Should I get a Photon? - Motorola Photon 4G

I'm temporarily living in Portugal, but I'm from the us. I need a phone that has a good Autonomous GPS, works in airplane mode. easy to root so I can run Cm9 or aokp, with everything working. I currently have a Samsung epic4g. Should I get the Photon? Or wait for a better phone when I get back to the states?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk 2

I switched to a photon, I am not positive about autonomous gps but it is damn near the best world phone available at the moment. You can also pick one up fairly cheap on cowboom.com. cm9 and aokp are very good however missing video drivers mess with the general ui (browser fc on rotate, chrome no new tabs, video camera issues etc.). We are guaranteed an official ics update sometime this fall hopefully so that will fix that.
Sent from my Photon 4G via Tapatalk 2

Theseasu the
I agree the Photon is a really good phone I like alot, and yes they are cheap at cowboom I just saw one go for 130 bucks! Not gonna lie I am a bit disapointed at looking at my phones value :/

I really like my Photon. I use it's GPS all the time, and it is really quite accurate. I don't know of any phones where the GPS works in airplane mode though.
I got my Photon at a Sams Club for 97 cents with 2 year contract around last Christmas. I have found that getting phones through Sams Club is much cheaper than going directly from Sprint, and sprint doesn't even offer the Photon 4g anymore. Possibly due to the fact that it can't do LTE, just WiMax. So if you are looking for a phone you can do LTE on, you probably shouldn't get the Photon. No LTE doesn't bother me at all since I almost always have wifi available.

Photon= best world phone & great ROMs out for it

Related

verizon / bestbuy issues ?

I went to bestbuy to try out the TB yesterday. my g2 is fantastic, but tmo coverage in the woods is very lacking, and other dirt bikers have good results with verizon...
the problems began with the display unit @ bestbuy. no signal, no wifi, and the salespeople couldn't figure out how to register it on vz, or didn't care.
skip to vzw store...
same issue. I was handed a tethered (annoying) TB which was completely offline. when I asked to see a working device, they acted like I was really odd, and why would I want to do that instead of just sign a contract for 2 years right now ?
so, what I want to know, is does the TB have an awesome antennae, or should I expect Nexus One type of problems with connectivity ?
I really won't buy something I can't try, cmon vz, give me a reason to throw money @ you !
I have great signal with mine. The battery door is part of the antenna.
Works way better than the tmo mytouch 4g I had.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App
Had the G2 and this is soo much better. I live in Houston where VZW and Tmo both have 4G service and VZW is SOOO much better. 14 day trial period remember.

[Q] Replacement after 3rd crappy Vibrant

Just looking for some first hand experience, or tips from a T-Mobile employee. I was just told by TMo that if this Vibrant fails me (being my 3rd one), I'll be able to get a completely different phone.
I have every intention of calling them in the next couple of days to kindly let them know that the GPS isn't working as intended, of course. I just did a road trip to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and my GPS failed me over and over (yes, I've done all of the fixes known to man) while my Garmin Nuvi worked flawlessly, as usual.
So, anyone know what my options will be? Since I paid $199.99 to extend my contract for this POS, I feel that I should be offered any of their smartphones at that price, but really have no idea as to how this works.
Thanks in advance!
You can get alot
As long as you are clear in your point and sound like you know what you are talking about you should be fine.
I went through this right when the sensation came out.
I got one for free and got to keep my vibe by signing a 2 year with customer loyalty. They sent me tbe sensation and it had touchscreen isues so back it went and I went through 2 alltoghether.
It wasnt a bad phone but I missed my im on it again now.
samsung
If you really like not having a heavy phone (sensation was like a weight haha) or the phone with a million issues the g2x.
I'd stick it out just 2 more months tops and we will have the htc ruby/amaze 4g and the tmobile galaxy s2 "hercules" both are rumored to be on tmos 42 mps network which os way more than double our current max of 14.4
Thanks for the response! That's a good point... I'll wait until some better phones are released here soon and then call to get my replacement. No point in doing it now since the selection isn't all that great.
Yea its funny how there are so many levels of "top teir" devices that out can be hard to keep track of. I can say I'll be way happier with a lighter phone with a more visible screen outdoors anf that they won't know my warranties gone because I used the same oems software of who made the phone. I think brand presence aside that the 42mps is worth the wait. i live in the mpls area and tmobile is very sttong here for signal so im excited for that chip.
In the meantime time try using the custom rom toxic crazy 8 with the clean and shiny theme. I put it on a guy I work withs vibrant and now he is wayyy happier with his phone that ever before. He even stopped talking about needing a new phone all the time hah

Fully functional ICS Photon or galaxy nexus?

Which would u choose? I'm figthin the urge to go buy the galaxy nexus Sunday I love the photon and thinking it may be better to wait on a fully functional stable joker rom cuz I miss hbo go...I don't really believe Motorola is actually gonna update this phone to ICS in the future and I'm not worried about LTE just yet I'll jump on that train when it actually rolls out in my area
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rruss said:
Which would u choose? I'm figthin the urge to go buy the galaxy nexus Sunday I love the photon and thinking it may be better to wait on a fully functional stable joker rom cuz I miss hbo go...I don't really believe Motorola is actually gonna update this phone to ICS in the future and I'm not worried about LTE just yet I'll jump on that train when it actually rolls out in my area
Sent from my MB855 using xda premium
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Absolutely positively zero question, the Galaxy nexus all the way.
My friend has one, I've spent extensive time using it. Simply the best phone I've ever used, it was phone of the year last year.
Also, being a Nexus phone - you will get the first updates for new OS'es . My sisters Nexus S got ICS already. Effen Motorola said what... November?
Jokers work is awesome, and I thank him profusely. I hope Motorola hires him!
For me, this phone is a red headed stepchild. Moto only cars about Verizon customers. I'm never buying a moto phone again.
Jeff_in_LA said:
Absolutely positively zero question, the Galaxy nexus all the way.
My friend has one, I've spent extensive time using it. Simply the best phone I've every used, it was phone of the year last year.
Also, being a Nexus phone - you will get the first updates for new OS'es . My sisters Nexus S got ICS already. Effen Motorola said what... November?
Jokers work is awesome, and I thank him profusely. I hope Motorola hires him!
For me, this phone is a red headed stepchild. Moto only cars about Verizon customers. I'm never buying a moto phone again.
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The Nexus is already obsolete. I'd wait and see what the Galaxy SIII has to offer when Samsung makes the announcement on May 3. I'm not impressed by Sprint's verison of the HTC One X. HTC lost me after releasing that piece of crap Evo 3D (always losing signal and roaming). And according to the FCC test results, the radio in the EVO 4G LTE seems to be crappy as well.
Question
galaxy nexus is be OK,I think that..
five40 said:
The Nexus is already obsolete. I'd wait and see what the Galaxy SIII has to offer when Samsung makes the announcement on May 3. I'm not impressed by Sprint's verison of the HTC One X. HTC lost me after releasing that piece of crap Evo 3D (always losing signal and roaming). And according to the FCC test results, the radio in the EVO 4G LTE seems to be crappy as well.
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Have you not been paying attention to all the Epic 4G Touch issues? For months the phone would just randomly drop service without letting you know and you had to reboot to restore it. The radio in it is garbage on top of that. The Photon radio is a serious step up. Every single phone Samsung has released for Sprint has had major issues.
I really dont like my Photon and it will be the last Motorola phone I buy. My wife has a DroidX2 Global on Verizon and its a piece of crap too. She's probably going to go to an iPhone (Its her work phone and they have discontinued Android devides so its either iPhone or BB) and Im going to get a HTC One when it comes up for sale on Sprint. Maybe Ill give her my Photon for her Sprint line. She has an OG Epic she uses on Sprint but she probably hasnt made 10 calls on it in a year.
five40 said:
The Nexus is already obsolete. I'd wait and see what the Galaxy SIII has to offer when Samsung makes the announcement on May 3. I'm not impressed by Sprint's verison of the HTC One X. HTC lost me after releasing that piece of crap Evo 3D (always losing signal and roaming). And according to the FCC test results, the radio in the EVO 4G LTE seems to be crappy as well.
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I'd hardly call it obsolete. Yes S3 series is going to get announced. HTC and Moto lost me, and a pure google with with no crappy skin is awesome.
Also, the Nexus community have dialed the roms in for that phone like race cars. The Roms and kernels are awesome.
Interesting about phones.. 5 months is considered obsolete. My intel i7-920 overclocked to 3.8Ghz is still an awesome computer. They chip was launched in 08.
My 2 cents!
MadFlava said:
Have you not been paying attention to all the Epic 4G Touch issues? For months the phone would just randomly drop service without letting you know and you had to reboot to restore it. The radio in it is garbage on top of that. The Photon radio is a serious step up. Every single phone Samsung has released for Sprint has had major issues.
I really dont like my Photon and it will be the last Motorola phone I buy. My wife has a DroidX2 Global on Verizon and its a piece of crap too. She's probably going to go to an iPhone (Its her work phone and they have discontinued Android devides so its either iPhone or BB) and Im going to get a HTC One when it comes up for sale on Sprint. Maybe Ill give her my Photon for her Sprint line. She has an OG Epic she uses on Sprint but she probably hasnt made 10 calls on it in a year.
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The Photon is the best piece of hardware Sprint has to offer right now.
The Galaxy Nexus is just a tweaked Galaxy SII. I was a big HTC fan until the EVO 3D and I know Samsung phones aren't known for stellar radio performance, neither does HTC.
I'm waiting on the Galaxy SIII, but back to the OP's question.
I would go with a Galaxy Nexus because the display is absolutely gorgeous.
I owned one for a few weeks. Took it back because I'm on the edge of 2 Verizon LTE towers and would lose signal quite often. I know it's not isolated to the Nexus because a friend of mine owns the Verizon equivalent of the Photon (can't remember the name right now) and has the same LTE issues problem.
i been kickin around the same idea, and this EVO LTE is looking even better with a 1.5 GHz processor!?!?!
BUT.... i look back on the pros and cons
If i switch to the Nexus or EVO LTE
Pros(even tho they end up sounding like cons
-Faster Processor (even tho we have 1.3 OC i still clock down to 1.0, so not too powerful of persuasion.
-LTE - BUT... sprint is adding this technology and it will be WIP.
Screen - no doubt its a better screen, BUT it will probably chew more power
-1080p camera (but the devs are working on this for the photon)
-Official ICS (BUT id end up wiping out and flashing CM9 so im back to where i am now)
-Lighter - this is one pro that i cant argue, the EVO LTE is a feather!
-Front camera - 1.3 v vga (not a biggy for me)
Cons
-Only CDMA, less radios, less cell signal probably
-$$$ it will take a few bills outta my pocket
-phone is bigger and will be bigger in the jeans pocket
-more attractive to be stolen at the gym
when i rethink everything through, i honesty am more tempted to go buy a second photon for backup. The photon is not at a huge hardware disadvantage. software wise... just think how fast joker has done what he has done with using code out of the air. Im sittin my fat ass down with the photon for a long time.
Once or IF sprint ever comes back out with a worldwide android phone that can beat the Photon in the ring, THEN ill switch over. but for now, the photon has too great of devs, and amazing radios that i cant ignore. a phone is for communications, and without great radios, well... your SOL.
my 2 cents
Just hope this great devs don't switch over to an lte phone lol
Sent from my MB855 using xda premium
alot of great points being brought up i swore to myself i would never buy another samsung phone because i had a terrible experience with the epic touch signal wise i just didn't get the same signal i got with my photon in the exact same spots no arguing that. i would love to get the evo lte too BUT intergrated battery is too iphone-ish for me and i feel like it will be a HUGE disadvantage to rooters and another way for sprint to **** with me and take more money out my pocket if my phone gets screwed up if motorola werent on verizons jock i would wait for them to come out with a lte phone...by the way do you guys think that googles purchase of motorola will eventually lead to a Motorola manufactured Nexus? how awsome would that be
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Easy choice. The Galaxy Nexus. As much as I love the Photon, people need to look beyond the software UI when choosing a phone. Galaxy Nexus has LTE capability, Photon has Wimax capability. Wimax is on its way out while LTE is on its way in. The LTE footprint by Sprint will be nationwide whereas the Wimax footprint is standing put.
Get the Galaxy Nexus because even joker's rom is stock ICS which is what the galaxy nexus is anyways except you will get LTE capability at some point in the future depending on which market you live in.
rruss said:
alot of great points being brought up i swore to myself i would never buy another samsung phone because i had a terrible experience with the epic touch signal wise i just didn't get the same signal i got with my photon in the exact same spots no arguing that. i would love to get the evo lte too BUT intergrated battery is too iphone-ish for me and i feel like it will be a HUGE disadvantage to rooters and another way for sprint to **** with me and take more money out my pocket if my phone gets screwed up if motorola werent on verizons jock i would wait for them to come out with a lte phone...by the way do you guys think that googles purchase of motorola will eventually lead to a Motorola manufactured Nexus? how awsome would that be
Sent from my Thrive using xda premium
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Im with you there. I might be willing to try the Note but at this point, who knows if its coming or not.
Jeff_in_LA said:
Jokers work is awesome, and I thank him profusely. I hope Motorola hires him!
For me, this phone is a red headed stepchild. Moto only cars about Verizon customers. I'm never buying a moto phone again.
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why would they hire him?
And if you look at the amount of sold units between Vz and Sprint you would see why Moto caters to Vz. Sprint is no longer considered an Class A service provider by any OM.
photon all the way. with miui its a fantastic phone. and wouldnt trade if for anything. and yes. more is to come with this phone. it can only get better
How is a less functional phone fantastic? No 4G, no MMS
five40 said:
How is a less functional phone fantastic? No 4G, no MMS
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?????
five40 said:
How is a less functional phone fantastic? No 4G, no MMS[/QUO
I think he was thinking in terms of a fully functional ics rom and as far as 4g goes more people don't have it anyway
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halfdriven said:
?????
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My post was in response to the MIUI comment
Sorry I thought I quoted the post.
ICS is pretty cool but it should not be the primary driver in making this decision. The Photon is already running CM9 and it will get official ICS support later this year. You need to compare specs between these two phones and match them to your lifestyle. Me, I live in a suburban area where the signal strength is only OK. I used to get a decent signal outside and in different spots within my house but now that I have a Photon that has all changed. I get signal almost everywhere. I don't have 4G in my area so I'm able to run CM9 as my daily driver with zero complaints. In my opinion the Photon is superior but if I lived in the middle of Manhattan I'd probably be rocking a Galaxy Nexus because the city's coverage is much better and Manhattan will get LTE.
The Galaxy Nexus and Photon are really apples and oranges. One is a Wimax phone while the other is an LTE phone. There are some areas with both types of 4G, but for the most part if you're not in the buildout you'd be stuck with 3G data. One is $150 on craigslist and the other is $200 on contract.
Its better to compare the Galaxy Nexus to the HTC EVO 4G LTE. In that respect, the only advantage to the Galaxy Nexus is being a Google-supported device. That really doesn't mean much to me, since Google has shown that they only care about one generation past, and ICS only just came to the Nexus S 4G last week, even the HTC Sensation and the international Galaxy S2 got ICS before that.
Even if you have a fully functional Photon with ICS though, which doesn't exist, the Galaxy Nexus is still better. And you better be prepared to pay $400+ more for the privilege.

Is EVO 3d/ EVO V worth it?

My wife has Virgin and she's sick and tired of her Samsung Intercept (what a shocker.) We want her to stick with a non contract provider, and it seems like most of the other carriers have sub par android offerings. The EVO V seems intriguing but I have 2 big concerns. 1. The phone is a year old. I know it had Good specs at the time and having ICS helps now but I want this phone to last more than a year. 2. I've read in some places that battery life is atrocious. Now my wife isn't a power user, but I also don't feel like hearing her complain constantly about the battery life. I'm leaning more toward this phone than the Milestone because I like the bumped specs and having a legit ICS is a big selling point. As far as a no contract Android goes, is this a good get or should I wait / keep shopping around or do others have some suggestions I may have overlooked?
dvandam said:
My wife has Virgin and she's sick and tired of her Samsung Intercept (what a shocker.) We want her to stick with a non contract provider, and it seems like most of the other carriers have sub par android offerings. The EVO V seems intriguing but I have 2 big concerns. 1. The phone is a year old. I know it had Good specs at the time and having ICS helps now but I want this phone to last more than a year. 2. I've read in some places that battery life is atrocious. Now my wife isn't a power user, but I also don't feel like hearing her complain constantly about the battery life. I'm leaning more toward this phone than the Milestone because I like the bumped specs and having a legit ICS is a big selling point. As far as a no contract Android goes, is this a good get or should I wait / keep shopping around or do others have some suggestions I may have overlooked?
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The battery life is about middle ground as far as Android high end phones. You can get a full day out of it if you need/want to. The phone, IMHO, still has plenty of life left in it. It fits great in your hands. And watching 3D videos on YouTube is awesome. I know people will say it is/was a gimmick, but I completely disagree. It is just an extra feature on a phone that sets it apart from the other ones. I think once the iPhone comes out with 3D, everyone will rush to get one and other phone makers will make it a standard feature on all phones. It was just ahead of its time on the Evo 3D. With hardly any other phones to share 3D images with, it makes it hard to show off how awesome 3D images and videos are without being next to someone and showing them on your phone.
I can understand people wanting to have the next generation of bigger and better phones, but just because a newer model is out doesn't make the Evo 3D magically stop working or cease to have a dual core processor with 1GB of RAM...which still runs every app and game, still makes phone calls, and send texts with ease.
This may or may not affect you, but could...the Evo 3D uses WiMAX and will that network will still be support for a few years in places where it is operational. Such as my little city. I have WiMAX and I use it as if my life depends on it. Sure, I could get the newest phone with LTE, but until Sprint gets it in my city, I'm stuck with 3G. And once you go 4G you can't go back.
I vote get the Evo 3D. And enjoy! I know I have enjoyed mine and will continue to...I am eligible for an upgrade, but I'm not sure I can do it yet because I love this phone and 4G data.
-Ken
Sent from my iPhone with the bigger Gee Bees.
It's a great phone at $100 off craigslist if you are already on sprint or can flash it somehow for another carrier. To pay $300 for it would be an incredible waste of money. Sprints wimax is worthless if you are moving and only ok if you are not. If your house is right next to a wimax tower you might be ok. I thought it has been said it has a few problems out of the box with sprints\virgins version of ics so be ready to flash\root it right away to make it work better. A lot of work for a $300 phone. The 3d part is really just a gimmick, kind of a add-on for the kiddies. These are the realities of this phone.http://voices.yahoo.com/3d-devices-smartphones-causing-headaches-eye-8858717.html
I love my Evo 3D now with ICS, but I wouldn't buy a new one now. Phones get old fast, your best bet is to buy the latest and greatest and it may last 2 years.
Buy it new for like $100 flash it to virgin. Its $300 cuz your not signing a contract. I'm running meanrom ics and I get days of medium use with absolutely no lag or issues.
Everybody gets the latest and greatest because that's how manufactures control the market. I don't think any other phone for this price is even comparable.
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium
notasimpleway said:
The battery life is about middle ground as far as Android high end phones.
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Those must be the magical unicorn Android phones...
I'm averaging 50% remaining charge after ~36 hours with everything enabled except 4G. You can get 2 days out of the EVO V easily with Harmonia 3 (a cleaned up stock ROM):
http://www.vmroms.com/index.php?topic=157.0
I can't report on stock battery performance because frankly I rooted and installed Harmonia 3 about an hour after I got the phone.
Of the smartphones I've owned (Palm Pre, EVO 4G, Optimus V, Optimus Slider) and used, the EVO V is by far the best all around. This phone with a no-contract Virgin plan is just about perfect (for me).
I suspect those reporting atrocious battery life are leaving 4G on.
sailio said:
Buy it new for like $100 flash it to virgin. Its $300 cuz your not signing a contract. I'm running meanrom ics and I get days of medium use with absolutely no lag or issues.
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There is a LOT of issues with flashing it to Virgin, he'd be better off flashing to Boost but regardless of which carrier it would involve cloning the MEID/ESN of a donor phone and I wouldn't suggest it unless you know a lot about phones and have a backup in case it takes you a while. It is worth it though even at $300, the specs are just as comparable to today's phones and over the time she would have the phone a couple of years it would have paid for itself several times in comparison to getting it on contract at a subsidized price. I would DEFINITELY suggest it, the phone's specs as I said are comparable to phones coming out today (even higher specs than some new phones) and whether or not it remains supported it'll still remain a good phone for a time to come.
Esn has nothing to do with flashing it to another carrier... Just firmware and pri. I work for radioshack so I deal with this on a daily basis
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Not to hate on HTC... but I would wait for new galaxy to drop in price. I think that is going to be the best phone out this year and honestly you will be good for atleast 2 years.
Battery is amazing if you are using a MEAN rom. Otherwise, so/so. Also... I would say the biggest concern is the crappy hardware. You are taking a chance at having a blown earpiece or failing digitizer. These are common issues and I suffer from BOTH.
sailio said:
Esn has nothing to do with flashing it to another carrier... Just firmware and pri. I work for radioshack so I deal with this on a daily basis
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium
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lol it does when the carrier doesn't allow flashing Work at radio shack? I've actually flashed phones so I know Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile blocks MEIDs/ESNs that are not in their database. It's not like flashing to Cricket or Metro PCS because of this fact. You could flash to Boost or Virgin without changing it but you won't be able to put it on your account Go to Virgin or Boost and just try and activate an account with an ESN/MEID not in their database, it won't work and customer service won't do it either lol (nor will they add it)
The only and I mean *only* way to get a non virgin or boost phone working on a virgin or boost account is by flashing and changing the ESN/MEID.
Also, I HAAAAATE when people say "I work for Radio Shack" or "I work for Best Buy Mobile" or "I work for geek squad" and use it to say (hey I'm an expert) not to diss on any of these (in fact I'm sure a lot of them are very good), but the vast majority of people I know at these jobs know very little and only know what's part of their official training etc. Again not all of them but pleeeaaassseee don't be so sure in something you obviously don't have experience in and giving a user HORRIBLE advise in which they will likely regret it if they try and follow it In fact you probably shouldn't give advice on a subject unless you've tried it (which you obviously haven't lol)

Why I'll stay with Motorola

So, based on my lurking here, I'm going to be in a small minority on this one. I own the Electrify, have it unlocked and after running jokersax's cm10 for a while, I returned to the stock cm7 build (cybix, I believe...) cause I like the 15 hour battery life I get from it. Anyways, not the point...
My next phone will still be a Motorola. There, I said it. Why? Cause I like buying a phone from a company that's literally right next door. I know they are all made in China, but Moto's headquarters are basically 6 hours from where I live.
I've owned 3 Motorola phones now. They've all had really good radios and been stable and reliable. Granted the Electrify is my 1st smart phone. I've been in places where 3 people around me with Samsung or HTC phones have little or no signal, and my Moto is fine. It's also a good size for my hands, it fits in my palm, it fits in the car's cupholder, it's not garmungus like a lot of the new phones are becoming, but it's not iPhone small.
I like the phone, I dislike that Moto made a (sucky, yes) decision to not release any ICS/JB goodness for it, but that's how business works. They make more money by selling the masses a new phone rather than supporting the old ones. I'm not up for replacement until July of next year, but I probably won't replace my Electrify then either so long as it's still working. The specs are still pretty top-end and I suspect they still will be through 2013.
Thanks for letting me add a (hopefully) positive review on the Photon/Electrify board. It's great being able to lurk around here and learn stuff. :highfive:
I guess I'm in the minority also. This has been the best phone I've ever had, I'm unlocked, and can run whatever I want. I recommended this phone to everyone I know on sprint. It just works
CodeNamed JellyBean MoPho
Nothing wrong with that.
Is there actual proof that the radio or antenna is actually better? If it truely does get better signal across the board. I'm on board. But I need hard evidence
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2
Based on my own use I think it's better than most. I get a strong signal everywhere, including the marginal-coverage areas.
Kevets said:
Based on my own use I think it's better than most. I get a strong signal everywhere, including the marginal-coverage areas.
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I liked my photon while i had it, but was VERY frustrated with the lack of support. First Android phone i've ever owned that didn't get updated to a new version of android. I can confirm the signal is a little better as my g/f now rocks my photon and i'm pimpin' a S3 I picked up off contract, but it's marginal really. Photon still has pretty good specs, but i can attest, the S3 is FAST and the big hd screen is pretty nice. Also, the thickness of the phone is shocking compared to my photon. Oh, and one of the best things about it is the unlocked bootloader out of the box. Had CWM installed and rocking a custom ROM within an hour of buying the phone. Based on the raw deal Motorola stuck us with, i most likely will not own anymore of their products. This is coming from a home with a photon and two Motorola Xoom's. Build quality is fantastic, support sucks a fat one except for the Xoom's ofcourse..
mark112089 said:
Is there actual proof that the radio or antenna is actually better? If it truely does get better signal across the board. I'm on board. But I need hard evidence
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2
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From my experience in selling the phone it does have one of the best radios out there. At least better than the GS2 and the most HTC devices that were comparable spec. I can't really say much for the newer devices as sprint network issues have worsened since the photon went End of life.
I just moved to Moto from iPhone (i know Im a shame to the android community), before that i had samsung and htc.
At&t has spotty service where i live, but the atrix gets service better than the other phones. Im so happy with the service i get with this phone.
Sent from my MB886 using xda app-developers app
the electrify is a great phone and all. only when unlocked really. but it's done the job. i wouldn't say moto gets the best signal. my htc desire actually gets an equal to slightly better signal. so htc makes good phones to i'm testing out samsung tomorrow with the note ii. i hope it's as good as moto and htc.
i will never own another moto though. not after the update fiasco and locked bootloader situations. if i can't touch my own phone. then i don't want it. mainly why i'm moving to the note ii. so much freedom!
Moto build quality and signal quality are the stuff of legend. I don't know that hard evidence exists to prove it, though.
I live way out in the middle of nowhere in North Carolina. Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T don't provide service here. Their service is known to be spotty in the cities like Greenville, New Bern, Jacksonville, etc. Between them, if you have signal at home, generally you have US Cellular. Even with US Cellular, I have signal issues. With a Samsung or HTC, the phone has to be in the window. For the most part, so does the Motorola Electrify, but it can get service (1 bar) at the computer, in bed, or in an extreme case, the bathroom (typically a Faraday cage). So it is a little stronger. And Apple uses Samsung parts, so for the sake of argument I can say Apple=Samsung WRT signal.
Another fun anecdote (since that's all we've got). 2007. Went to visit my mother in California. A state that doesn't even know what US Cellular is. My wife and I have Kyocera KX-5 Slider Remix dumbphones. My mother says "your carrier is who now?". Anyway, we get into town, we have some Round Table (hands down the best pizza I've had), the next morning she wants to take us into the mountains to go visit my nephew. Long story. Anyway, we're out of town. East of San Francisco. There's a city after you're well out of the San Francisco metropolitan area, starts with a C, I think. We stop there for burgers and fries. Another hour, we're in the mountains, middle of nowhere. My mother decides she needs to call somebody. (Probably call ahead.) Takes out her LG flip phone, on Verizon. No Signal. My wife and I check our phones -- we both have 5 bars. She borrows my phone, the call connects, she gets great call quality, no drop, no static. To this day she thinks we have satellite phones like in that one Jurassic Park movie, that get service in the jungle. It's pretty funny. A friend of mine who has worked for Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint tells me that what US Cellular lacks in phone selection, they more than make up for in signal coverage, usually due to roaming agreements with other CDMA carriers. Since US Cellular does not carry the iPhone, I can safely say that Android goes places that iPhone cannot.
OP, you're okay with me. My wife is staying with Motorola as well, and can't understand why I hate 'em now, especially as I got my phone unlocked and running the OS I want. She only upgraded because her last phone was a bona fide piece of sh!t (Samsung Acclaim... 160MB RAM). She will probably use the Electrify until it breaks. 8 months later she has only changed the wallpaper. Unrooted, locked, running Blur Home as the launcher. I put Holo Launcher up there and she didn't like it, made me put it back, haha.
QuimaxW said:
So, based on my lurking here, I'm going to be in a small minority on this one. I own the Electrify, have it unlocked and after running jokersax's cm10 for a while, I returned to the stock cm7 build (cybix, I believe...) cause I like the 15 hour battery life I get from it. Anyways, not the point...
My next phone will still be a Motorola. There, I said it. Why? Cause I like buying a phone from a company that's literally right next door. I know they are all made in China, but Moto's headquarters are basically 6 hours from where I live.
I've owned 3 Motorola phones now. They've all had really good radios and been stable and reliable. Granted the Electrify is my 1st smart phone. I've been in places where 3 people around me with Samsung or HTC phones have little or no signal, and my Moto is fine. It's also a good size for my hands, it fits in my palm, it fits in the car's cupholder, it's not garmungus like a lot of the new phones are becoming, but it's not iPhone small.
I like the phone, I dislike that Moto made a (sucky, yes) decision to not release any ICS/JB goodness for it, but that's how business works. They make more money by selling the masses a new phone rather than supporting the old ones. I'm not up for replacement until July of next year, but I probably won't replace my Electrify then either so long as it's still working. The specs are still pretty top-end and I suspect they still will be through 2013.
Thanks for letting me add a (hopefully) positive review on the Photon/Electrify board. It's great being able to lurk around here and learn stuff. :highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You buy from a company cause its, 6 hours away? They still don't care about updating your phone.
Sent from my MB855 using xda premium
There's nothing wrong with staying with Motorola if that's what you like. I'm on my fifth Photon. I had the random reboot issue. Not updating our phones was the final straw with me. Going to Verizon for the galaxy note 2 when it drops.
Sent from my MB855 using xda premium
On GSM signal strength, my Sony Ericsson Naite is much better than Photon. Call drops are frequent on Photon. On 100$ Naite you can even make GSM video calls where all Androids and Iphones fails.
.................................................
Motorola Electrified Photon 4G
Dark Reality said:
Moto build quality and signal quality are the stuff of legend. I don't know that hard evidence exists to prove it, though.
I live way out in the middle of nowhere in North Carolina. Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T don't provide service here. Their service is known to be spotty in the cities like Greenville, New Bern, Jacksonville, etc. Between them, if you have signal at home, generally you have US Cellular. Even with US Cellular, I have signal issues. With a Samsung or HTC, the phone has to be in the window. For the most part, so does the Motorola Electrify, but it can get service (1 bar) at the computer, in bed, or in an extreme case, the bathroom (typically a Faraday cage). So it is a little stronger. And Apple uses Samsung parts, so for the sake of argument I can say Apple=Samsung WRT signal.
Another fun anecdote (since that's all we've got). 2007. Went to visit my mother in California. A state that doesn't even know what US Cellular is. My wife and I have Kyocera KX-5 Slider Remix dumbphones. My mother says "your carrier is who now?". Anyway, we get into town, we have some Round Table (hands down the best pizza I've had), the next morning she wants to take us into the mountains to go visit my nephew. Long story. Anyway, we're out of town. East of San Francisco. There's a city after you're well out of the San Francisco metropolitan area, starts with a C, I think. We stop there for burgers and fries. Another hour, we're in the mountains, middle of nowhere. My mother decides she needs to call somebody. (Probably call ahead.) Takes out her LG flip phone, on Verizon. No Signal. My wife and I check our phones -- we both have 5 bars. She borrows my phone, the call connects, she gets great call quality, no drop, no static. To this day she thinks we have satellite phones like in that one Jurassic Park movie, that get service in the jungle. It's pretty funny. A friend of mine who has worked for Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint tells me that what US Cellular lacks in phone selection, they more than make up for in signal coverage, usually due to roaming agreements with other CDMA carriers. Since US Cellular does not carry the iPhone, I can safely say that Android goes places that iPhone cannot.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you made that up, there is no such thing as good pizza west of Chicago
My unlocked Electrify has been a wonderful phone for me and I will keep it for a long while. That doesn't mean I will buy another Motorola though. Me and Motorola are over forever. I had the Desire (upgraded to 2.2) and the Mesmerize (upgraded to 2.2 then 2.3) before and I should have stuck with Samsung. I now use the Electrify and the Galaxy S3. My S3 has already received 2 updates and Jellybean is coming. Samsung for life.
I believe management of Motorola Mobility was screwed up since the takeover; probably lack of leadership and no clarity whatsoever from anyone at the top..
The recent transfer of Soni from Google shows that Google has decided to get serious about MM.
In terms of devices, they have started by cleaning house. EOL most phones, free up labor to concentrate on current & newer devices and creating the BL unlock program.
MM is trying to get back on track.
But for me, its useless; too little, too late.
Next device will definitely not be from Motorola.
Most likely the Note II (not that Samsung is friendly to developers either); but its just a beast of a phone.
Equalizir said:
There's nothing wrong with staying with Motorola if that's what you like. I'm on my fifth Photon. I had the random reboot issue. Not updating our phones was the final straw with me. Going to Verizon for the galaxy note 2 when it drops.
Sent from my MB855 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope you love the logo branding on the home button
Sent from my MB853 using XDA
Slighter said:
you made that up, there is no such thing as good pizza west of Chicago
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, go on telling yourself that. Northern California can keep its pizza secret.
I'm actually a big fan of both Chicago deep dish and Brooklyn wide slices. Round Table is nothing like either of them. On one hand they're just a fancy Pizza Hut or Dominoes, but on the other, they use top quality ingredients and have great recipes that justify them costing 2-3 times more than them.
Sent from my MotoFail Electrify using Tapatalk and Swype.
Motorola will steal your pizza money.
hirent said:
I believe management of Motorola Mobility was screwed up since the takeover; probably lack of leadership and no clarity whatsoever from anyone at the top..
The recent transfer of Soni from Google shows that Google has decided to get serious about MM.
In terms of devices, they have started by cleaning house. EOL most phones, free up labor to concentrate on current & newer devices and creating the BL unlock program.
MM is trying to get back on track...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm hoping they have their house in order by the time I decide to update. If they don't by then, perhaps I'll start looking elsewhere.
Sent from my MB855 using xda app-developers app

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