The OFFICIAL "I got my HTC Droid DNA" thread

[comk4ver]

Yeah, but if they are on T-Mobile wouldn't Verizon automatically unlock their phones because they bought the phone at full price? They are not getting a contract.

 

[geoff5093]

Yeah, but if they are on T-Mobile wouldn't Verizon automatically unlock their phones because they bought the phone at full price? They are not getting a contract.

They don't do anything different with the phone if you get it on contract or off contract.

 

[nelamvr6]

I got mine yesterday, I am LOVING it! dancedroid

 

[JeffreyDeutsch]

I got mine the same day as nelamvr6, so I could say I closed out November with it in my hands.

The DNA is a super phone - IMHO it relates to the Pro (my prior phone) the same way the Pro in turn relates to a feature phone. I especially like its quad-core processor, front and rear cameras and camcorders (with some neat features including a countdown for front-facing) and video quality. Jelly Bean and battery life aren't bad either.

Nice security feature too - namely, the non-removable battery, in conjunction with the fact that you can only shut down the phone after you log in*. That means someone stealing your phone can't turn it off - and thus, if you already set up a security software like Lookout, TrustGo or Cerberus, you can keep doing things like tracking it, having it take pictures, sounding an alarm, etc.

(In fact, even if you didn't have the foresight all is not lost - Go to Google Play and download Lookout's Plan B onto your phone. As long as the phone turned on and otherwise working, it will then email its location to the particular Gmail address for the account it's linked to.)

[*] Unless of course you didn't set up a password, PIN or pattern.

All in all, great phone!

Jeff Deutsch

 

[pc747]

[video=youtube;AwP00PCJSj8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwP00PCJSj8[/video]

 

[pc747]

[video=youtube;MNPqIJEy_U0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNPqIJEy_U0[/video]

 

[richiethec]

Got it Saturday Dec 15

I've been studying the hell out of the new Androids and I chose the DNA, much for the amazing display, although I was somewhat worried about the battery. I was not too worried about the storage, as I can't imagine needing to store even close to 10GB. Coming from an HTC Droid Incredible, which I liked very much for 2.5 years. Spent yesterday setting it up, plugged in most of the time. Today is my first reality test. With the Incredible, I plug it in when I get home each day usually around 5:30pm, and it usually has about 25% - 30% battery remaining, so you can tell I'm not a power user.

Today, I tried to use it in my typical fashion - no more, no less. As of right now, almost 4pm, I have 75% remaining, so I'm guessing it's gonna last way longer on a charge than the Incredible did. Fingers are crossed; so far I just love it. Time will tell if I get used to the larger size in my pocket, but I think I will. Good luck to all thinking of getting one; I hope my comments are helpful.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All (especially those with Droid DNAs!!)

 

[sjelias30]

I'm a new member of this forum and have had the DNA for about a month now. It is night and day versus my previous phone, an HTC Incredible, which was no slouch by the way. I honestly have to say I rarely ever use my tablet at home now since this phone's screen is large enough, the image quality is insane, and the processing power is legit. So far the battery life has been decent...I usually have about 40-50% charge left when I sit down and start to fiddle with it around 8pm so not bad. I feel like I am not tapping the full potential of the phone though since I mostly read news articles and visit facebook/twitter occassionaly. I love the camera and use that quite often...the shutter speed is great and outdoor picture quality rivals SLRs, though indoor quality leaves something to be desired.

Any ideas on how to tap the full potential of the phones processing speed and hd screen?

 

[rstfl2009]

How do you take a screen shot with the DNA??

 

[grimdroid]

I got mine about two weeks ago, finally exploring this site hoping to relearn how to use android! I've been wasting away the last two and a half years with a cameraless blackberry(crapberry) I had to trade my old Droid in for because of work, so this jump is still something I'm trying to get used to. Any recommended apps?

 

[JeffreyDeutsch]

App recommendations

Hello grimdroid,

First off, congratulations on both returning to the Droid fold and on getting the DNA!

As for what apps to get:

• Unless you have a strong reason to do otherwise, get your apps from Google Play or the Amazon Appstore. (A good strong reason here would be for a good app which is listed in either of these, but the developer will give you a special deal if you order it via their own website.
  
• Stick with the apps that get high ratings. My rule of thumb is to focus on those apps with (1) ≥ 4.00 average rating (if it says 4.0, yes I whip out the ol' calculator and see if that's rounded up), (2) five-star ratings being a majority of all ratings and (3) four-star ratings plus five-star ratings equaling at least 75% of all ratings.
  
• Get a good security app, which can for example track down your phone in case it's lost or stolen, broadcast a message, scream and do even more interesting things. I strongly recommend Lookout, Cerberus and avast! and those aren't the only good ones out there.
  
• Got various, complex passwords for different sites? Norton Identity Safe stores them all in a single, password-protected vault.
  
• Likewise, invest in a good anti-virus/anti-malware app. Lookout and Norton Mobile Security, among other good ones, fill the bill.
  
• You can secure your phone itself with a password, PIN or pattern among other options. If you want to give certain apps an extra layer of security - especially if you'd like to share your phone and want others to check out some parts of it but not others, try Application Protection. (It's not perfect, and it doesn't always go into effect in time to shield information. On the whole, IMHO, it works well.)
  
• Please consider getting two-factor authentication for things like Gmail, Dropbox and other services that offer it. Basically, two-factor authentication means that after you type in your password, you then get a code from your phone in order to log in. That means even if, say, a hacker gets your password (perhaps by planting keylogging software on a public terminal which you then used to go into your account), they still can't break in. These two-factor authentication services ordinarily send a text message to your phone. If you get Google Authenticator, among other benefits you'll be able to get it done even if you don't have a connection on your phone at the moment.
  
• One of the most important roles your phone can fill, IMHO, is mobile email device. Of course, you'll already have a Gmail app. If you (also) use Hotmail, get that app too.
  
• If you're fine with the stock browser, no problem. Otherwise, Chrome and Dolphin are both really cool.
  
• If you want to go beyond the stock resources for your battery, try Juice Defender - up to and including Ultimate. It's got a well-organized and convenient interface for taking control of your battery.
  
• With all due respect to Google, their Maps application stinks. It's misdirected me too often. MapQuest rules! (In fact, they give you free voice turn-by-turn directions.)
  
• Plan on reading and even editing and writing Word documents, spreadsheets and/or presentations? Kingsoft Office is a good free office suite.
  
• Got a limited data plan and need to stretch every megabyte? Get Onavo Extend, whih among other things compresses your downloads and then forwards them to you.
  
• Want to store photos, videos, documents and other things in the cloud, synced right from your phone. Dropbox is just what the doctor ordered.
  
• Want to scan QR codes and the like? Grab Barcode Scanner.
  
• Turn your phone into a little photocopier and help save a few trees. With CamScanner, you can make PDF copies of reports, receipts, book pages, etc., for your records. (Not only do you save a little money and time by not using a public photocopier, you also avoid the risk that images of your private documents will stay on the machine's hard drive and end up in front of the wrong eyes!)
  
• Want real-time views of CPU strain, available RAM and data received and sent? Get SeePU - it gives you simple color graphs you can understand quickly.
  
• Want to edit your own videos? VidTrim does a few good things very well.
  
• Many chain stores, like Five Guys, give you their own app so that, among other things, you can find their nearest location to wherever you are at the moment.

Please let me know what you think. Good luck!

Jeff Deutsch

 

[RPZ]

Just picked up my DNA about 2 weeks ago. So far it is a great phone and it is much better than the Droid X I used to have.

The only real issue I have is the lack of accessories. I'm sure over the next month this will get better.

This is a great phone!

 

[pb1bicdic]

Well, I'm officially the owner of a new DNA. It was a choice between this phone and Note 2. I love the look of this phone better than the other. I hope it continues to grow on me, although tonight is the first night using it ,my Google maps is not locating me. Does anyone have any advice?

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

 

[lightonfuel]

I just got my DNA last week. This is my first ever non-Apple product so I feel slightly out of my element. I love the screen and the different (non-apple) way of navigating through the phone and it's features. All in all, I'm generally happy with the phone.

However, i have noticed a few bugs. First, I had the 4G icon on my phone when I arrived at work yesterday morning, but through the course of the day it changed to 3G and then it completely turned off. It was pretty much the same this morning so I decided to shut the phone down. Now it displays 4G, again. Why is this?

Also, a buddy suggested that I install Go Launcher, which I did, but I noticed that sometimes Go Launcher isn't working when I exit an app and I have to start it again. Angry Birds Star Wars won't let me start a single board: It keeps dumping back onto the home screen when I try to start a board (Yes, I uninstalled and reinstalled it). And lastly, Apps that I close in the settings mysteriously turn right back on....very annoying.

I'm not a very tech savvy person but I'm not completely foreign to technology either. I'll just assume that there is a very steep learning curve for this new (to me) OS. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[raw157]

General question here:

How do ya'll afford the newest phones all the time? I usually do it every 2 years but I feel like lots of people are always getting the latest phones. Are you just paying full retail value on these things? Or is there a secret I'm missing out on?

Thanks
raw