Hasta La Gadget!

Custom ROM fans were briefly teased with the prospect of Verizon loosening its anti-modding stance when the HTC Droid DNA first arrived: in the pre-release days, the official HTCDev portal allowed unlocking the DNA’s bootloader. While the carrier unfortunately clamped down and denied the option by the time the giant smartphone was in stores, that hasn’t stopped Android Police and Sean Beaupre from keeping the dream alive through very unofficial means. A special backup file, a carrier ID generator app, a shell script and judicious use of ADB tweak the carrier information to trick HTCDev and let the unlock work once again. To call this a risky procedure would be an understatement, however — venturing past a certain point raises the real possibility of bricking the device, and HTC’s bootloader tool already puts limits on post-unlock support even when it’s blessed by carriers. Should the urge to liberate the Droid DNA overwhelm a sense of caution (or a wait for the Deluxe), you’ll find both the hack and unofficial help through the source links.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC, Verizon

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Source: Android Police

What are we thankful for on the day before Thanksgiving? How about the glut of great smartphones? Phones like HTC’s Droid DNA, on sale today over at Verizon. $200 (with the obligatory two-year contract) will get you a gorgeous five-inch 1080p display, a quad-core processor, NFC and some Android Jelly Bean action. The battery life leaves a bit to be desired, however, though it’ll get you through the amount of time required to cook a 20 pound turkey, at least.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC

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Source: Verizon

Sure, HTC and Verizon may have given us the long awaited pricing and launch date details for the Droid DNA, but it omitted one tidbit that we’d heard of before: Amazon’s App Suite. Starting with the DNA, select Android devices on Big Red — presumably those that aren’t of the “Google Experience” flavor — will come loaded with the Amazon-focused pane on their home screens. Though a handful of Verizon phones are already pre-loaded with Audible, Zappos and Amazon’s MP3, Kindle and Shopping apps, the suite will roll them up into one experience for easy access. By signing in with your existing Amazon account, content ranging from Kindle novels to MP3s will be at your fingertips. In addition, the Seattle-based retailer’s complete selection of products are just an impulse buy away through the app. Hit the jump to check out the mobile storefront in action.

Update: As pointed out in the comments, App Suite doesn’t support Amazon video. We’ve updated the post accordingly.

Continue reading Amazon App Suite to be pre-loaded on Verizon Android devices starting with Droid DNA

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Amazon, Verizon

Amazon App Suite to be pre-loaded on Verizon Android devices starting with Droid DNA originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 18:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s not much of a secret at this point, but HTC and Verizon have finally made their king-sized smartphone official at today’s press event: the Droid DNA, which is essentially Big Red’s variant of the J Butterfly released in Japan a few weeks ago, will be offered in stores and online starting the day before Thanksgiving for $200 with a two-year commitment, but early adopters will be able to pre-order their unit today.

As you may recall, the DNA is already well known in mobile circles thanks to its 5-inch 1080p Super LCD3 display (which comes out to 440ppi), but there’s plenty of other goodies that make this particular handset a rather tempting purchase for the holiday season. For instance, it’s helped along by a 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor (APQ8064 paired with MDM9615m, to be specific) and 2GB of RAM, and will come running Jelly Bean and HTC’s Sense 4+ UI. It will also come with an 8MP f/2.0 rear camera with 28mm wide angle lens, BSI sensor, ImageChip and 1080p HD video capture. On the opposite side of the phone you can expect to see a 2.1MP f/2.0 front-facing cam that features 1080p HD video record and an 88-degree ultra-wide angle lens. By the way, all of these spiffy specs will rely on an embedded 2,020mAh battery for its power supply, but it’ll have Qi-compatible wireless charging to help out when it’s getting low.

HTC continues to highlight its audio prowess, as the DNA takes advantage of Beats Audio and a 2.55v built-in headset amplifier and dedicated rear speaker amp, which is geared to offer minimal distortion at maximum volume; in terms of how much multimedia you can throw on the phone, however, it comes with 16GB internal storage and no microSD slot. Rounding out the spec sheet, the DNA offers Verizon LTE, quad-band GSM and UMTS (we haven’t been told if global roaming will be enabled, but we suspect so), Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX support, NFC, MHL, dual mics for noise cancelation and WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n (dual-band). It measures 9.73mm thick and weighs 4.86 ounces (138g). We’ll update our post with Verizon’s press release as soon as it’s available, and our team is at this morning’s event getting ready to have some quality hands-on time with the new beaut. In the meantime, you may want to think about revising your Black Friday shopping list.

Continue reading HTC Droid DNA coming to Verizon on November 21st for $200, pre-orders begin today

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC, Verizon

HTC Droid DNA coming to Verizon on November 21st for $200, pre-orders begin today originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 11:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC is throwing its hat into the phablet ring and it appears that its sleeping giant is set to awaken on Verizon’s network, but not before smiling for the cameras. Pictured above is a (presumably) leaked press shot of the highly anticipated Droid DNA, which is believed to be Big Red’s stateside rendition of the 5-inch Super LCD 3, 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon-toting J Butterfly. While this device has generated quite a buzz, it remains to be seen if this Japanese behemoth’s red, white and blue counterpart will ship with identical hardware. Thankfully, all should be revealed soon, as Verizon and HTC have scheduled a get together later this month in the Big Apple and of course we’ll be on hand to bring you all of the gory details, no matter how difficult to handle.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC, Verizon

Verizon-bound HTC DNA gets up close and personal in leaked press photo originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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