Limited edition red DROID DNA for Verizon employees pictured

Verizon has been making a habit of offering special edition DROIDs to their employees. A few months ago, it was the DROID RAZR HD / RAZR MAXX HD, and now the DROID DNA gets the same treatment. As you can see the back is the same color red as the side grills that are on the normal retail model. It’s pretty cool looking, but might be a little too loud. If you’re looking to get your hands on one of these, you might want to check out eBay since you won’t find them in stores. A couple of more pictures after the break.

HTC One SV with LTE on the way to UK

The HTC One line is beginning to look like that other somewhat popular Galaxy line. It seems like a new version is announced each month. The latest version is coming to the UK in the ‘coming weeks’ and will be dubbed the HTC One SV. This nice little device will rock LTE, a 4.3-inch super LCD display, a snapdragon S4 dual-core 1.2GHz processor, a micro SD slot expandable to 32GB, and an 1800mAh removable battery. It’ll ship with Ice Cream Sandwich, but Jelly Bean has already been announced for the device. Overall, this looks like a solid device for those that aren’t into the massive displays that are beginning to dominate the market. Hit the break for the full presser. 

YouTube video ad confirms multiple color options for HTC Butterfly [Video]

A quick look at HTC’s latest ad for their Butterfly reveals multiple color options for the device. The 2 minute video shows red, white and black colors for the phone in all its elegance. Sadly, the device is still available only in Asia, but we get the DROID DNA in the United States minus the microSD slot.

If HTC wants to gain more ground, they should really push for devices such as these to be available world wide, don’t you think? Either way, check out the video after the break!

HTC Butterfly shows up on HTC web site

The HTC Butterfly, which appears to be a variant of the HTC J Butterfly and the HTC DROID DNA, has surfaced on HTC’s web site. With the slight name change comes a couple other differences. Most notable is the absence of LTE capability. Although that may be a negative, on the positive side the Butterfly’s storage is expandable via microSD cards.

According to an HTC spokesperson, the HTC Butterfly is slated for release in China. However, no information regarding availability in other countries or markets has been released. At the bottom of HTC’s page for the Butterfly, there is an offer for 25GB of Dropbox space for two years if you sign-up or log-in to Dropbox using an HTC phone. The footnotes to that offer indicate the offer is only available on the HTC Butterfly device, but not in China. This would seem to imply the Butterfly will be available in other markets.

source: Android Central
more info: HTC

HTC’s November 2012 Sales Fall 31.4% From Previous Year

Despite the critical acclaim of the new DROID DNA, HTC’s profits continues to tumble, putting the company in a bigger financial hole than expected. According to news from Reuters, HTC’s consolidated November sales were a mere T$21.23 billion ($732 million USD), which is down 31.4% from November 2011. All in all– the latest news doesn’t help HTC’s financial outlook for the time being – but hopefully those newfound ambitions will help to get the company out of its financial slump sooner than later.

source: Reuters

Sony overtakes HTC for second place in UK Android market

Good news for Sony, bad news for HTC. The latest figured show the Xperia manufacturers outselling HTC over the past summer in the UK. Sony moved 500,000 Android phones compared to HTC’s 440,000. They both lost market share to Samsung, however, who maintains first place with a whopping 3.2 million Android phones for comparison.

This news shows Sony’s new intense smartphone drive appears to be having some success, and if Sony does announce their new flagship in early 2013, they stand a good chance to eat up even more market share. Sony did say they though its recent restructuring to become Sony Mobile, as well as the James Bond marketing tactics, has caused a “positive reaction” with consumers, and the numbers seem to agree.

source: Mobile Today

HTC One VX to be available on AT&T by December 7th

The HTC One VX was originally poised to arrive on AT&T alongside the HTC One X+ on November 16th. The problem is that only one of the devices made that scheduled launch date. And while the HTC One X+ is currently available both in carrier stores and online, the HTC One VX is nowhere to be found.

According to an AT&T spokesperson however, that’s set to change in just a few short weeks, confirming that the carrier  ”expects to be fully stocked in all channels by Dec. 7.” So, if you’re currently on the holdout for HTC’s budget handset, you shouldn’t have too much longer to wait.

Source: Android Central

Smartphone Buyer’s Guide For Budget-Minded Customers: The Best Devices For $99.99 Or Under

It may be the start of the holiday season, but there are always great deals available for prospective smartphone shoppers looking to grab a sweet phone that won’t break the bank. In fact, there used to be the notion that in order to grab a phone under $100 on-contract, you’d have to settle for an outdated or budget-level device. However that notion is no longer the case as customers across all carriers can easily find a decent (if not great) device for a reasonable price. Of course figuring out which device may be a bit difficult, but don’t fret— Talk Android has you covered as we’ve come up with a solid guide with our recommendations of the best devices for under $100 on-contract for your respective wireless carrier. So without further ado, head on past the break to see our picks of the best devices that won’t break the bank.

HTC DLX not heading to European markets

Earlier this month we reported on the pending release of the HTC DLX to global markets. The HTC DLX is virtually a mirror image of the HTC DROID DNA recently released in the U.S. market. The device is almost certainly heading to Asian markets. When we reported on a possible name change to market the device as an HTC Deluxe, we wondered whether the device would hit European markets. Unfortunately, the answer to that question appears to be “no.”

According to a Facebook posting by HTC’s German account, the device is not coming to European markets. The post was made in response to another Facebook user who was inquiring about some images that had surfaced. This turn of events is some bad news for European buyers as we have found the DROID DNA to be an extremely capable device and would expect the HTC DLX to match its performance.

source: HTC Dach Facebook
via: PocketNow

Verizon Officially Unleashes HTC DROID DNA Smartphone, Finally Gives Customers Chance To Salivate Over The 1080p Display

Rob Nazarian and I got a chance to see the special device in person during its launch last week and now friends, the time has come for all customers to finally get their hands on what is undoubtedly one of the hottest devices of 2012. Verizon is officially unleashing the HTC DROID DNA in both its stores and online today. The latest entry in Verizon’s DROID line features a quad-core processor, 2 gigs of RAM, Jelly Bean and of course the whopping, but gorgeous 1080p Super LCD3 display. Interested parties can snag the device either from their local Verizon store or order online for $199.99 on-contract or a not-too-bad $599.99 off-contract price.

Be sure to stay with us and be on the lookout for our detailed review of the device, but in the meantime– why not check out our hands-on in order to remind yourself of how awesome this puppy is?

source: Verizon Wireless

HTC’s Peter Chou is happy with Apple patent agreement, but says payout estimates are outrageous

Last week it was announced that HTC and Apple entered into a 10-year global patent agreement. Various media sites (including yours truly) reported that as part of that agreement, HTC would pay Apple $6 to $8 per Android phone, but chief executive Peter Chou is said those estimates are outrageous.

“I think that these estimates are baseless and very, very wrong. It is a outrageous number, but I’m not going to comment anything on a specific number. I believe we have a very, very happy settlement and a good ending,” said Chou at a KDDI Corp product launch in Tokyo.

Where these estimates came from, I don’t know because the details of the agreement were never released. Furthermore, HTC won’t change it fourth-quarter guidance number based on the agreement. This is good news because HTC is one of the better Android manufacturers, and I would hate to see them get stuck paying Apple ridiculously high rates per device.

source: reuters

RadioShack to offer Desire C for $119.99 on prepaid wireless service

Not too long ago, RadioShack teamed up with Cricket to offer prepaid wireless service for their customers. The pricing is competitive, starting at $25 per month, but the device selection so far has been fairly lacking. Well, the ‘Shack at least looks like they’re making an effort to change that by offering the HTC Desire C, and low-end/mid-range phone at an attractive price point. $119.99 gets you a 3.5 inch HVGA screen, 5 megapixel camera, and Android 4.0 with Sense on top. It’s not going to make your Galaxy S III jealous, but for the pricing on the handset and the wireless plans, it makes an excellent entry level phone for consumers.

source: RadioShack

Sharp to capitalize on own large screen with Sharp Aquos SH930W, but early review not so great

This week’s official announcement regarding the release of the DROID DNA from HTC continued a trend we have seen of manufacturers pushing the limits of screen size and resolution. The DROID DNA’s 5-inch 1080p display produced by Sharp is certainly an eye-catching feature of the new handset. Sharp appears to want to be able to get in the market with its own device sporting the top of the line LCD they produce, which is why they are working on a Sharp Aquos SH930W smartphone.

Rather than creating a top of the line device, Sharp is trying to create a mid-level market smartphone by scaling back on some other features. The two biggest changes include dropping back to a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S3 processor and removing the LTE bits. Along with the big screen, Sharp is stuffing in 32GB of memory to offset the other changes. According to sources, much of this work to control costs and bring the Aquos out of the top tier is to make it attractive in the Russian market where it is scheduled to launch in late November. By reducing costs, Sharp expects the Aquos will sell in the 22,000 ruble range ($694 USD), making the 1080p capable device cheaper than many 720p competitors that tend to sell at 25,000 rubles ($789 USD) or more.

Will this strategy pay off for Sharp? Russian web site Mobile-review wanted to know and got their hands on a pre-release version of the Aquos for a closer look. Their results showed the Snapdragon S3 tended to get bogged down when playing 1080p video or some games as the processor could not keep up in supporting such a large display. However, the device did seem to perform at an acceptable level when completing routine tasks. It may have been helped by the fact that it was running a plain Android version without Sharp’s Feel UX on top. Sharp seems to think buyers will be focusing more on battery life, camera capabilities, and pricing and will not be bothered by concessions made.

source: Engadget

HTC DROID DNA already rooted ahead of next Tuesday’s launch

It hasn’t even been released yet, but that hasn’t stopped the incredibly efficient developers over at XDA from rooting HTC’s new superphone, the DROID DNA for Verizon. The phone itself is quite the powerhouse, sporting a 5-inch 1080p HD display (the highest resolution display on a smartphone to date), a 1.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 APQ8064 Processor, a capacious 2020 mAh battery, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and basically every other incredible spec that an Android fan could ask for! Combine the awesome hardware with the great custom ROMs that developers will be pushing out thanks to the newly achieved root, and you have yourself quite the handset!

Surprisingly, you will be able to open the bootloader using the HTCDev tools, unless Verizon puts a stop to it with some sort of update. After that’s accomplished, you flash an unsecured kernel and ClockworkMod recovery via fastboot, and finally flash the root.zip file.

If you’re planning on picking up the DROID DNA when it comes out, make sure to head over to the source link to do some reading before you dive into the wonderful world of root!

Source: XDA

DROID DNA officially announced by Verizon and HTC at NYC event

TalkAndroid is on the ground today in New York City where Verizon and HTC have just officially announced the new DROID DNA. The new device is intended to be the ultimate DROID device and the most advanced phone on the market. The hardware specs are impressive:

• 1080p 5-inch LCD3 display running at 440ppi
• Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor running at 1.5GHz
• 2GB RAM
• 16GB storage
• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with Sense 4+

HTC indicates the display has a viewing angle of up to 80 degrees and is about 50 percent brighter than the Samsung Galaxy S III. HTC has also incorporated wireless charging in the new DROID DNA, a first for a DROID device. The cameras have been improved, with both front and rear-facing cameras now sporting f2.0 lenses. The cameras are supported by improvements to the camera app that includes better face detection, smile detection, a sight-seeing mode, and auto portrait mode. HTC did not neglect audiophiles with the inclusion of two built-in amplifiers, Beats Audio, and Beats Pill coming soon.

According to HTC Design Director Jonah Becker, the DROID DNA is meant to be the ultimate smartphone. It is scheduled to go on sale next week on November 21st for $199 and the pre-order page should be available later today.

Check back here at TalkAndroid for additional updates as we get our hands on the device and check it out.

HTC DLX Renders Surfaces, Gives Clear Indication 5-Inch Device Is Headed To Asia

While we just about know everything we need to know about HTC’s upcoming beast here in the States, it seems there will be some slight differences in the overseas’ variant of the device. According to various reports, new renders have surfaced highlighting HTC’s new 5-inch device
will is likely to be identified as the DLX in Asia, likely based off the HTC J Butterfly in Japan, as opposed to retaining the DROID DNA seen here in America. As seen in the photo above, it seems as if the render matches up quite nicely with what we’ve already seen— so this tidbit of news indicates the DLX is possibly be the real deal. The render leaks also highlight some good news for those of you in the Asian markets–  the HTC DLX is expected to debut in  China on December 6th and later on in Taiwan on December 10th in white, black and brown color variations.

Ladies and gents, let the salivating of this device commence!

source: Phone Arena

HTC and Apple sign 10-year licensing deal to end patent disputes

I think we can all agree the endless patent lawsuits aren’t good for consumers. Well, hopefully Apple and HTC have seen this light, as they confirmed they’ve settled their patent disputes and have entered a 10-year licensing deal to avoid more lawsuits. The CEOs of both companies made statements that they are pleased to have reached an agreement and are ready to continue innovation, not litigation.

Apple has certainly abused the patent system lately, but this is a step in the right direction. No amount of patents and lawsuits are going to force consumers to buy your products, and I’m sure Apple knows that. Now we should all just hope for this kind of agreement to happen with some other Android OEMs as well. Hit the press release after the break for more about the licensing deal.

More HTC Droid DNA pictures show up on Twitter

There you go, folks. That’s about as good a look as you’re going to get of the upcoming Droid DNA, short of actually holding one in your hands. It’s consistent with the earlier rendering of the device we’ve already seen, so this is more than likely going to be what Verizon reveals on the 19th. With HTC’s recent drop in revenue, superphones like this are exactly what I think they need to earn back some smartphone market.

source: evleaks

Verizon makes the HTC DROID DNA official in name only, Google Hangout scheduled for November 19

This morning Verizon Tweeted a link to the DroidDoes website announcing that they will unveil the DROID DNA via a Google Hangout next Monday, November 19 at 12:00pm EST. Of course it will be officially shown off to the press this Tuesday morning in New York City, and we will be their on hand to give you all the details. There shouldn’t be anything too surprised as most of the information about this phone has already been leaked. Plus, it’s essentially the J Butterfly, which was officially announced a couple of weeks ago for Japan.

We are expecting it to have a Super LCD 3 display with 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution and 440ppi. If that’s not enough, it will also sport a 1.5GHz quad-code Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, microSD, 8MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, waterproof, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. It’s also supposed to come in at close to 9mm thick, which is very impressive. The only real question I have is battery. The J Butterfly sports a 2050mAh, but I am hoping for a little higher. That display will take its toll on any battery.

source: Twitter

HTC and Verizon team up in New York on November 13th

When leaks and news get rolling on a given device, it seems that it just arrives in droves – which we definitely enjoy. The hot device of late, since the Nexus 4 has died down a bit, is the DROID DNA. Seeing as the DNA news and leaks are coming fast and furious, coupled with this promo shot of a ‘collaboration’ between HTC and Verizon, we can only assume that this ‘collaboration’ will be the official announcement of the DROID DNA in some fashion. Granted, it could be an 8x event as that has happened in the past, but we’re hoping for the official unveiling of the DNA.  After all, the timing seems right, or maybe that’s just my selfish enthusiasm. In any event, we’ll keep you posted as we learn more. Also, do you find it an odd coincidence that they’re holding this event on November 13th?