Who’s ready to compare to of Verizon’s beasts? This time we have the HTC Droid DNA with it’s beautiful 5″ display at 1080p with a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor going up against the Samsung Galaxy S3 with Touchwiz, 4.8″ Super AMOLED display and a dual-core Snapdragon CPU. It’s gonna be a tough fight, let’s see who take this one home. Today we are comparing the Verizon variant of the Galaxy S3, so if the spec’s look different, that would be why. Before we get started, who’s your pick and why? Now that you’ve got your pick, let’s get started with the Specs.
Specifications
HTC Droid DNA
Here we have HTC’s latest device that they are hoping will dig them out of the financial hole their in. And it could most certainly happen. The Droid DNA is a beautiful device. Lets start with the hardware, the Droid DNA has a beautiful uni-body so there’s no removable battery unfortunately. But the red accents just make it look so nice, going with the Verizon red. Then on the front you have the highlight of the device, that 5.0″ Super LCD3 1080p display which has 441 pixels per inch. That’s a screen that no other phone has, and may not have for quite a while. Onto the software, it’s running Android 4.1 – Jelly Bean with Sense 4+ on top. Nothing out of the ordinary but you do get Google Now, Enhanced Notifications, Project Butter and more with Android 4.1 – Jelly Bean. And the update to Android 4.2 should be on it’s way in about 6 months (after Verizon finishes doing what it does with updates). Let’s check out some advantages and disadvantages of the Droid DNA.
Pros:
- That screen; I’ll keep saying it, that screen deserves all the attention. This screen is even better than the Transformer Pad Infinity’s display
- Android 4.1; you’ll get Jelly Bean out-of-the-box, no waiting for updates
- Sense 4+ and Beats Audio
- Pricing; just $199 on contract (at the time of writing this)
Cons:
- The battery; 2020mAh is kinda small for a screen like this and running 4G LTE
- Sense; for some users, skins like Sense 4+ is just unnecessary and they hate it. I actually like sense, but prefer stock Android
- Screen size; I don’t see this as a huge disadvantage since it’s not that much bigger than most phones these days, but could be a problem for some.
Samsung Galaxy S3
The Galaxy S3 had a historical launch in the Android world. It was the first Android device to be launched on 5 of the major US carriers all within weeks of each other. The Galaxy S3 is available on Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile and US Cellular. They all have the same spec’s due to LTE, but are different than the International versions again due to LTE. Just because I said the Droid DNA is a beautiful device, doesn’t mean the Galaxy S3 isn’t. It is beautiful too. On the hardware side, the Galaxy S3 comes in White and Blue along with a variety of other colors that depend on the market. With a physical home button. Then on the software side, it launched with Android 4.0 and Touchwiz. Some Galaxy S3’s are getting the Android 4.1 update, but Verizon has not yet rolled it out.
Pros:
- Up to 96GB of storage; for those complaining about devices without SD card slots, is this enough for you?
- 4.8″ Super AMOLED display, it’s just beautiful
- Touchwiz and all its tweaks and features, S Voice, S Memo, Smart Stay and many more
- Removable battery
- Available on all major US carriers
Cons:
- The Screen; while it is beautiful, it’s not 1080p only 720p
- No quad-core. At the time of release, the Exynos processors did not work with LTE on board.
- Touchwiz, some love Touchwiz, personally I hate it and prefer stock Android
- Bloatware, there’s so much of it. Then Verizon adds all of theirs, which fills up pretty quickly
Winner….
We’ve gotta it’s the HTC Droid DNA. The main reasons is the 1080p display, newer Android version, and the price of the device. Normally flagship devices like the Droid DNA are $299 on contract, but Verizon has priced it at just $199 which surprised us all. We’re not saying the Galaxy S3 is a horrible device or anything, it’s a great device with plenty of great features. But overall the Droid DNA is much better. No matter which device you pick up, you’ll have plenty of Verizon’s bloatware and the manufacturer’s bloat as well. And before you buy your phone, you should stop into Verizon and check them both out, get the one you like best. If you can’t decide then go ahead and pick the Droid DNA. You’ll love the DNA, as long as HTC can get the updates out. We don’t want another Thunderbolt on our hands do we?