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peter

Any questions about the DNA?

Got one yesterday, hit me up with any questions you have!

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44 replies
f0cu5

What are your early impressions of its battery life?
4 like dislike
peter

So far good, but I usually like to give it a few days of real world usage before making an assessment.
1 like dislike
aaronfg

When you do finally get to battery life, could you please post the screen-on time before the battery dies? In settings-->battery-->screen. The total time shown for "Time on"

That's the important number when discussing battery life.
2 like dislike
f0cu5

how much of a visual difference do you notice going from iPhone's retina display to this?
2 like dislike
ranhalt

My main gripes with the Galaxy Nexus, I'm hoping buying this off contract will be worth it.
  1. Is the loudspeaker useable for media playback and speakerphone?
  2. Does the button placement feel awkward or unnatural?
  3. Obviously the display has to be better than the GNex
Other questions
  1. Does it feel like it's taking advantage of 4.1 with Sense gooped all over it?
  2. Does the glass feel strong and/or scratch resistant?
2 like dislike
peter

Loudspeaker is decently loud, but not surprisingly music sounds a little thin on it.

I wish the volume rocker was a little more prominent, it can be a little tough to get it right on the first press (if that makes sense). Same thing with the power button. It's on the top -- which I know some people really dislike -- and since it's flush with edge of the phone it can be annoying to press. On the other hand, I don't find myself accidentally turning the screen on in my pocket like I sometimes do with the S3.

Yes, the display is better than on the Galaxy Nexus.

I feel like the main advantage of JB has been the improvement in responsiveness, and you'll see that here. If you don't like Sense, you won't like it here either.

Hard to really evaluate the glass without deliberately trying to scratch or drop it (which I kind of don't want to do right now).
2 like dislike
ranhalt

Thanks! I think I know exactly what you're talking about with the buttons. The Galaxy Nexus has that issue. Sadly, the bigger the phone, the more distance between hardware buttons along the edge and that creates awkward stretching of your hands.
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falleninsea

Hows the battery life so far?
How does it feel weight and size wise?
Hows the Camera?
Did they provide the wireless charger and if so how quickly does it charge?
1 like dislike
peter

Weight feels great, I was surprised when I first picked it up. Same thing with the size, it's smaller than you'd expect, doesn't seem all that much bigger than a One X, and noticeably smaller than a Galaxy Note 2.

Haven't spent much time with the camera yet, but will take more shots today.

They didn't include the wireless charger, sadly!
1 like dislike
sciwiz

Is the wireless charging Qi compatible? Might want to invest in one, as wireless charging seems to be part of most of the flagships. (920, Nexus4, Verizon 8X)
0 like dislike
sciwiz

Let get the obvious question out of the way. Can you notice the difference at normal phone viewing distances, next to other phones? I know it's early for the battery life tests, but is the screen too much of a drag on the battery?
1 like dislike
peter

It's hard to tell the difference between this and the One X, but the DNA excels when it comes to text and seeing the fine details in images. Not sure there's much advantage to pixel densities higher than this, I suspect much of the improvement in screens will come from better color reproduction, power efficiency, contrast ratio, etc.
3 like dislike
ThePale

Ditto on battery life - is it user swappable?
1 like dislike
peter

Battery is not swappable.
1 like dislike
SeanBrunett

What are your impressions about the size? 5-inches can seem daunting to some, but I've heard it doesn't feel incredibly large.
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peter

I was pleasantly surprised. The DNA feels in the same league as the One X and S3, rather than the Note and Note 2. 5-inches may be the sweet spot for a lot of people, it's definitely working for me much better than I'd expected.
1 like dislike
frankspin

How are apps scaling?
Coming from the One X and S3, how is the camera comparing?
How does the phone feel in your hand? The S3 feels a little wide but this looks slimmer, very similar to iPhone 5
1 like dislike
peter

Haven't seen any issues with apps scaling yet, though Chrome is a little wonky.

Phone feels great, the bezel is really narrow so the phone isn't too wide for me. I also especially like the soft touch back, makes the phone easier to hold than the Note or Note 2, which I've found to be a bit slippery.
1 like dislike
falleninsea

How is the HTC Sense UI on this device?
does it get in the way of the OS or is a nice integration that actually enhances the OS?

What Verizon bloatware if any is preinstalled?
1 like dislike
peter

Sense is really similar to Sense on earlier devices. I think Sense is better than Touchwiz, but my preference would be for stock JB.

There is Verizon bloatware, they pre-load a bunch of Amazon apps, including the Kindle, Amazon MP3, and Amazon app store apps. There's also NFL Mobile, a game called Reign of Amira, Verizon Tones, VZ Navigator, and a payment app from Amex called Serve.
0 like dislike
stacey

Can you disable or uninstall most of the bloat? I heard that Verizon disabled the ability to disable certain apps.
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peter

You cannot, you'll need root to do that.
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Vance

Any word on unlockable bootloader? Also, some feel that the CPU may have trouble pushing that many pixels, any lag issues?
0 like dislike
hopthewake

How do you compare it head to head with the S3? Which phone do you see being the best after the two year contract cycle is up? (as in will Samsung support the S3 longer because of the number of sales?)
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peter

Both phones are great, and I've been using the S3 with CM10 on it for the past month or so. I think it probably comes down to how comfortable you are with the size of each phone. The S3 is smaller and because of that many people will find it to be more comfortable hold than the DNA. Performance seems about the same to me.

I can't speak to which phone will get better support long-term, that sort of thing is harder to predict than it should be.
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stacey

What about removable memory? I'm just hoping that the no micro sd thing isn't true!
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peter

No memory card slot! From what I've heard, this is something Verizon insisted on.
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okiwa002

Did Verizon really supplant Google Play with Amazon's marketplace or are they both present? Also, feature-wise how does it compare to the SIII's of the world with the display and, RAM?
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peter

They are both present.

I think the display is better than the SIII's, RAM is the same.
0 like dislike
peter

Oh, and the Amazon thing is deal with Verizon, not HTC. Amazon apps are going to pre-loaded on all Android phones on Verizon going forward.
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robwicks

How does the speed, considering the number of pixels being pushed, compare in comparison to, say, the Nexus 7 (which I have) or the Nexus 4 (which I don't)? Is there a discernible difference?
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peter

I haven't noticed any slow down due to sheer number of pixels, animations and stuff like that all render really quickly.
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rbhill76

Is it enough to convince you there is a market for a supersized phone without Note-like functionality?
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peter

Yes, though even when I've carried around a Note I've rarely taken advantage of its stylus-based functionality, so I may not be the best person to judge that.

Like I said above, the DNA doesn't feel like the same category as the Note and Note 2.
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falleninsea

How much usable storage space is there on the device?
i believe its 16GB but how much is not taken up by the OS and preinstalled apps?
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peter

4.9GB are taken up by OS and preinstalled apps.
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jamesey

Two questions:
Can this be used on T-Mobile US?
How does the size compare with the Nexus 4?

I've been using my trusty G2 for a couple years and I've been ready to upgrade for a while, but no flagship phones come with keyboards anymore. I figured I'd settle for whatever Nexus came out this year, but 16gb is a step backwards for me; I have a huge amount of media and don't like to *have* to stream, especially with video. The DNA looks amazing with that screen and those specs, but again the 16gb gives me pause. I've got both Box and Dropbox but still... might end up just living in the cloud as Google would clearly prefer, and I do have and like Google Music, just wish there wasn't any need for compromise.
0 like dislike
peter

From what I understand, the DNA is unlocked and so you can use a non-Verizon SIM in it, though you won't get LTE on it.

I think the fact that it only has 16GB of storage is going to be an issue for a lot of people. It's not personally a problem for me -- I don't usually store any music or video on any of my phones -- but I know a lot of users for whom 16GB is definitely not enough.
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stacey

Considering there's number of games and other apps that exceed 1GB in Google play, that can be an issue. As is, I have 7 GB in just apps (including games) My SD card is strictly for media (music, movies, etc.)
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gRagib

Does the DNA support MirrorLink display mirroring for in-car use? The GS3 supports MirrorLink.

Which GSM/HSPA bands are supported by the DNA? If it is sold unlocked, can it get HSPA+ on T-Mobile?
0 like dislike
enfantlune83

1)Did Verizon or HTC hint at making the phone available in any alternate colors?
2)When the phone is laying face up, is it flat or does it rock from the camera module, I can't tell from the photo if the lens projects.
Thank you.
0 like dislike
peter

1. No, and I wouldn't hold out for that.

2. The lens is flush with the back of the phone, it's not like the One X where it sticks out a bit.
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phlinuks

Hi Peter,

I see the Verge under fire for their scathing review of battery life by many other sites who say it is not bad at all, thanks to the new S-LCD3 technology. I look forward to seeing your updates regarding this over the next few days.
0 like dislike
Chaostheory

IP 57 rated?
0 like dislike
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