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Review: HTC Droid DNA for Verizon Wireless

Form Performance Basics Extras Wrap-Up Comments 46

Screen

There probably aren't enough superlatives in the English language to cover my thoughts on the DNA's display. It measures 5 inches across the diagonal and packs a whopping 1920 x 1080 pixels. That's 440 pixels per inch, and a full High Definition display. When you consider that it has as many pixels squished into a 5-inch screen as there are on a 50-inch television, you get a better idea of how dense the pixels are. It is insanely sharp and the Super-LCD 3 technology means it's hella bright. My only complaint is that colors aren't as ridiculously oversaturated as they are on Samsung's Super AMOLED display. They're merely good. Otherwise: wow.

Signal

I was able to test the DNA in NYC and around New Jersey. I had absolutely no trouble with it on Verizon's 3G and LTE 4G networks. It connected to both and the signal indicator rarely dipped below two bars. More to the point, I was always able to make a call when I needed to, and those calls didn't drop. Surfing the web on LTE was consistently speedy. The DNA didn't have any issues when switching from LTE to 3G and back, and always downloaded apps in a jiffy.

Sound

I was impressed with the volume and sound quality of the DNA. I had to make several calls while walking down a busy avenue in Manhattan during rush hour. Not only was I able to hear my conversations over noisy buses and honking taxis, but those calls were clear and free of static and other interference. The DNA is one of the better voice phones I've tested from HTC this year. The speakerphone is also quite loud and demonstrated clear calls. Ringers and alerts are always going to get your attention if you have them set loud enough, but the vibrate alert was a bit weak.

Battery

Battery life of LTE smartphones has come a long way in the last year. The DNA includes a 2,020mAh battery, which provides enough juice to use it for an entire day, even when under LTE coverage. In fact, I had a hard time running the battery down, even with intensive use. It consistently lasted longer than 24 hours.

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HTC Droid DNA

5" display FHD+ resolution
Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 processor 2 GB RAM
2,020 mAh battery
Headphone Jack (3.5mm), NFC, Wireless Charging

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