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Verizon’s 5 inch phone, now believed to be heading to market as the HTC DROID DNA, has been in the news quite a lot lately. Just yesterday a page for it was discovered on a Verizon support page. The would-be page (it was linked but there was no content) suggested Verizon was close to getting the phone ready for launch because, well, it would be a mistake to launch a phone without support documents for users who need help.
Well, another piece of evidence suggests that Verizon will soon begin to market the DROID DNA. Evleaks has posted a leak of what looks to be the DROID DNA, and considering the context of the image (the device sits within some futuristic setting) it looks like this might be a snippet from one of those elaborate banner ads or a DROID DOES landing page.
Regardless, it looks like Verizon and HTC are gearing up to drop this 5 inch bomb that looks to cause more than just a few ripples this holiday season. It’ll be interesting to see what they do in terms of timing with the Galaxy Note 2 launching at the end of this month. It was said that that particular device was scheduled so late into the month in order to make room for major marketing for the DROID RAZR HD devices, though that is something we likely won’t get confirmation on.
Indications originally pointed to a November release for the DROID DNA, though @evleaks is saying to expect this one early December. It should be an interesting six weeks for Big Red should things go according to rumored plans. Is anyone waiting to see what HTC and Verizon have up their sleeves with this release or will you go a different route for your holiday smartphone purchase?
[via @evleaks]
I honestly can’t believe htc is launching this exclusively to Verizon…………………. They might as well just give Samsung their money now…
what is wrong with verizon?
How much time do you have? 0_o
I am a loyal VZW customer and still LMAO at ^^
LMMFAO Got a good laugh outta that
/applaud
@gynormus
Nothing, the real questuon should be asked of HTC and Moto while we’re at it. “whats wrong with the other carriers?”
HTCs profits continue to decline and then they wonder why? Because they dont want to give the customers what they want.
/facepalm
What’s wrong with releasing the phone so everyone can buy it? HTC is losing their minds…
What makes you think it’ll be exclusive?
Seriously folks, use a brain cell. Branded as a ‘Droid’, obviously it will be only Verizon. But the actual PHONE without the Droid branding is likely not to be exclusive…
XXL, DIX, DLX, J-But, DNA, …
Hopefully it isn’t DOA by the time Verizon is done messing with it. Give it a microsd slot or it will be for sure.
Doesn’t come with at least 32 gbs of storage?
Nope, 16GB is the current estimate. Verizon would never sell a new phone with 32GB or storage for $200, the Galaxy S3 is weaker than this and its 32GB version is $250, and it’s $300 to get the razr maxx hd with 32GB. This phone is confirmed to be $199.99 at launch, so most definitely only 16GB of storage. MicroSD card slot is a must.
By mid-2013 I expect 32GB to be the new standard. Almost there. (Except for Nexus devices, that want to you push you to the cloud)
Which isn’t bad if tiered data wasn’t the new norm! You can’t have tiered data limits and push streaming at the same time, this is the biggest problem i’ve seen in the last year. Carriers are offering High speed LTE data networks and phones with limited storage on plans with set data limits, it’s a bunch of BS if you ask me and I think it is being done intentionally by US carriers!
That is exactly the problem! I don’t get how Verizon can keep advertising the wonders of LTE when they will charge you an arm and a leg if you go over at all. Even the ads by Motorola about the Razr HD Maxx talking about how many hours of HD video can be streamed it gives me heartburn when I think of 22 hours of LTE data going out the window. It’s funny really, just as the networks and smartphones are getting to the point they really can work on LTE all day that Verizon is offering the most restrictive data plans in the world. You no longer want to use LTE for fear of getting your monthly bill and having to pay your mortgage money to Verizon that month..
Don’t get me wrong I really want this pone, but if it doesn’t have expandable memory I may have to pass on it. By upgrading to this device from my Dinc I will be giving up my unlimited data and the new plans are far more expensive for us who are on individual plans. I may end up switching to At&t for the One x + because of the 64 gb memory, either way I’m giving up unlimited data:( I really should have just gotten the Rezound last year…
That’s not a magical number that works for everyone.
Some of us like to have control over how much storage we have.
I might like to have one if the price is right…
$350 on a two year contract is my guess.
No way, N2 launched @ 299.99. They’d have to be trying to go out of business between the stupid carrier exclusive launch AND overpricing it it like that
I hope you’re right, for the sake of the people that want this phone.
This will be DOA if it launches with a price tag of anything over $300
what i find entertaining about it all is people who think they’re saving money by taking the subsidized price. nope, not really. all you did was lose your unlimited data and get locked down for 2 more years. give it 3-4 months after launch date and you’ll be able to buy these phones slightly used to brand new for $300-$400 from various sources. people are all too often impatient and shortsighted. just do a search for galaxy s3 (which in my opinion is still verizon’s best smart-phone) on e-bay and see how affordable this phone has become in the ~4 months it’s been available. basically you can get it for the subsidized price without signing any contracts.
MAP already confirms it to be $199.99 with 2 year contract agreement.
whats wrong with verizon?
Their data plans suck big time. I’m on Verizon with an unlimited plan. I want to upgrade to the Razr HD or even HTC’s beast phone above^^. But unless Verizon is offering some holiday deals with extra data in tow I might just let my contract expire in January and go elsewhere. Yeah Verizon has a stellar network but I’m fed up with them treating me like a money bag and nothing more.
YES!!!!! No “on screen” buttons!
I MUCH prefer on screen buttons over haptic ones. I thought I’d hate it, but I found that it’s just the opposite. Being able to customize the height, image, and layout is fantastic.
N put the menu button back on the bottom where it should be….
No idea what google was thinking there at all. “Lets move the menu button to the top of the screen away from all the other buttons just to F with people…”
Ill honestly admit that im not a huge fan of onscreen buttons, but ill take them over capacitive buttons anyday.
hey at least you can go back to a previous page on an app and not have to leave the app go back to the home screen, find the app and than relaunch it just to get back to where you wanted to be, just remember those less fortunate iPhans have it much worse than we do.
Ditto. My navbar is orange with white buttons, and I also have some custom app launchers down there. God, I love my Nexus.
check out paranoid android with the per app nav bar/status bar customization. sweet stuff.
down with exclusivity!
but do you really want a “droid” phone? i mean, yes the j butterfly specs are a breath of fresh air, but the droid brand is just lame and the actual hardware sort of plays second fiddle to that god awful robotic theme. i don’t even know why verizon uses droid marketing anymore. it’s decidedly immature with the lame robotic sounds out of the box and at boot-up, and it will be loaded with dozens of uninstallable bloatware applications per the usual. and don’t forget those tightly locked boot loaders verizon is so insistent upon. i’m sure htc will put the hardware in a non-droid package and offer it on a network that takes android more seriously…just give it some time.
It would only be called a Droid “something or whatever” on Verizon since only Verizon pays for the rights to use the name.
On that note, I cant believe George Lucas Sold everything to Disney o_O?
Does that mean it will be called the Disney Droid DNA? :-P j/k
Well thankfully developers can easily get s-off and root on HTC phones, unlike motorola phones which seem to be much harder to work with, and then some custom roms will come out and all that bloatware will go away.
exclusivity is gonna kill it i think. bitchin phone i’m sure, but i would rather have had a one x/evo derivative than wait for this. not gonna compete 100% with GNII. the stylus def separates the GNII into a proper phablet. this is more like a big ass phone. i’m down with big phones especially if it’s a beast like this. i had DInc, rockin the Vigor now, might make the upgrade to DNA (lame). paying out of pocket to keep my unltd data so it’s this or GNII. screen is def most important quality of the phone i pick. 4G, processor and camera are next three in no particular order. a 1080p SLCD3 (possibly) display with 442 ppi and an rgb layout is going to be tough to beat. with a S4PRO, image sense, 1.5-2 gigs of RAM is equally tough to beat. please don’t release with non-removable batt and storage. killing me, smalls!
I’m just going to point out that this phone is only .5mm wider and thicker and 6mm taller than a GSIII. I would say that this phone will feel the same in hand as the GSIII and not “big ass”. I wish it did have a bigger ass battery though…
“[…]gearing up to drop this 5-inch bomb[…]”
Wish I had a nickel every time I said that.
lmao, you made us laugh out loud. well played.
Huhuhuhhhuhh… feces </Butthead>
Another HTC exclusive. Must be monkeys running the show over there in Taiwan.
My precious
if the bezels on these phones keep shrinking where is Verizon going to place their branding ? are they going to put it on top of the LCD or force us to use a wallpaper that says Verizon on it ? they dint have room on the note 2 so they put it directly on the home button
Look at the bottom 3 buttons order, in this picture, and the once from J Butterfly, they look exactly the same, ever the front facing camera placement. I’ve venture a guess that this is the US version of the J Butterfly.
Wake me up when they make a 4.3″ version.
Yes! This is the phone I’m waiting for. Flat blows the doors off of any so-called retina screen. Just hope the battery will last a day under heavy use.
HTC is notorious for mediocre battery life. But hopefully if they don’t make the battery user replaceable (and thus extendable) they had better put a good battery in there to make it competitive with the Razr offerings.
Limited to Verizon? This is just silly. I’m coming up on an upgrade soon with Sprint. I was hoping to get the Nexus 4, but it won’t work on Sprint, so i was deciding between the Galaxy Note 2, and this, since there have been rumors about an HTC “phablet” for a while now.