Verizon's Droid DNA 5" 1080P Quad Core Phone by HTC Announced

The Droid DNA is Verizon's latest Android flagship phone to compete with LG's Droid Optimus G on AT&T and Sprint which we're currently in the process of reviewing. In addition to the Optimus G, they are also combating Google's release of the Nexus 4 today. Ironically, all three phones are actually using the exact same Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064. The main difference between these three phones will be found in the displays, form factors, and wireless connectivity. The Droid DNA and Optimus G are both LTE enabled through yet another Qualcomm chipset, this time their MDM9x15 chipset, which actually also powers the Nexus 4 but does not have LTE.

The Droid DNA is actually the Verizon version of the HTC J Butterfly which we had talked about possibly being ported to Verizon as the HTC DLX. While we were wrong on the name, we were most certainly right about it being ported to Verizon.

So, getting to the Droid DNA itself, why do we want to call this THE 1080P phone or the Droid 1080P? Because it features a massive 5" 1080P SLCD3 display, a 1080P front facing camera and a 1080P main camera for 1080P video capture everywhere and anywhere. This, of course, would not be feasible without an LTE network like Verizon's which is not only the most expansive but arguably the fastest as well. With 1080P video chatting and streaming, you really do need to have a solid upload speed as well as a network to support roaming with such speeds. Verizon's network, from our experience, is up to the challenge of offering 1080P videochatting.

Getting into the nitty gritty specs, you can see that this is a Quad Core Snapdragon phone with 2GB of RAM, a 1080P display, two 1080P cameras, dual-band WiFi, and the ability to charge wirelessly (like the Nexus 4). The Droid DNA packs a 2020 mAh battery which you cannot remove, but can easily top off wirelessly using any device supporting the Qi wireless charging standard. As expected, it also features NFC and will ship with Android 4.1 or Jelly Bean. It will be available for $199 on 2-yr contract starting November 19th, or $599 off-contract.

We can't wait to get this thing in our hands, if it fits.