HTC - 13/118 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Nov

The DROID DNA Is Available Today

Posted by David Ruddock in DROID DNA, News, Verizon Wireless

Just a quick reminder, the HTC DROID DNA is available starting today (November 21st) at a Verizon near you. HTC's latest addition to the DROID lineup is packing a 5" 1080p display, quad-core Snapdragon S4 pro processor, 2GB of RAM, LTE, NFC, and various other adjectives. And at $199 on a two-year agreement (less if you head to Wirefly), it's not a bad deal. Our review will be going up today, so be on the lookout.

By the way, Verizon decided having the phone unlockable via the HTC Dev site wasn't something they were so hot on, so you can't do that anymore.

Nov

HTC CEO: We're 'Happy' With Apple Settlement, Royalty Estimates 'Outrageous' (Read: Not That We Don't Have A Royalty Deal)

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, HTC, Legal, News

HTC CEO Peter Chou has come out swinging against allegations that HTC is paying "$6-8 per handset" in royalties to Apple, calling the estimates "outrageous." Of course, those estimate were indeed just estimates, and they were also commented upon by HTC insiders at the time as being a little on the high side.

So, what do we take from Mr. Chou's statement? HTC is probably paying a royalty, but a $6-8 royalty (that's about 1-1.5% on a $600-800 smartphone)? Probably not. Who knows, it could be $3-5! Which, admittedly, would mean slashing the financial impact of the deal on HTC's coffers by up to half.

Nov

[Deal Alert] Verizon's RAZR M Only $0.01 At Amazon Wireless; Many Others On Sale, Too [Updated]

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Deals, Galaxy S III, News, RAZR / RAZR MAXX, RAZR HD / RAZR MAXX HD, RAZR M, Rezound, Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: January 24th, 2013

Update: Amazon just updated the deals and dropped many of the prices down for customers looking to upgrade. For example, the RAZR M is now also just a penny for those renewing.

If you're looking to abandon your existing carrier and move to Big Red, then the RAZR M is a great phone to choose for the transition. And now you can grab it from Amazon Wireless for only a penny (Black, White). That's a top-notch phone with Jelly Bean (4.1.x) for basically free - and it's still $99 at Verizon.

If, for some strange reason, you'd rather have an older model, Amazon Wireless is running a number of other devices for a penny, like the RAZR MAXX, HTC Rezound, and the DROID Incredible LTE.

Nov

HTC One X+ Review: A Mid-Cycle Refresh Makes A Great Phone Even Better

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in AT&T, News, One X+, Phone Reviews

The HTC One X was (and still is) a fantastic device thanks to its solid hardware, excellent build quality, and stunning display. But it's a little long in the tooth, partially because the newest high-end smartphones have both quad-core CPUs and LTE, and partially because in the smartphone world, anything that's 7 months old is (unfortunately) outdated.

That brings us to the HTC One X+, which is more of a mid-cycle refresh than an all-new model. It keeps the same basic frame and the outstanding display, but packs a more powerful version of NVIDIA's quad-core Tegra 3 CPU, and the AT&T variant even comes with LTE.

Nov

DROID DNA Battery Life Impressions: It's Not Nearly As Bad As You Think (With Stats, Methodology)

Posted by David Ruddock in DROID DNA, News, Phone Reviews, Verizon Wireless

Since its announcement, many internet comments (and tech bloggers, frankly) have lambasted the 2020mAh battery inside the DROID DNA as obviously being too small. A 5", 1080p display, quad-core processor, and LTE - with a 2020mAh battery? HTC must be nuts. Well, it turns out, they actually aren't nuts and actually do know how to make a phone that doesn't die after half a day off the charging cable teat. Surprising, I know. And despite what you may be hearing elsewhere (I won't name names), my experience with the DNA's longevity has been quite positive. I got a lot of requests for an in-depth look at battery life on the DNA when I posted my initial impressions, so here's what I came up with.

Nov

The HTC One X+, One VX, And Samsung Galaxy Camera Are All Out On AT&T Today

Posted by David Ruddock in AT&T, Galaxy Camera, News, One VX, One X+

November 16th is a big day over at AT&T, with three major device releases going live today (announced earlier this week). The HTC One X+, One VX, and the Samsung Galaxy Camera are all available now, so let's break it down.

The One X+ will be $199 on a 2-year agreement, while the VX will be just $49.99. This sets up a three-device pricing structure for HTC at AT&T, with the original One X now just $99.99 on contract. And I have to say, a 64GB LTE phone that's as good as the X+ is quite a bargain at $200 - I definitely expected at least $250.

Nov

International Version Of DROID DNA Pops Up In Press Shot Leak - The HTC Deluxe

Posted by David Ruddock in DROID DNA, HTC, Leaks, News

Anonymous leaker of all things phone, evleaks, took the lid off a press render of an upcoming HTC device, which evleaks calls the Deluxe (this is likely just the codename, not the official release branding). Deluxe is a word we've heard before, if it sounds familiar: Verizon's DROID DNA was widely reported as being named the "DROID DLX" before the DNA name started popping up, so that gives Deluxe yet more credence, minus the silly Verizon spelling (yuck).

You'll probably also recognize this phone as a dead ringer for the Japanese market HTC J Butterfly, unveiled last month, though without HTC's Japan-specific UI overlay.

Nov

Initial Impressions Of The DROID DNA: This Could Be The DROID You're Looking For

Posted by David Ruddock in DROID DNA, News, Phone Reviews, Verizon Wireless

The DROID DNA is, without a doubt, the most exciting HTC phone to come to Verizon since the original Incredible. And I can already tell you that it doesn't disappoint - this is a serious effort from HTC, whose US handset sales have dropped sharply in the last year. It could be the phone that catapults them back into relevance.

After spending a short amount of time with it, I'm going to try and give you my first-blush reaction to this spec sheet titan. (The full review should be coming some time next week.)

The Display: Not the jaw-dropper we were expecting.

Nov

HTC Droid DNA Gets Root, Custom Recovery, And Modified Kernel Ahead Of Official Release

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Development, DROID DNA, News

That sure didn't take long. Just two days after the official announcement - and still a few days away from retail availability - the Droid DNA has already been rooted and gotten some goodies from famed Android modder/hacker dsb9938. Apparently the DNA is unlockable using HTC's official bootloader unlock tool, which allows a custom kernel to be flashed. The first available kernel has only been slightly modified to allow root in adb connections - a requisite in order to flash the custom recovery and root the device.

After going through the unlock process, the kernel is flashable via fasboot. With that out of the way, you're free to flash the recovery (ported to the DNA by developer Utkanos), which is also flashed with fastboot.

Nov

[Deal Alert] Pre-Order The DROID DNA From Wirefly For $50 Less Than Verizon (New Contracts And Upgrades)

Posted by David Ruddock in Deals, DROID DNA, Verizon Wireless

If you're looking for the latest and greatest on Verizon, chances are you're curious about the DROID DNA. While we'll have our review up some time in the next week, if you can't wait, pre-orders are live on Verizon right now. But paying full price on a new, on-contract phone? That's for chumps, am I right?

Luckily, Wirefly also has the DNA up for pre-order - $150 on a new subscriber agreement or upgrade. That's 50 bucks less than Verizon. And considering this phone is insanely powerful, that's a pretty great price. As a reminder, the DNA is packing a 5" 1080p display - the first ever on a widely-sold smartphone, a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB of RAM, and Verizon's 4G LTE.