinking with just a 16gb version. as long as companies like samsung and motorola continue to build phones with battery options and expandable storage, they will get my business. this phone is sort of like a ferrari with a 1 gallon gas tank, it's fun for about a day.

Fair enough but believe me when I say that the battery is NO slouch. Just because the Maxx/GN2 battery is x amont bigger doesn't mean everything.

Could HTC put bigger battery in? Sure. But I am completely pleased with the battery life

 

[dpeagle]

Is the battery non-replaceable or is it just not replaceable by the user? If the battery weakens can it be replaced by HTC (or whomever) and how does one go about that?

i was told by verizon that if the battery fails during the contract period it would be replaced (usually with a refurbished phone), and if you get the insurance it is covered for the life of the phone with a new one. hopefully i understood the salesperson correctly. he didn't mention anything about being able to send it back for a battery replacement.

 

[dpeagle]

Fair enough but believe me when I say that the battery is NO slouch. Just because the Maxx/GN2 battery is x amont bigger doesn't mean everything.

Could HTC put bigger battery in? Sure. But I am completely pleased with the battery life

sounds like "battery envy".

 

[victek]

i was told by verizon that if the battery fails during the contract period it would be replaced (usually with a refurbished phone), and if you get the insurance it is covered for the life of the phone with a new one. hopefully i understood the salesperson correctly. he didn't mention anything about being able to send it back for a battery replacement.

Interesting - I wonder if this is true of all of the phones with non-removable batteries, such as the new RAZRs?

I was thinking the reason for making them non-removable was to shrink the form factor a little, and maybe also make them more resistant to contamination. I don't know why they'd bother just to undermine the aftermarket battery industry.

 

[Bearcats]

Fair enough but believe me when I say that the battery is NO slouch. Just because the Maxx/GN2 battery is x amont bigger doesn't mean everything.

Could HTC put bigger battery in? Sure. But I am completely pleased with the battery life

As technology changes, so do requirements. As long as the battery meets usage needs; I am good to go. I will wait to see a couple days of usage from DA to see what he thinks.

I dont stream from my phone music or video. I text a lot and get email. It also dawned on me I use QuickOffice a lot and need to make sure I can get that on my new phone.

I kind of equate this engine size on a car. Same car but a 4 banger and 6 banger. Yeah the six banger is fun, get you there in a hurry but is it REALLY necessary or a bragging feature? Again, if the phone only last 12 hours and follows the prior path of HTC's battery issues then its a moot discussion.

But two days out is kinda hard to just say "Whelp, its a 4 banger..its a POS". To be worried or concerned is one thing. To completely dismiss it....well....

 

[dpeagle]

maybe it's just me. the reason i chose android over apple was sinple, choice. choice of phones choice of storage, choice of battery, size and feel. what alarms me is more and more we are seeing the android manufactures adopt apples philosophy (give them what they need, in our opinion). the only vote we have is with our money.

 

[NightAngel79]

Hey guys (and gals) I've updated the first post with some screen shots. Let me know what you think, and if there is anything I think I should add

 

[Deleted User]

I really want to see battery life screen shots when you are using the screen a lot, LTE a lot, making calls, etc. A normal heavy usage real world day!

The shots you gave us are nice, but no one uses wifi all day long.

Hey guys (and gals) I've updated the first post with some screen shots. Let me know what you think, and if there is anything I think I should add

 

[NightAngel79]

I really want to see battery life screen shots when you are using the screen a lot, LTE a lot, making calls, etc. A normal heavy usage real world day!

The shots you gave us are nice, but no one uses wifi all day long.

Understand completely, didn't have it activated so that was all I could do. Today is the first full day on lte and so far so good. Will keep everyone posted

 

[AntimonyER]

So I have ordered a $10 dumbphone off ebay to replace the DNA on the new line, if I decide to go that route... Still haven't decided whether to get it or not... The Note 2 is also intriguing... and of course I may just wait until my upgrade comes due and see what's available then...

One thing I noticed, while the usage time is about half what the Note 2 is, the standby time is actually 40% MORE. HTC has some serious standby efficiency if those two stats are in the ballpark.

 

[Deleted User]

Understand completely, didn't have it activated so that was all I could do. Today is the first full day on lte and so far so good. Will keep everyone posted

I am so looking forward to following your thoughts about this. I have a Droid X that I'm dying to upgrade for many reasons...no LTE, horrible camera, slower than dirt now.

I love my wife's Rezound...great screen, fast, great camera, battery life is so/so, but she has 2 back up batteries that she keeps in her purse so even with heavy usage we can't kill 3 batteries if we even tried!

That being said, I'm very close to walking in Verizon at 9am next Wednesday to get the DNA....the 16gb of storage is fine with me. I take lots of pics and videos, but I can just move them to more permanent storage on my computer if I am running low on room. The battery life however is THE KEY!

I need a phone that can get me 8 hours of heavy usage. By heavy I mean lots of screen on time and LTE use..I use twitter and facebook a lot along with emailing and taking pictures...etc.

Also, any thoughts in direct comparison to the Rezound would be helpful too since I have first hand experience with it as well.

 

[AntimonyER]

I am so looking forward to following your thoughts about this. I have a Droid X that I'm dying to upgrade for many reasons...no LTE, horrible camera, slower than dirt now.

I love my wife's Rezound...great screen, fast, great camera, battery life is so/so, but she has 2 back up batteries that she keeps in her purse so even with heavy usage we can't kill 3 batteries if we even tried!

That being said, I'm very close to walking in Verizon at 9am next Wednesday to get the DNA....the 16gb of storage is fine with me. I take lots of pics and videos, but I can just move them to more permanent storage on my computer if I am running low on room. The battery life however is THE KEY!

I need a phone that can get me 8 hours of heavy usage. By heavy I mean lots of screen on time and LTE use..I use twitter and facebook a lot along with emailing and taking pictures...etc.

Also, any thoughts in direct comparison to the Rezound would be helpful too since I have first hand experience with it as well.

8 Hours of heavy use is a lot to ask of any phone, I think you may be limited to the MAXX to get that...

 

[Rxpert83]

8 hours of screen on time? With battery left?

You're going to have to wait for battery tech to catch up.

Its coming, but it takes much longer to get out of the pipeline

 

[Jocelyn84]

8 Hours of heavy use is a lot to ask of any phone, I think you may be limited to the MAXX to get that...

There are others that can do it

 

[AntimonyER]

There are others that can do it

Yeah, I am referring to stock, single battery life of course. My buddy has a OG RAZR MAXX, and he gets about 8 hours of streaming/browsing on a charge on LTE... And the MAXX is the best stock battery out there.

The great thing is, external batteries are getting pretty cheap, for those on the go for long periods of time without access to a charger, its a good option to keep things powered up.

 

[Deleted User]

8 Hours of heavy use is a lot to ask of any phone, I think you may be limited to the MAXX to get that...

I can get 8 hours on my Droid X and 8 Hours on my wife's Rezound without an issue.

I don't stream video or anything crazy like that, so maybe my usage of the word heavy is subjective.

My usage today on my Droid X has been 7hrs 41min on battery, 55% display (On 1h 19min), 14% idle, 13% standby, 3% Gmail and then 7 or 8 more 2% usages....and I have 50% left.

Do you think the DNA would beat that or be worse than that?