So I am on the fence between which one to buy. Besides the price point and the mod for the Atrix lapdock, are there any differences between the two? Does the Atrix mod keep the photon securely in place when docked? Are there any hardware differences?
TIA
Julian
Atrix lapdock requires modification. According to someone who posted in another thread the Bionics doesn't, but the Photon doesn't sit on it perfect either. There is talk of the Photon getting it's own lapdock, maybe it will even be cheaper.
Sent from my MB855 using XDA App
jamesdwalters said:
Atrix lapdock requires modification. According to someone who posted in another thread the Bionics doesn't, but the Photon doesn't sit on it perfect either. There is talk of the Photon getting it's own lapdock, maybe it will even be cheaper.
Sent from my MB855 using XDA App
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Thanks for your reply. Yea I was the one that confirmed that the Bionic lapdock works with the Photon and although I know it does not sit flush with the dock, the phone is secure.
I was wondering if there were really any differences regarding the keyboard or mouse pad for the two lapdocks. Anyone have any input?
I ended up getting the Bionic Lapdock. So far so good. I actually went through 4 Bionic lapdocks before finally getting one that did not have a defect with it. The first three had dead pixels. Luckily the Verizon stores were kind enough for me to try all their stock. I cleaned out two local Verizon Corp stores of the lapdock stock since all of them had dead pixels.
BUYER BEWARE: Please try using the actual lapdock you are going to buy before committing. you never know if there will be dead pixels!
Other than the occasional lag and the insane palm sensitivity of the track pad, i love this thing!
**Hint: When typing a long post such as this, you can temporarily disable the track pad by tapping on the white led twice. tapping twice again will activate the track pad.
Well I got my Atrix Lapdock in last night and swapped the ports around and have some initial impressions.
FIT:
Photon does fit snugly but you have to be careful because the ports do not line up exactly. If you notice the videos people have posted you notice that they have to wiggle the Photon to get it to fit. Well once I saw that I immediately took it apart and placed a very small piece of hard plastic under the USB port. To lift is to the proper angle. Once I did this now the Photon slides into the dock very smoothly it’s not perfect and hangs every now and then but it also does the same in the cardock.
PORTS:
I have seem numerous posts where people have asked about swapping the ports so the Photon would sit flush. Well sad to say it’s not possible. Two things make this not possible. One the ports on the Photon make the phone where with either method the phone will stick out. Second you would have to cut the hole larger on the Micro HDMI side to fit the USB which would cause the port to wobble and not sit properly.
SPEED:
As other users have posted it is not the fasted in the world. But this may be attributed to the fact that from what I have read one core is disabled on the Photon. Also I notice on the Phone Mirrored screen under notifications it shows. " This device is not optimized to work with the Lapdock model" now everything I have tried has worked and mind you has worked well. I would compare this to my old HP 1000nr netbook in terms of speed. I am running the latest update with Webtop version WT-1.2.0-160.
SOUND:
The speakers seem to work well. I would compare them to be as loud as say an Ipad or Touchpad. You also have the option under settings to use the phones speakphone if you prefer.
SCREEN:
Well the screen is very crisp and the videos I played seems to look very nice. When I blew up the phone screen I didn’t notice much pixilation and everything looked nice. But then again I am not very picky and as just as happy with a 720p TV as I am with a 1080P.
BATTERY:
Will have to update on this later since I’ve only had it for a day but it is very nice to know that you can use this and your phone will be charged when you pull it off.
CASES:
Photon will not work in the lapdock with any cases currently avaliable. I have a case that i cut to fit in the cardock which it works in the cardock but does not work in the lapdock.
If you want something small to throw in a bag and send a lot of texts or emails this is great. Will work for web browsing but it is about as slow as a netbook so at time you may be frustrated.
2JZ GZE said:
So I am on the fence between which one to buy. Besides the price point and the mod for the Atrix lapdock, are there any differences between the two? Does the Atrix mod keep the photon securely in place when docked? Are there any hardware differences?
TIA
Julian
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Click to collapse
I am going to wait the several weeks until the Motorola electrify lapdock should be out. The Electrify is a photon twin announced by U.S. Cellular, so there should be no worry of the photon falling out when you move the lapdock. As noted on another thread, the elctrify lapdock was confirmed by U.S. Cellular.
I ended up buying the bionic lapdock and I'm loving life.. yea I spent $300 on it, but it was worth it =)
I recently destroyed 2 tablets at the same time...My wife's Nook tablet and my Asus Prime. We left Publix shopping and as my daughter (not even 2yrs old yet) started crawling into the car i quickly moved both tabs from the back seat and put them on top of the car ..I finished putting the groceries in the car, strapped my daughter into the car seat and TOOK OFF..now i partly blame my wife but thats part of bieng married so anywaysss. We left the shopping center and hit the road..thats when I heard "somthing" while I was driving but I had no idea what it was so I kept on rollin..yeah then it FINALLY HIT ME! WTF why isnt my tablet by my side!!?? ...then it hit me again...OH S*&T thats what the noise was!!! ...so I made the quickest u-turn ever imaginable and saw my tab laying in the road with its cover still on it...i had my hopes..so while driving back to it on the other side of the road 2 cars ran right over it ...it was horrible to watch. I grabbed it and tucked it away hoping for gods blessing that he the almighty would protect it....but no. I opened the case and it looked....just fine. Then I turned it on and the LED is cracked inside...the outer screen is perfect still. Its completely black with colored cracks in it...so i was mighty upset about it yesterday..today I took it apart, removed the broken LED and I just need a replacement LED...i went to the website but I dont see anywhere to order it just contact info.
Its a HannStar hsd101pww2 LED ...if anyone knows where I can find one to buy that would be awesome and thats my goal for writing this up. Once I find and order one I will replace it and post pics of what I did, thanks XDA community for your constant support. =)
This is the official site of the Primes LED screens so if anyone can find the purchase button if there is one or if anyone knows where please let me know, thanks.
http://www.hannstar.com/Common.aspx?mid=199&tmid=3&modid=4
Sorry to hear about your accident. I know how you feel, happened to me with my new RayBan years ago.
Why don't you just fill out the contact sheet and let them know about your problem to purchase from their website. They probably have a 2nd site which did not get linked
Let us know how the story ends.
Good luck.
Few days ago while at work my knock on spontaneously decided to stop working. Did some searching around, and during the process noticed my menu bar not coming down like it should, it was jittery on the way down. More searching, and stumbled across a BUNCH of internet talk about dead stripes across the upper portion of the screen in the digitizer. Sure enough, go into the notepad and drawing pen and there's a decent sized strip from side to side that's completely dead. Bummer. No reason at all either.
So, just got out of Verizon with my new G4. Going to take some adjusting because I absolutely adored the G2, but didn't want to take a chance on purchasing a new screen/digitizer or a refurb phone all together. Best phone I've ever had, and I'm going to miss it for sure.
Fastbird said:
Few days ago while at work my knock on spontaneously decided to stop working. Did some searching around, and during the process noticed my menu bar not coming down like it should, it was jittery on the way down. More searching, and stumbled across a BUNCH of internet talk about dead stripes across the upper portion of the screen in the digitizer. Sure enough, go into the notepad and drawing pen and there's a decent sized strip from side to side that's completely dead. Bummer. No reason at all either.
So, just got out of Verizon with my new G4. Going to take some adjusting because I absolutely adored the G2, but didn't want to take a chance on purchasing a new screen/digitizer or a refurb phone all together. Best phone I've ever had, and I'm going to miss it for sure.
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Well that sucks for you Fastbird but life has many turns and I guess we can't do much for it all those turns, so Goodluck with your new G4 and don't forget to buy a case for it to keep it protected :good: Goodbye, maybe I'll see ya again later somewhere here on XDA.:highfive:
For my fellow Calgarians, possibly Southern Albertans, and perhaps Canadians. I recently uncovered a treasure trove of Android accessories in a store that should be an obvious choice, but one that I am constantly overlooking. London Drugs! I've stopped by a couple in the last week and was really surprised by the selection. I saw no less than 3 different magnetic car mounts (the Scosche one and some others), which is an extremely rare find. So definitely keep it in mind.
PS: A lot of their best stuff is not with their phones. Its with the photo stuff.
I haven't been able to find any descriptions of the Sand variants color materials. For instance, the Indigo Black has a matte finish that's coated with a rubberized substance. Apparently, this coating does wear off due to wear and tear or heavy usage. The White variant is a smoother "non-rubberized coated" finish. What about the Sand?
I'm thinking about getting the Sand variant but won't if it'll suffer the peeling that the Indigo Black variant does over time.
Thanks in advance for whoever can provide firsthand accounts of the Sand color materials.
biggietm said:
I haven't been able to find any descriptions of the Sand variants color materials. For instance, the Indigo Black has a matte finish that's coated with a rubberized substance. Apparently, this coating does wear off due to wear and tear or heavy usage. The White variant is a smoother "non-rubberized coated" finish. What about the Sand?
I'm thinking about getting the Sand variant but won't if it'll suffer the peeling that the Indigo Black variant does over time.
Thanks in advance for whoever can provide firsthand accounts of the Sand color materials.
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Over time, lol. It's pretty old already bud. Years. Its considered EOL. Get the one you like. It will suffer hardware failure long before the outside wears
madbat99 said:
Over time, lol. It's pretty old already bud. Years. Its considered EOL. Get the one you like. It will suffer hardware failure long before the outside wears
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the response. Yeah, I've just been frustrated with the lack of budget friendly Android tablets. N9 looked good. Researched some more and saw that the Indigo Black variant has that peeling problem, so I thought I'd get the white and then came across the sweet looking Sand color. But, I bit the bullet on a used Galaxy Tab S2 8", instead. Good thing I checked LineageOS support before pulling the trigger on an N9 (it lost support). I'm just in the market for a smallish tablet to consumer media on my long commutes to and from work.
And yeah, I was well aware of the hardware problems/sluggish performance of the N9, but I wanted to see for myself if I could ROM it and just use it lightly. Again, I'm fortunate I saw that N9 is mostly EOL also in the "official (not unofficial) ROMs" community.
Thanks again.
biggietm said:
Thanks for the response. Yeah, I've just been frustrated with the lack of budget friendly Android tablets. N9 looked good. Researched some more and saw that the Indigo Black variant has that peeling problem, so I thought I'd get the white and then came across the sweet looking Sand color. But, I bit the bullet on a used Galaxy Tab S2 8", instead. Good thing I checked LineageOS support before pulling the trigger on an N9 (it lost support). I'm just in the market for a smallish tablet to consumer media on my long commutes to and from work.
And yeah, I was well aware of the hardware problems/sluggish performance of the N9, but I wanted to see for myself if I could ROM it and just use it lightly. Again, I'm fortunate I saw that N9 is mostly EOL also in the "official (not unofficial) ROMs" community.
Thanks again.
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Click to collapse
You're right about lineage ending being a bummer. The unofficial builds are being made by the original lineage rom maintainer for n9 (I believe). So that's a plus.
I have a black one, and now a white one.
The black one was first, I got it used. Dirty unicorns was a lifesaver for it back in the lollipop days. I never really had too much performance complaints because I really only used it for media. Either movies I already had downloaded or streaming from my home cable TV (dish Network).
I did, however, start to get the bubbles in the corners of the screen. And the wierd white parts of the display along the edges. Both very common complaints on n9. Also, since I used an otg adapter to play movies from (some movies are big files), the USB port stopped working reliably. Wouldn't charge most of the time. Luckily, the USB daughterboard can usually be found online for 10 - 15 dollars u.s. and only took about 15-20 minutes to replace. But it happened again over time (my fault).
Then an XDA member offered theirs to the first taker for only the cost of shipping. About $15. That's my white one. This one has the issue of the load noise and distorted screen when the battery gets below 40%. Not every time, and hasn't done it since I thoroughly cleaned the battery connection. I expected it to have one of the common issues, and have no complaints at all for that price. Especially since cleaning it seems to have fixed it for now. It's been a few months and it's been fine.
I still use it almost daily. And since the tv in my bedroom is acting up, my wife uses it to watch TV in bed sometimes.
So I have really enjoyed my n9 experience, even though I got a couple of the more common hardware issues.
I'm probably going to order another USB daughterboard for my black one and give it to my wife. Or, since I gave her my Nexus 7 (2013) when I got the 9, and it sits on a shelf now, maybe pass it to an XDA member the way I got my white one.
Anyways, sorry to babble on like that. Glad you got a tablet that suites your needs. It is getting harder to find a decent Android tablet these days. I couldn't bring myself to get one of those Amazon fire tabs, no matter how cheap they get. Almost got one once. But... Naaahhh.
Later
madbat99 said:
You're right about lineage ending being a bummer. The unofficial builds are being made by the original lineage rom maintainer for n9 (I believe). So that's a plus.
I have a black one, and now a white one.
The black one was first, I got it used. Dirty unicorns was a lifesaver for it back in the lollipop days. I never really had too much performance complaints because I really only used it for media. Either movies I already had downloaded or streaming from my home cable TV (dish Network).
I did, however, start to get the bubbles in the corners of the screen. And the wierd white parts of the display along the edges. Both very common complaints on n9. Also, since I used an otg adapter to play movies from (some movies are big files), the USB port stopped working reliably. Wouldn't charge most of the time. Luckily, the USB daughterboard can usually be found online for 10 - 15 dollars u.s. and only took about 15-20 minutes to replace. But it happened again over time (my fault).
Then an XDA member offered theirs to the first taker for only the cost of shipping. About $15. That's my white one. This one has the issue of the load noise and distorted screen when the battery gets below 40%. Not every time, and hasn't done it since I thoroughly cleaned the battery connection. I expected it to have one of the common issues, and have no complaints at all for that price. Especially since cleaning it seems to have fixed it for now. It's been a few months and it's been fine.
I still use it almost daily. And since the tv in my bedroom is acting up, my wife uses it to watch TV in bed sometimes.
So I have really enjoyed my n9 experience, even though I got a couple of the more common hardware issues.
I'm probably going to order another USB daughterboard for my black one and give it to my wife. Or, since I gave her my Nexus 7 (2013) when I got the 9, and it sits on a shelf now, maybe pass it to an XDA member the way I got my white one.
Anyways, sorry to babble on like that. Glad you got a tablet that suites your needs. It is getting harder to find a decent Android tablet these days. I couldn't bring myself to get one of those Amazon fire tabs, no matter how cheap they get. Almost got one once. But... Naaahhh.
Later
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Hey, thanks for taking the time to provide quality responses! You're not babbling at all. In fact, had I not researched all the issues I was anticipating, your post summed up a lot of it. I was mostly aware of the slow performance and battery issues (e.g. drain, slow charging, popping the speakers, etc.).
Like yourself, I was mainly looking for a light media consumption device. Last month, I was lucky to have found an open-box "like new" Nexus 7 (2013) at a store. One that time (and the employees) forgot about and somehow ended back up on display. I scooped it up since I was always attracted to it (i.e. size, ROM-ability, Nexus purist - lol). I wanted something for my baby daughter to use; it's been great for her mealtimes and car travel times. Anyway, the battery on that was shot (read: Five Blinks Of Death). Luckily, I was able to get ASUS to honor a 90 day warranty on it. Imagine that, a limited warranty on a 2013 device as if it was new. It took some going back and forth, mostly a pleasant experience. So, thanks ASUS for helping a dad out. Going forward, I'm just wirelessly charging it so I don't wear out the micro USB port like you've mentioned on your N9. Now, I'm onto looking for something more for myself and my wife.
I settled on a Galaxy Tab S2 8.0" for it's ROM-ability and size (and at a good bargain). I like that it's got an extra bit of RAM over the N7 and N9, so it's hopefully better at handling my use cases. Nothing major, just watching some movies, streams, and using it as an e-Reader (Kindle app). But the itch to actually owning an N9 is still strong, lol. I might want to try and check fleabay every so often to see if I can pick up a steal of a bargain and just tinker with it. But I know I shouldn't, lol. I think the sluggish performance would really drive me bonkers. The N7 stutters a bit and I know if I used that as my daily driver, I'd probably yearn for something more.
Anyway, now, I'm babbling on, haha. Yeah, from the sounds of it and the landscape of Android tablets, it looks like Google's giving up the Android tablet game. They'll move towards chromebooks or chromeOS tablets. Until everyone re-focuses on webApps, I can't give up Android or iOS yet. Things like Verizon FiOs TV doesn't fully stream on a browser (yet?). I'm just glad there's the XDA/ROM community that's keeping most of these older tablets alive. The new ones have gotten very expensive for what they do. I almost went with an iPad since they're on some sales (read: clearing out older stock) now. But, I'm a sucker for pure Android if not their ROM counterparts.
And yeah, I feel you on that Amazon tablets. It's just not the same. But I've also been tempted to just get the kids' versions for my daughter. Pretty enticing with their 2-year worry-free warranty and freetime app for kids. I guess until this market is fully dry and big time communities like LineageOS fades, then I'll re-assess my family's tablet life, lol.
Thanks for the chat.