HTC’s Droid DNA: the ‘ultimate’ Droid with a huge 5-inch screen

HTC wants to make you excited for the Droid brand again with the Droid DNA, announced today at a media event together with Verizon Wireless in New York City.

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The phone sports a massive 5-inch screen with a 1080p resolution. Those specs means the screen displays a stunning 440 pixels per inch, even sharper than Apple’s much-touted Retina Displays.

“[It’s] about bringing Droid back to its original roots, ULTIMATE POWER,” HTC President Jason Mackenzie said today (emphasis mine, I think).

The Droid DNA will be available on November 21 for $199 with a two-year contract. Pre-orders begin today.

Judging from the design alone, it’s certainly one of the most striking Android phones we’ve seen so far. (Not a huge surprise, since I loved the HTC One S,) The Droid DNA features a curved edge design with attractive red grills. At its shortest point, the phone’s edge is less than 4 millimeters thick.

HTC’s design smarts carry over to the Droid DNA’s internal hardware as well. HTC Design Director Jonah Becker said the phone’s slim and curved design was made possible by stacking the internals like a pyramid, something only being done by HTC at the moment. Powering this monster of a device is a new Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor.

Why aim for such a high-resolution screen? “This is the kind of resolution professional photographers demand,” Becker said.

The Droid DNA will ship with Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean,” and it also features support for wireless charging (something that’s becoming more common these days). HTC isn’t skimping with the cameras either, the Droid DNA will feature a f2.0 lens for both its front and rear shooters.

In my brief hands-on time with the phone, I found it to be surprisingly light and comfortable, despite its huge screen. It also felt incredibly solid — something HTC has been focusing on since the launch of its One line.

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Check back next week for a full review of the Droid DNA.

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