My review compared to the gs3 - HTC Droid DNA

Just a few comparisons of the dna vs gs3 since I have both.
Screen...Dna not as colorful, but probably more realistic. It also has crisper text. I thought it would be a drastic difference, but to my disapointment its not.
Camera...Outdoors both are comparable, cant tell the difference. Indoors is another story. DNA is not very good. Another disapointment.
Build quality...While I have no complaints against the GS3, the DNA is much better.
Signal....DNA is better.
Battery...DNA is about the same as GS3.
UI...Im suprised here, but I like TW better.
So, both are great phones, but im not sure if I will keep the DNA.If you have the gs3...I dont think its an upgrade. Im thinking of exchanging it for the Note 2.

I'm in the same boat. I had the S3 and gave it to the Spouse to get this.....but I'm not impressed with the camera. I use my camera daily as a P&S so I don't have to take a dedicated camera with me....so yeah-I buy Smartphones with the camera in mind. The pics from my S3 just seemed sharper and had better color reproduction. The only thing I can honestly say about the DNA....the build quality rocks on this thing and the screen is beautiful. I'm going to "try" and love this thing, but if I can't get over my hangups with it, I'm returning it, the wireless charging pad, and getting the Note2 on the 29th, which falls well within the 14 day exchange window. It's just personal preference....what works for you, may not work for me, and vice-versa.

I also like the DNA, but I really don't want to go back to Sense and the phone is a bit too big for my taste.
Thinking of checking out the GN2 when it comes out (I know it's even bigger) and getting it or the Razr HD. I don't use the camera much, so not too worried about it on the Razr.
Also, the specs on the HD are weak, but I am not sure how much that matters on terms of actual performance.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2

Related

[Q] considering buying sgs ii, need advice

I'm currently using an inspire but there are a few things I dislike about it.
1) camera
2) external speaker
3) weight
4) screen is just average
5) gps is inconsistent no matter how many gps tweaks i do
i can't see to find a sgs ii in a store to check out. i can only find the LTE version, the skyrocket or whatever it's called. anyone here come from an Inspire? how do they compare? pro's cons?
how is the developer community here? i'm quite satisfied with cm7 on my inspire and the devs are hard at work trying to get ICS running. It seems like the international sgs ii is the one that's getting the most dev support and rom's made for that phone are not 100% compatible with the AT&T version.
Much faster than my inspire, touch wiz is very different. GPS seems better but I think it's just my area. Screen is worlds better so is speaker, but I like the srs on the inspire better for headphones. Camera is much faster too.
The phone just feels much more responsive. Weights feels about half the inspire. I love the sgs2 better than the inspire even with a few things I miss from sense.
Sent from my Samsung GT-I9100
AntwanL said:
Much faster than my inspire, touch wiz is very different. GPS seems better but I think it's just my area. Screen is worlds better so is speaker, but I like the srs on the inspire better for headphones. Camera is much faster too.
The phone just feels much more responsive. Weights feels about half the inspire. I love the sgs2 better than the inspire even with a few things I miss from sense.
Sent from my Samsung GT-I9100
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
95% of the time i'm listing to podcasts. 5% pandora. how much does the SRS make a difference? i don't think the inspire is impressive with sound on a headset, i just think it's normal. wouldn't the type of headset you used make a bigger difference than srs?
The gs2 is a far superior phone hands down. Not bashing the inspire,,, just stating a fact. Its even better than the skyrocket, hardware wise. I love this phone and trust me when I say you won't regret it. I happen to work for att and I have quite a few in stock..
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using xda premium
@substance12
You forgot terrible battery life. Those inspires were beyond help for bad battery. So happy with battery life for this phone.
And screen is much better. The inspire's is almost as bad as the atrix, but with lower resolution.
Not to mention terrible to work on. I hate hate hate working on inspires. So many things are so easy to break.
As far as dev support, look through it. There are so many great roms, and with entropy512's hellraiser I would say at minimum 75% and up of the international's roms are compatible with this phone. Many here use them as their day to day use they're so stable.
Sent from my páhhōniē
I haven't tried cheap headphones so idk. 5.1 dolby is nice, no doubt about it. I like srs. That's only in the stock music apps though. If you don't use that than disregard it. The screen is slightly bigger on the inspire. Not a big deal.
If you're rooting it than the ui launcher isn't a big deal, like sense vs touchwiz. The sgs2 is like an entirely different device in terms of performance. Better battery life too ime.
You will not regret the switch at all.
Sent from my Samsung GT-I9100
1) camera - Decent, havent really compared to my older phone.
2) external speaker - Nice and loud almost to loud
3) weight - light, kinda feels like its a toy and not a phone (not a bad thing)
4) screen is just average - screen is very average (was pretty disappointed honestly)
5) gps is inconsistent no matter how many gps tweaks i do - In my experience the GPS is NEVER accurate, ever.
I am still learning about this phone, i dont dislike it, but my personal advice would be to wait till something better comes along.
AntwanL said:
I haven't tried cheap headphones so idk. 5.1 dolby is nice, no doubt about it. I like srs. That's only in the stock music apps though. If you don't use that than disregard it. The screen is slightly bigger on the inspire. Not a big deal.
If you're rooting it than the ui launcher isn't a big deal, like sense vs touchwiz. The sgs2 is like an entirely different device in terms of performance. Better battery life too ime.
You will not regret the switch at all.
Sent from my Samsung GT-I9100
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The screen is the same size on both
Sent from my SGH-I777 using XDA App
I switched from the Inspire to the SGS II. I couldn't be happier.
sgs2 is the way to go for sure , i returned my skyrocket to get the s2 ...
and as far as ispire goes .... 2 words to make the switch alone ...
SUPER AMOLED
DKS128 said:
1) camera - Decent, havent really compared to my older phone.
2) external speaker - Nice and loud almost to loud
3) weight - light, kinda feels like its a toy and not a phone (not a bad thing)
4) screen is just average - screen is very average (was pretty disappointed honestly)
5) gps is inconsistent no matter how many gps tweaks i do - In my experience the GPS is NEVER accurate, ever.
I am still learning about this phone, i dont dislike it, but my personal advice would be to wait till something better comes along.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's weird, b/c my thoughts are:
1) camera - excellent both in speed and pics and video, right there with the 4S (maybe a slight edge to 4S in certain conditions) which both are about as good as it gets for a camera on a phone right now
2) external speaker - agree, it's very nice and loud, and clear... better then my iPhones
3) weight - yeh it's very light, my iphones feel like mini bricks in comparison, but I love the lightness of it. Everyone that first holds it that's the first thing they comment on "damn it's light".
4) Screen - not sure what you mean by avg? This screen is flat out gorgeous, I even prefer it over the Retina on my iPhone4. It's bright and sharp and "pops" like hell. Even looks better now after I downloaded an app that let me play around with contrast and few other settings.
5) GPS - must be where you live or hardware/software issue with your phone, b/c the GPS on mine is fast and very accurate.
surf1 said:
That's weird, b/c my thoughts are:
1) camera - excellent both in speed and pics and video, right there with the 4S (maybe a slight edge to 4S in certain conditions) which both are about as good as it gets for a camera on a phone right now
2) external speaker - agree, it's very nice and loud, and clear... better then my iPhones
3) weight - yeh it's very light, my iphones feel like mini bricks in comparison, but I love the lightness of it. Everyone that first holds it that's the first thing they comment on "damn it's light".
4) Screen - not sure what you mean by avg? This screen is flat out gorgeous, I even prefer it over the Retina on my iPhone4. It's bright and sharp and "pops" like hell. Even looks better now after I downloaded an app that let me play around with contrast and few other settings.
5) GPS - must be where you live or hardware/software issue with your phone, b/c the GPS on mine is fast and very accurate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this^^. I have owned A LOT of high end devices. way too many to list. This is hands down the best device ive ever owned. and i dont know what screen your looking out that had you disappointed, but if you were, ID LOVE TO KNOW what you were comparing it to, IMHO its the best BY FAR on the market. In terms of resolution, maybe, but everything else, your bugging.
DKS128 said:
1) camera - Decent, havent really compared to my older phone.
2) external speaker - Nice and loud almost to loud
3) weight - light, kinda feels like its a toy and not a phone (not a bad thing)
4) screen is just average - screen is very average (was pretty disappointed honestly)
5) gps is inconsistent no matter how many gps tweaks i do - In my experience the GPS is NEVER accurate, ever.
I am still learning about this phone, i dont dislike it, but my personal advice would be to wait till something better comes along.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Troll.
OP, just ignore this post.
creepyncrawly said:
Troll.
OP, just ignore this post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol, dude deleted his account. what a douche.
the only problems I have: horrible audio quality in expensive headphones and the mhl cable dropped the connection while I'm playing movies. I have the mhl cable on my counter near the trash and use my laptop hdmi for movies.

anyone here upgrade from an HTC Incredible?

if so.. how is the Razr's camera compared to the Inc? i happen to like the Inc's camera (except for the crappy low light shots), but from what i've been reading, the Razr's camera isn't that good. any opinions are appreciated. thanks!
radiohead14 said:
if so.. how is the Razr's camera compared to the Inc? i happen to like the Inc's camera (except for the crappy low light shots), but from what i've been reading, the Razr's camera isn't that good. any opinions are appreciated. thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I came from an incredible and the camera seems no different to me.
Sometimes I wish I had kept the incredible because of all the developer support.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using XDA App
I upgraded from a dinc...I'm with you on the support but more than happy with this phone lol. Only thing i realized was that the colors seemed a little more blue in tone? Like colder colors but with a little tinkering I found i like the camera better on the RAZR.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using XDA App
..
I upgraded from the dinc. I had the FX camera from Amazon and installed on this phone. Works well.
The locked bootloader is a real down side for the Razr. I like the phone but glad I have still have a few days to trade.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk
thanks guys. i managed to try out the Maxx after work and took a couple of shots with both my Inc and the Maxx... i didn't think that there was much of an increase in photo quality, if any at all. it was actually easier to take more focused shots with the Inc. i'm not sure if i missed it on the settings, but i also didn't see a touch to focus on the Maxx. that's one of the things i like about the Sense camera, as the touch to focus also adjusts the exposure when shots are taken that way. i really wanted to like the Maxx, as that battery life sounds amazing, but i might just wait to see what MWC has in store. i appreciate the inputs tho.
radiohead14 said:
if so.. how is the Razr's camera compared to the Inc? i happen to like the Inc's camera (except for the crappy low light shots), but from what i've been reading, the Razr's camera isn't that good. any opinions are appreciated. thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Camera is about the same indoors. The Razr camera is better, but not by a huge amount. It's especially better in the 2.3.6 leak. But, it's still a cell phone camera. Outside in good lighting it does very well. Video is definitely better on the Razr. Video outdoors in good sun is great.
The phone is so much better than the Dinc though. I can actually make calls in places I couldn't before. Plus the screen is much better. The size is definitely awkward the first day or two, but you soon get used to it.
I'm sitting here contemplating going to Verizon and picking up the Maxx. My Incredible is a lil' long in the tooth and the battery life on the Maxx sounds like it might be too good to pass up.
Yeah, I wouldn't mind having the G Nex screen, but I really like the looks of the Razr. I'm sure I'll miss Sense (I'm one of the few who cannot stand vanilla android), but I think it might be worth the trade off. My brother has the Razr and loves it. I think I'm asking for too much hoping that HTC will come out with a thin phone with decent battery life.
..

RAZR vs Galaxy Nexus

I know, there are a lot of threads about that and I read them! They are all outdated, they were written when razr had GB and nexus was on ICS.
What about now? RAZR has ICS and Nexus has JB.
I may have the opportunity to sell my RAZR (it has scratches, I hate my dog -.-" ) for 300€ and buy a new Nexus for the same price.
Do you think this is a good idea?
I'd say yes. The nexus screen looks much crisper and better, especially white text and things like that. Also for me the big selling point of the razr was the 8mp camera, but I find the Nexus takes better pics, mostly because I find the razr to have dull colors in the pics
Thanks! Someone else?
Depends on what matters to you…
The razr is a great phone, best radio, best sound quality, bright display, nearly indestructible and completely reliable. Sports a nice set of helpful extra functionality. Display is lower resolution and pentile, thus not as crisp as the nexus, still consider it much better (see below).
The nexus has the latest android version, and is open to custom roms. The display is higher resolution, but very dim, awful at low brightness (smudgy), and colours are completely off (yellow tint and gamma is a mess). The latter can be corrected to some degree with custom kernels. No SD card and only mtp. Battery life is short, but can be remedied by swapping batteries. Build quality is ok, but nowhere compared to the razr.
To put it simple, for me the razr is a great tool, the nexus a fun toy.
Sent from my XT910 using Tapatalk 2
Actually just received a Galaxy Nexus myself yesterday, and thus far, I pretty much agree with both of the above posts. Build quality-wise, the RAZR feels more solid, obviously much slimmer in the hand, and is lighter than the Nexus without feeling cheap. However I am surprised by the Nexus' build quality, it's not anywhere near as plasticky feeling as some previous Samsung phone's I've felt...there's no hollow creakiness to it when you hold it and it feels hefty. The only disappointment comes when you pry off the battery cover...it's one incredibly cheap cover.
The RAZR has considerably better sound quality, the speaker is much louder...in fact I believe the RAZR has one of the loudest loudspeakers period out of any phone out there. The Nexus on the other hand is much, much quieter...I'd say too quiet for the most part. I use speakerphone mode a lot for calls so this matters to me and is almost a deal breaker on the Nexus.
The Nexus does have a sharper screen, but I find the RAZR's screen gives more of that eye popping and color saturated AMOLED look, which you either love or hate. I find both screens are horrible at rendering white, and both look very yellowish if you use Auto-brightness. I thought the Nexus' 720 display sharpness would be night and day different to my eyes, but it's really not in day to day usage. More and more though I'm starting to realize I don't much care for AMOLED screens and would probably want a regular LCD for my next phone, the whites bother me quite a bit and I do get bothered by the heavy blue or green tint they pick up as you view the screen at off angles.
I haven't taken pics yet with the Nexus, but just from what I saw in the camera app, the camera seems to be much better at auto-focusing. I find the RAZR's focusing to be difficult to work with, and the picture quality is not that great.
Jelly Bean is indeed more fluid and smooth, but you'll still run into the occasional stutter here and there. More annoyingly is I'm already running into apps that won't work right on it. So expect to go through your usual headache period of apps not working, until developers catch up to updating their apps for Jelly Bean.
On the development front, there's a tremendous difference, the Nexus is indeed a developer's phone and it shows in its developer forum. I'm amazed at just how comprehensive the Nexus toolkit is that lets you bust open the phone effortlessly compared to any other phone...totally an all in one stop for rooting, bootloader unlocking, custom recovery, etc. The amount of available ROMs is also insane and make's the RAZR's totally a laughable joke in this regard.
In the end I'd agree with the sentiment that the RAZR makes a better day to day phone, while the Nexus makes for a better side toy to mess around with and install new stuff on.
Hey guys. Sorry for the hijack. This is really interesting as I am thinking of a gnex myself. Or a sgs3 if i can afford it.
Thanks for the thoughts.
Sent from my XT910 using xda premium
I've reconsidered! I'll keep my razr. It's a great phone after all and jelly bean is not enough to justify the change. Thanks to all of you!

[Q] ppi diferences

since this has such a crazy ppi, i was just wondering, does anyone actually notice a difference in quality between this and a 720p phone? is there an actual tangible difference or is it just marketing for a bigger and better screen?
It pretty much depends on your vision.
If you have 20/20 or better than you can tell the difference at times, but if your vision ain't so great then you will probably never notice the difference.
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using xda app-developers app
I suppose it depends on your vision... I'm 20 and I use a computer most of the day tbh, it's my hobby and my job right now, yet I can see the difference between 333ppi (or 326, w/e) on the Rezound, and 440ppi of the DNA. On the rezound, it looked amazing, truly great, but if you looked really close (no magnifying glass or anything) you COULD make out pixels... on the DNA, nope.
I can't see a damned pixel... It's like the whole phone is composed of vectors xD besides images of course. It's truly remarkable... but as far as humans go, they've hit the barrier, any more ppi than 440 would be un necessary to be honest. Unless people start getting genetically enhanced vision, there's no need for higher. but that's another story haha.
I have better than 20/20 vision and i used dna all day yesterday and then used s3 at home and it was noticeable difference. everything is sharper, renders better, not as bright as s3 at full brightness but cant tell a difference any other time. great screen best ever imo

Just got the Galaxy S4 - I prefer the LGOG

Just received the new Galaxy S4 yesterday. After playing around with it for a day, I must say that I'm quite indifferent about it. I don't consider it a huge upgrade from the LGOG at all... Here's some initial thoughts:
Display - I kept reading all the hype about the 1080p Super AMOLED display on the S4 and had very high expectations. It's OK at best. A pentile-matrix display is still no match for full RGB LCD pixels like on the OG, even at 720p. The S4's autobrightness is also set much too dim, and I find myself having to manually slide the brightness level up and down to fit the surrounding lighting.
Build Quality/Appearance - The LGOG definitely feels like a higher quality handset than the S4 when you compare the two. The button layout and location of the ports are pretty much identical (which are some of the things that kept me from getting the HTC One instead). However, the glass back and diamond pattern of the LG just looks better, plain and simple.
OS Skin - I find that LG's Android skin is much more customizable than Samsung's Touchwiz. Using the LGOG stock out of the box feels like you're using a custom ROM from the XDA forums, there are so many customization options.
Performance - This is where the LGOG really shines. I have yet to find anything that makes the LGOG lag. Every animation and action done on the phone looks like it's running at 60fps. Switching between apps is instantaneous and the user experience is a pleasure. With all the beefed up internals of the S4 (higher processor and GPU clock speeds), I still saw some lagginess when performing certain actions. This was something I was not expecting on the S4, but I am pretty sure it has to do with all the new bells and whistles Samsung tried to cram into the phone (Air View, Air Gesture, Smart Stay, Smart Scroll, etc). Bottom line, the S4 benchmarks might be higher, but in daily use the LGOG is a smoother user experience.
Battery Life - This is the only thing that is still up in the air, as I have only had the S4 for one day. I expect the S4 to be better in this category though since it has a higher capacity battery, and judging from existing reviews.
Hope this post helps anyone that is on the fence between these 2 phones! I'd be happy to answer questions.
It would be awesome if you can do some sort of video comparison. (Don’t have to be really professional one… Just a simple video) If you have some time to kill.
I don't expect the S4 to last longer. Why? There's too much extra crap in there and a bigger screen, hence the bigger battery. Its probably going to be the same, if not worse.
I thought about getting that phone, but after previewing it and the HTC one, I had to stay with my LGOG and my Nexus 4.
I hate my S3 now since I got the Nexus and then LG.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Jammol said:
I don't expect the S4 to last longer. Why? There's too much extra crap in there and a bigger screen, hence the bigger battery. Its probably going to be the same, if not worse.
I thought about getting that phone, but after previewing it and the HTC one, I had to stay with my LGOG and my Nexus 4.
I hate my S3 now since I got the Nexus and then LG.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to have a Nexus 4 also, and like the OG much better (capacitive buttons, LTE, SD card slot). Especially now that the OG has fully functioning AOSP roms. The only thing I don't like is how HOT the phone gets during heavy use or internet browsing using mobile network data. I'm sure the high temps negatively affect battery life.
It still stands that I am largely unimpressed by the Galaxy S4 when compared to the OG. Even their cameras are comparable in normal outdoor daylight. I have not tested low light yet, but pretty much all phone cameras suck in low light except for a few (Nokia 808, HTC One, Lumia 920).
I got my S4 last weekend and have to say I agree with OP, after couple days of using the S4 couldn't wait to get back to my LGOG with CM10.1. The S4 display was disappointing to me and it was extremely laggy, much more then my S3.
A guy at my local best buy just got one and it just doesn't seem up to par with my LGOG like I thought it would and my display looks better too
Sent from my LG-E970 using xda premium
You guys are comparing the s4 with the LGOG!! This phone has been out for a long time now. And not that many roms.. I understand it took awhile to unlock the bootloader. And its crappy LG.. Bad support. I was just gifted this phone but i guess i just have to sale it or convert it into a N4
Are you talking about Quad or Eight Core SIV? I have the Quad one and I still prefer the DNA or the LGOG. Yes it is an LG so rarely gets updates but aside from that LGOG is much better.
Sell the SIV and use your LGOG
Sent from my HTC Droid DNA using XDA Premium HD
gypsy214 said:
You guys are comparing the s4 with the LGOG!! This phone has been out for a long time now. And not that many roms.. I understand it took awhile to unlock the bootloader. And its crappy LG.. Bad support. I was just gifted this phone but i guess i just have to sale it or convert it into a N4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol misinformed. There are tons of roms and not to mention the option to convert is just plain awesome to have.
Sent from my Nexus G LTE
My neighbor just got the s4 and I couldn't help my self. I had to play with it. I think the lgog is the better device IMHO.
Now I just need to play with the HTC one. So far I'm happy with purchasing the lgog n not waiting for the s4
Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 2
IPS displays offer awesome viewing angles, colors, saturation, more light viewing, and battery life. That Super AMOLED is an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) that gives you truer blacks than any LCD technology could hope to (even plasma isn't up to par). It offers great colors,viewing angles, brightness, saturation, etc and better battery life in a screen tech vs screen tech heads up. LG is great with their phones and has really stepped up since my last ATT Phone, the Shine (man I loved that phone). Their support is there and have stepped it up with updates for all their products across the board. Kind of hard to compare technology of a phone seven to nine months old to a newer phone. I actually lag my LGOG using LG's own keyboard on games like RoB, MWOH, and FFAB. Of course many SGS2 would freeze before I even rooted and ROM'd, my LGOG isn't freezing though it can lag and stutter (not rooted on my new one or anything yet).
LG doesn't give us a removable battery here but that's not a killer to me. The screen also is too easy to break (mine, on a brand new one only two weeks old that was rooyed and freegee'd actually had a crack go across the bottom of my screen and it was never dropped or anything.) My SGS2 was dropped and barely had a chip in it and that was on the side.
The SGS4 is thin and plasticky to me. I don't mind thinness (the LGOG is about the same as my SGS2) but it's about as slippery as my LGOG and costs way more.
The screen on the SGS4 uses a diamond tile matrix overlay on top of the OLED (AMOLED) LED backing. It's not terrible and is actually better than the SGS3 version. However the ppi is greatly enhanced but Samsung really doesn't need that type of overlay.
In all the LGOG feels better and responds better than the SGS4 in my opinion. To me it seems LG did better at optimizing their software for the LGOG than Samsung did with their phone, hence the lag.
Sent from my LG-E970 using xda app-developers app

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