It’s anything but a secret at this point (really, the number of leaks is astounding even for HTC), but Verizon and HTC have just officially unveiled the Droid DNA here at their joint press conference in New York City.
“It’s about bringing Droid back to its original roots,” he said. “Ultimate power.” Bold words, sure, but I wonder how Motorola Mobility (Verizon Wireless’s other major Droid hardware partner) feels about that little jab.
The DNA certainly has a lot going for it, but its biggest claim to fame is that it sports the same crazy Gorilla Glass-clad 5-inch 1080p Super LCD3 display as seen in its Japan-only cousin the Butterfly J . In case you were wondering, that breaks down to a pixel density of just over 440PPI, easily surpassing the iPhone’s Retina Display in terms of pure pixel count. Despite the Droid DNA’s considerable screen size, HTC was quick to note that the device is definitely not intended to be a phablet — it’s all smartphone.
But a tremendous screen by itself does not a great device make. Under the hood, the Droid DNA sports a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset and 2GB of RAM (again, like its Japanese cousin). The last device I played with that had that particular configuration offered up some very strong Quadrant scores (think in the 7,000s), so the DNA seems poised to be a real powerhouse. To top it all off, the device will ship with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, albeit a version loaded up with HTC’s pared-down Sense 4+ custom interface.
Also on deck is the DNA’s ability to wirelessly charge, though details on related accessories were scarce.
If the DNA has managed to pique your interest, you won’t have to wait very long to get one in your hands — it’s slated to launch on November 21 (though pre-orders begin today), and will set curious consumers back $199 with a two-year contract.
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