...So I've had my DNA now for about a month and love almost everything about it. Got my wife the Note 2 (she absolutely insisted on having the bigger screen) yesterday and I've been fiddling with it for over a day. I love the N2's inclusion of a power toggle right at the top of the notification pull-down menu. In terms of positives, that's pretty much it. I HATE the Samsung UI (TouchWiz?). The email implementation is not good at all and in general it seems clunky and unintuitive. In terms of UI's I adored the pure Google experience of my Gnex and I find the HTC Sense 4 to be pretty darn close and generally not intrusive at all. The screen of the N2 can't hold a candle to the DNA. Not only in resolution but in the purity of the whites (that's one of my pet major issues....I HATE non-white 'whites'....the Gnex had sickly yellow 'whites' BTW). Simply put, go to the Google home page on the N2 and then the DNA, hold them next to one another and you'll see that the N2 shows up as blue while the DNA is pure white. Oh, another plus for the N2 is the external speaker. It's loud and clear. The rear speaker on the DNA is OK but I'd give the nod to the N2 here. Also the dialing pad on the N2 is excellent. Nice and large and easy to press the numbers. The DNA only uses the bottom third of the screen for it's keypad which is ridiculous in my view. Cal quality on the DNA is much better with voices coming across as loud and clear. The N2 lags in this department and while it's OK the clear winner is the DNA here. Still haven't fiddled with the S-Pen much. Looks really complicated and unintuitive but it may just be a case of a steep initial learning curve. A few you tube video tutorials will probably help here. I absolutely DETEST the N2's home button. It's a physical button that needs to be depressed rather than a virtual touch button. The touch button is sooo much easier to use. And why the N2 included their own 'S-Voice' when Google Now is readily available in Jelly Bean is a real head scratcher. Google Now is light years better in every regard. Kind of like buying an Aston Martin and having them throw in a Fiat just for fun. Anyway, just some initial impressions having hands-on time with both. For me it would be a no-brainer. Wife, OTOH just is fixated on having more screen real estate. happy wife, happy life!
I've owned both and I definitely like the DNA better on most things besides battery life, of course the note 2 was going to be better. Also I'm not sure from your post but you do know the note 2 has google now as well right? I agree that s voice is no where near as good but it cant be viewed as a negative to have both, I just wasn't sure if you knew the note 2 had it or not.
Ill pull one back into the DNA camp. You can opt to use the whole screen to dial numbers too. Go to the phone. Press the triple dot button and select full screen keypad.
Yeah I remember making a thread about that a while ago, someone else from here posted that on xda when it first came out. Yeah to me the note 2 is only on battery life, but the DNA is better on most everything else, and battery life on the DNA is still good. I think the DNA is a far better phone.
Not to derail the thread but can I ask why people insist on comparing the Note and DNA? The DNA is exactly the same width as the S3 and less than 4mm taller. Samsung, Sony, and LG have all announced 5in 1080p screens in the pipeline, and I can't imagine every one will be compared to the Note simply because some 5in screen size has now been met. JMO but the software, and the SPen are what make the Note what it is, not just the big screen. Is it that the DNA was the first?
in my opinion, all the droid dna has going for it is a better screen. software is more polished on the Note2, bigger battery, better camera, spen, faster, expandable memory, etc. i believe the Note 2 is in its own category but if you want to compare them, look at the things i mentioned.
The things you mentioned are the same things that could be said about any phone. The Note has a much larger footprint so it's going to have a bigger battery. The SPen could be a positive or a negative depending on how you look at it, and as for it having a better camera I don't think so. Faster? How so? Software more polished? Touchwiz vs. Sense, take your pick. The Note has an SD slot, which could be a positive although I haven't found 16gb, we'll 11gb, to be limiting. That of course is going to change from user to user.
fact is, the Note 2 has a bigger battery so it lasts significantly longer than the DNA (screen time and stand by time). How could the spen be a negative? if you dont like it, dont use it...the camera has been reported and reviewed to be better on the Note 2. It's faster because of software optimizations from touchwiz and again from user reviews.
The DNA's camera is smoking fast. One thing you do need to do is hold it steady when doing continuous shooting. My mother in law had her stand alone digital camera at Christmas and while she as missing the smiles and all the good shots I was shooting dozens of photos every second and got far better shots. Granted it drops to 5mp when on continuous shooting. But having a good shot is what counts. And even when just taking repeated 8mp shots, it is fast. More than one per second. HTC put some decent power into their dedicated imaging chip. Upgrading software is one thing, but having the hardware is more important. And I think the stock camera software is pretty good.
The battery is bigger because the device is quite a bit bigger. That's like saying a 10in tablet has a larger battery than a 7in tablet. Of course. The camera is better on the DNA. Samsung used the same camera as in the the S3, not that it's a bad camera by any stretch, but it's not anything class leading. The camera software on the DNA is better as well. I still don't understand the 'faster' thing. You're saying Touchwiz is faster than Sense? They're both crap IMO, but pure speed, nothing can touch the S4 Pro right now.
i personally think the note 2 is on a class of its own. but for comparisons sake, it has better battery. HTC DROID DNA vs Samsung Galaxy Note II - YouTube around the 09:40 mark you'll see this reviews words on how the note 2's camera is better. a lot of comparisons by tech experts say the same thing.
The Note being in a class of its own is my point. It was made to bridge the gap between phones and tablets, has a stylus, has unique software to utilize the stylus. The DNA was never meant to do or be any of those things, which is why I don't get the constant comparisons. I would never consider the Note due to its size. Just like someone sold on the features of the Note probably wouldn't consider a DNA. Also, in the video, when showing the keyboards they mention swipe capabilities on the Note and didn't mention the stock DNA keyboard has swipe as well. Anyway, I'm not putting the Note down, its a great device. I just don't get the comparisons. Apples and oranges as far as I'm concerned.
