HTC Droid DNA review

HTC Droid DNA review

Guanine, adenine, thymine, cytosine... Android? The Droid DNA -- the latest addition to Verizon's Droid series -- may not contain any actual nucleotides (that we know of), but that doesn't make this HTC-made superphone any less of a powerhouse. On the contrary, we've been eyeballing this handset with eager anticipation ever since it first launched in Japan as the J Butterfly; much like its counterpart from the Land of the Rising Sun, the DNA boasts a jaw-dropping 5-inch, 1080p display. But while that may be the headliner-worthy feature, you certainly can't go wrong with a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and 2GB of RAM taking charge behind the scenes, along with an ImageSense camera and other top-notch specs.

In certain respects, the Droid DNA is a sneak preview of what's to come in 2013: a wave of high-performance "superphones" that take advantage of this improved resolution, and offer a long list of other top-notch features. Indeed, that's a future we could all definitely live with, but let's not get too ahead of ourselves; we've got a phone to review, after all. Is the display as tantalizing as it sounds? Will its size be a selling point or a major distraction? Should you waltz into a Verizon store on Black Friday and demand they take your hard-earned $200? Follow us after the break as we focus on the here and now.

Continue reading HTC Droid DNA review

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HTC Droid DNA review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon’s HTC DLX may be called Droid DNA, Windows Phone 8 devices get tentative prices

Verizon's HTC DLX may be called Droid DNA, Windows Phone 8 devices get tentative prices

Verizon is one of the more common proponents of silly Android device names, in part through its insistence on that "Droid" prefix for some hardware. When its smartphone badges practically demand a pause for breath, you know there's a problem. Android Central's purported copy of a Minimum Advertised Pricing list could show that there's hope for the carrier yet. The chart shows the HTC DLX (6435LVW) skipping the rumored Droid Incredible X name in favor of Droid DNA -- and that's it. No superlatives, no arbitrary "4G LTE" tags to remind us of the network we already know we're using. The 5-inch phone might have even been a reasonable launch, as the MAP shows a $200 contract price that would potentially take effect just before Thanksgiving.

Want more? Other smartphones are on the supposedly leaked MAP list as well, primarily focusing on Windows Phone 8 gear: the as yet unconfirmed Nokia Lumia 822 shows up with a $100 price and a mid-November release window, while Verizon's take on the Windows Phone 8X is present with a $200 price and similar timing. Those who'd rather go for a Samsung phablet than HTC's aren't left out, either. The Verizon edition of the Galaxy Note II is on the list with a $300 price and availability that starts immediately -- rather convenient, that.

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Verizon's HTC DLX may be called Droid DNA, Windows Phone 8 devices get tentative prices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Droid Incredible X possibly spotted with Verizon badging intact (Update: DLX is short for ‘Deluxe’)

HTC DLX possibly photographed in its long, long rumored Verizon badging

It's about time. The HTC DLX has most often been rumored carrying a Verizon-style 6435LVW or Droid Incredible X name, and yet it was unveiled first in Japan as the J Butterfly; we really needed the photos just now surfacing at Android Central to remind us that the 5-inch, 1080p gigantophone could still come to Big Red. While nothing's confirmed yet, the black-with-red-trim design and all too prominent Verizon labeling make a convincing case for the DLX's ultimate US destination. A helpfully provided phone profile screen might be more interesting to some, as it hints that we might get the same quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro, 2GB of RAM and 8-megapixel rear camera as in the J Butterfly -- Verizon won't pull a Droid Incredible 4G LTE and tone down the hardware, if this is true. Without any more details, we're still left wondering just how soon Verizon could commit to launching the smartphone. There's no guarantees that Verizon will follow KDDI's schedule and ship in early December.

Update: We've been wondering whether the odd name was meant to be short for Droid Incredible X, i.e. "DIX" instead of "DLX," but our friend @evleaks on Twitter just showed us a list of device PIDs that mentions the latter. @evleaks also suggests that DLX might be short for the codename "Deluxe" for the international variant, just as "ENRC2" was short for "Endeavor C2" (One X+).

Update 2: It turns out the J Butterfly has the codename "Deluxe J" in its bootloader menu, so there you have it. Thanks again, @evleaks!

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HTC Droid Incredible X possibly spotted with Verizon badging intact (Update: DLX is short for 'Deluxe') originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Oct 2012 01:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC DLX specs purportedly slip, stuff Snapdragon S4 Pro and 12MP camera into a 5-inch frame

HTC DLX specs purportedly slip, stuff Snapdragon S4 Pro and 12MP camera into a 5inch frame

Talk of HTC's rumored, giant DLX has veered between the plausible and not-so-plausible. We might just toss the newest tip into that former category. Football4PDA, who's developing a reputation for uncanny accuracy in leaks, has posted what's claimed to be the core specifications of HTC's first phablet. The DLX would mirror earlier expectations of a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro and a 5-inch, 1080p display, but push past the OneX+ in more ways than just physical heft: the extra space might just help it afford 1.5GB of RAM, a 12-megapixel rear camera, a 2-megapixel front shooter and a larger-still (but non-removable) 2,500mAh battery. We're not as much of a fan of the threadbare 16GB of storage that's supposedly in the cards, though, even with a new Android 4.1.2 build in store. Provided that there's more to the story than just 136 characters, the real point of contention is the ship date -- having mostly cleared the decks between its September event and its One X+ introduction, HTC hasn't left much time for the possibly Verizon-bound flagship to show its face.

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HTC DLX specs purportedly slip, stuff Snapdragon S4 Pro and 12MP camera into a 5-inch frame originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 23:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC’s 5-inch behemoth phone spied in press render, may be called One X 5

HTC One X 5 leak

Something big has been brewing at HTC, most often referred to as the DLX or by its less-than-flattering 6435LVW name. While there have been unconfirmed photos of prototypes floating around, a Sina Weibo user has posted what we have reason to believe is an authentic press image of the finished result: meet the One X 5. As the name and image suggest, the phablet-class device should be dominated by a 5-inch (and possibly 1080p) screen that makes even a regular One X look dainty. Internal details haven't been nailed down alongside the looks, although previous benchmarks have had it using a Snapdragon S4 that might ultimately be a quad-core S4 Pro. There's no immediate signs of a stylus or other tricks besides that sea of glass. We may not have long to wait before we find out, however. HTC just happens to have a New York City event planned for this Wednesday, and previously detected links between the 6435LVW and Verizon could see the One X 5 quickly reach the US if it's meant to show at that gathering -- although it might get another name change to fit into the Droid family.

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HTC's 5-inch behemoth phone spied in press render, may be called One X 5 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 14:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC’s 5-inch behemoth phone spied in press render, may be called One X 5 (update: some caution)

HTC One X 5 leak

Something big has been brewing at HTC, most often referred to as the DLX or by its less-than-flattering 6435LVW name. While there have been unconfirmed photos of prototypes floating around, a Sina Weibo user has posted what we have reason to believe is an authentic press image of the finished result: meet the One X 5. As the name and image suggest, the phablet-class device should be dominated by a 5-inch (and possibly 1080p) screen that makes even a regular One X look dainty. Internal details haven't been nailed down alongside the looks, although previous benchmarks have had it using a Snapdragon S4 that might ultimately be a quad-core S4 Pro. There's no immediate signs of a stylus or other tricks besides that sea of glass. We may not have long to wait before we find out, however. HTC just happens to have a New York City event planned for this Wednesday, and previously detected links between the 6435LVW and Verizon could see the One X 5 quickly reach the US if it's meant to show at that gathering -- although it might get another name change to fit into the Droid family.

Update: We've been given a heads-up that this is a device posted as a "concept" by Danny Tu on Flickr, which raises doubt that we'll see exactly what's on show here (or see that name). However, it still lines up with earlier photos and what we've heard. We'll keep you posted as to whether or not it reflects reality in the end.

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HTC's 5-inch behemoth phone spied in press render, may be called One X 5 (update: some caution) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 14:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oppo CEO says quad-core Find 5 will feature a 1080p, 441ppi display, forgets to wink at HTC

Oppo CEO says quadcore Find 5 will feature a 1080p, 441ppi display, forgets to wink at HTC

Not sure how this slipped under our radar, but recently Oppo Mobile CEO Chen Mingyong teased that his upcoming flagship phone, the Find 5, will again feature a non-removable but "certainly big enough" battery (for the sake of anti-counterfeiting and, consequently, safety) as well as a 1080p, 441ppi display. That's right, 441ppi! We're finally getting a phone with a display that's impossibly sharper than the 326ppi on the latest iPhones (up to 4-inch, 1,136 x 640), the 331ppi on the Nokia Lumia 920 (4.5-inch, 1,280 x 768) or even the 342ppi on the Sony Xperia acro S and the Xiaomi Phone 2 (4.3-inch, 1,280 x 720).

Assuming Chen's talking about a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, a quick calculation based on these two numbers would give us a 5-inch screen size, which matches what LG Display announced back in May. Taking into account that a reliable source of ours got to see HTC's 5-inch 6435LVW phablet recently, this would make the Find 5 unofficially the second device to receive the same full HD panel. Still, there's a significant difference inside these two phones: Chen had previously mentioned that the Find 5 will be joining the quad-core APQ8064 party, while the HTC device appears to sport the dual-core, LTE-enabled MSM8960. Speaking of which, the same source informed us that much like the Flyer, HTC's 6435LVW will also feature N-trig stylus technology. Will Oppo follow in the same footsteps? And will it bring back the slide-out keyboard à la Find X903 (pictured above)? Go on, Mr. Chen, tell us more.

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Oppo CEO says quad-core Find 5 will feature a 1080p, 441ppi display, forgets to wink at HTC originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Sep 2012 11:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumored HTC Verizon phablet may land soon, with 1080p screen and 1.5GHz Snapdragon

Rumored HTC Verizon phablet may land soon with 1080p screen, 15GHz Snapdragon S4

Samsung and LG have already embraced the tiny-tablet form factor. It only makes sense that HTC would want to carve out a niche of this niche for themselves. Rumors of a five-inch HTC device have been circulating for some time, but now a report from DigiTimes is lending some credence to those murmurings, and a mysterious handset from the Taiwanese manufacturer has popped up over at GLBenchmark. According to unnamed sources the company has been working on a flagship level (One XXL?) device with a stunning 1,794 x 1,080 display, due to be released in either September or October. If you're taking that claim with a grain of salt, we don't blame you. But, an entry for the HTC 6435LVW that just popped up at GLBenchmark.com seems to fit the bill pretty nicely. It has the same listed resolution, which we assume is actually a 1,920 x 1,080 panel with room set aside for Android's soft keys. The device info has it running ICS, version 4.0.4 to be specific, on a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 -- which should make it quite the powerful piece of hardware. The software build also singles it out as a Verizon handset, which means it'll be packing an LTE radio as well. Whether the rumored stylus is included, a la the Flyer, remains to be seen, but, we shouldn't have to wait much longer to find out for sure.

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Rumored HTC Verizon phablet may land soon, with 1080p screen and 1.5GHz Snapdragon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mystery HTC device flaunts class-leading benchmarks, 1080p display

Mystery HTC device flaunts classleading benchmarks, 1080p display

When we say "mystery," we totally mean it. We don't know if this is a phone or a tablet, or even if it's real -- stranger things have happened that concocted benchmarks. All we can say for sure is that a previously unheard-of device called the HTC 6435LVW has appeared over at the Community Uploads section of the GLBenchmark site, scoring a ridiculous 121 FPS in the Egypt Offscreen 720p test -- that's more than twice the score of the HTC One X (LTE), and 20 percent higher than the current performance supremo, the Galaxy S III. But that's not all, because the benchmark listing also throws up some specs: notably a 1794 x 1080 resolution (could that mean a new HTC tablet with onscreen buttons?) and a Qualcomm MSM8960 processor (could it be the Pro version?). There are too many questions to contemplate, but here's one final detail: the Android ICS version is described as a Verizon build, so if this thing is legit maybe that's where it's headed.

Mystery HTC device flaunts class-leading benchmarks, 1080p display originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 03:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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