Release date is July 31st

[drexappeal]

Sprint?s Motorola Photon – What You Need To Know ( Release Date, Specs )

I hope this article's july guess is right.

 

[drexappeal]

If the Triumph is releasing Late July. I hope the Photon is around that time too! That would make sense, being 1 month after the EVO 3D is released (and out of the 30 day exchange window).

Virgin Mobile Sets Motorola Triumph Release Date to Late July 2011 | Rock That Motorola Triumph

 

[drexappeal]

Another thing to take into consideration, Sprint just announced the price and release date for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which is June 24. I hadn't been following anything on that, but was there any lead-up the past month or so regarding the release of that Tablet?

If there wasn't any lead-up, then it's still possible that they'll do the same thing with the SGS 2, which I personally believe would push the Photon release to the end of August, rather than the end of July.

 

[drexappeal]

Even more definitive! If Virgin Mobile releases the Triumph on July 19, I really, really hope that means Photon 4G on Sprint will be shortly after!

Motorola Triumph hitting Virgin Mobile on July 19? | Android Central

 

[viber]

Fingers crossed for a July release.

Though, who really knows. The SG2 is out there, and the Evo3D just launched.

Sprint will probably want to have at least a month gap between all the releases.

Somewhere mixed in all that is the Photon.

 

[KnowProblem]

The release date won't be known until the device has passed the FCC, which hasn't occurred yet. Once it does, I'd expect a release date 3-5 weeks later.

 

[drexappeal]

The release date won't be known until the device has passed the FCC, which hasn't occurred yet. Once it does, I'd expect a release date 3-5 weeks later.

Companies have been known to keep a device secret even after it has passed through the FCC.

Just look at the original EVO. The talk was that the EVO had passed through the FCC in the beginning of April 2010, but they didn't announce the official release date until MUCH later.

As under wraps as the Photon was (NOBODY reported about this device or even opened up speculation until 1 week prior to the event on June 9), I wouldn't be surprised if Motorola and Sprint asked for the FCC to hold out from releasing cleared documents until they're ready for them to be available.

 

[drexappeal]

Fingers crossed for a July release.

Though, who really knows. The SG2 is out there, and the Evo3D just launched.

Sprint will probably want to have at least a month gap between all the releases.

Somewhere mixed in all that is the Photon.

Yeah, I think the Photon release will all be dependent on the SGS2 release. Either way, one of the 2 phones will be released at the end of July (most likely) and I'm guessing it'll be just after the 30 day trial expires on the EVO 3D.

Anywhere from July 27-29 is my guess for either the SGS2 or the Photon to be released. Then, whichever one isn't released at the end of July would be somewhere in the range of 8/31 - 9/2.

 

[PC Jona]

not intrested in tegra 2

the samsung gs2 will be a better phone.

just waiting for a new phone with a keyboard >=[

samsung makes me sick.

 

[viber]

the samsung gs2 will be a better phone.

Better at what? Specifically.

Speak from experience

 

[Jceinc]

Yeah, I think the Photon release will all be dependent on the SGS2 release. Either way, one of the 2 phones will be released at the end of July (most likely) and I'm guessing it'll be just after the 30 day trial expires on the EVO 3D.

Anywhere from July 27-29 is my guess for either the SGS2 or the Photon to be released. Then, whichever one isn't released at the end of July would be somewhere in the range of 8/31 - 9/2.

Great point but damn I cant wait that long!!

 

[KnowProblem]

Companies have been known to keep a device secret even after it has passed through the FCC.

Just look at the original EVO. The talk was that the EVO had passed through the FCC in the beginning of April 2010, but they didn't announce the official release date until MUCH later.

As under wraps as the Photon was (NOBODY reported about this device or even opened up speculation until 1 week prior to the event on June 9), I wouldn't be surprised if Motorola and Sprint asked for the FCC to hold out from releasing cleared documents until they're ready for them to be available.

The original EVO was approved on May 7 and released about a month later. The manufacturers always ask the FCC to hold out on most documents anyway but that doesn't stop folks from knowing when the FCC approves the device and this one hasn't been approved yet. Until it's approved Moto can't commit to any sort of specific date.

 

[drexappeal]

The original EVO was approved on May 7 and released about a month later. The manufacturers always ask the FCC to hold out on most documents anyway but that doesn't stop folks from knowing when the FCC approves the device and this one hasn't been approved yet. Until it's approved Moto can't commit to any sort of specific date.

Nope. Sorry, I was wrong about early April. It was late April. Look at the first page of the docs that were shown on Engadget. April 27, 2010 is the approval date.

HTC EVO 4G earns FCC's blessing, WiMAX and all - Engadget Galleries

The docs didn't leak until May 7, but that's about 2 weeks AFTER it was approved by the FCC.

 

[KnowProblem]

Nope. Sorry, I was wrong about early April. It was late April. Look at the first page of the docs that were shown on Engadget. April 27, 2010 is the approval date.

HTC EVO 4G earns FCC's blessing, WiMAX and all - Engadget Galleries

The docs didn't leak until May 7, but that's about 2 weeks AFTER it was approved by the FCC.

Sorry, but you keep insisting on being wrong. April 27th is when the testing lab issued its report. May 7 is when the FCC actually approved the device. Here is the approval certificate, note the grant date: https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/oetcf/tcb...code=&application_id=939126&fcc_id=NM8PC36100

 

[drexappeal]

If the Photon is going to be the next Android phone released on Sprint, the documents would be passing through the FCC now (if not already passed) and possibly leaked next week, after the EVO 3D has had it's "official" launch this Friday (even though Sprint Premiere customers are already using their 3D's). That's the "ideal" scenario.

The "official" SGS 2 hasn't been announced for Sprint yet, even though the European version has been available for some time. Going along the lines of how the Epic was released, the "official" announcement for the Epic was 8/12/10 with a 8/31/10 release.
Samsung Epic 4G Arrives August 31st, Order Yours Tomorrow! AndroidGuys
Since that was in the Samsung Galaxy family, that leads me to believe that the SGS 2 is more likely an August/early September release, rather than a July release because that would give the Epic owners that want to stick with Samsung the 1 year early bird upgrade eligibility they'd need to pick up the 2nd generation of the SG line.

I can't even remember if there was another phone released in between the EVO and the Epic. So, if we're to go with "historical" facts, the EVO 3D (successor to the original EVO) is being released officially 3 weeks after the original EVO release (6/4/10). If we go on the same logic with the Epic>SGS2, 3 weeks after the original Epic release would put the SGS 2 release sometime in mid-late September. So, if that's the case and we go along the lines with Sprint's typical "Friday or Sunday" release, I think it's pretty realistic to see the Photon on any of these dates:

7/29-7/31 (Earliest possible, due to being a few days after the 30 day trial for folks that purchase the EVO 3D this Friday)
8/5-8/7
8/12-8/14
8/19-8/21

These 4 weekends serve multiple purposes for Sprint
1) Allows them to lock in those that purchased the EVO 3D early
2) Allows for a good amount of time to build additional hype for the Photon.
3) Depending on which weekend aboe that the Photon is launched, they can plan accordingly as to when to release the SGS 2 and on top of that, make it a date that will allow for people who purchased the Epic at launch to be able to upgrade to the SGS 2.

Now, all of this is completely moot, if the Photon hasn't passed through the FCC already or doesn't pass through it shortly. But thinking about all of this more logically, I have better feelings that the Photon will be released prior to the SGS 2. As far as actual release date is concerned, if I had to bet on it, I'd say the weekend of 8/12-8/14 would be the target.

 

[drexappeal]

Sorry, but you keep insisting on being wrong. April 27th is when the testing lab issued its report. May 7 is when the FCC actually approved the device. Here is the approval certificate, note the grant date: https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/oetcf/tcb...code=&application_id=939126&fcc_id=NM8PC36100

Okay, but the main point in all this is that there's still a possibility that it could pass through the FCC next week, and a release date could be announced next week for the end of July or early-mid August.

 

[KnowProblem]

Okay, but the main point in all this is that there's still a possibility that it could pass through the FCC next week, and a release date could be announced next week for the end of July or early-mid August.

Right, which is exactly the point I was making... 3-5 weeks after the approval.

Late July to mid-August is probably a reasonable estimation for the device but again, until the FCC approves, all bets are off.

 

[drexappeal]

Right, which is exactly the point I was making... 3-5 weeks after the approval.

Late July to mid-August is probably a reasonable estimation for the device but again, until the FCC approves, all bets are off.

Okay, no worries. Didn't mean to upset you. I was just trying to put things in perspective of past device releases, which is part of the reason I did the historical breakdown of the EVO and Epic releases.

By my estimations, I think it's more realistic for the Photon to be released prior to the Galaxy S 2. That's just taking into consideration the 1 year early upgrade eligibility for all those that purchased the Epic and want to upgrade to the SGS 2.

 

[drexappeal]

Just thought of something else that might throw a wrench in the photon release. HTC kingdom already passed fcc. I wonder if that'd cause a little delay.

 

[KnowProblem]

@drexappeal, you are reading way too much into this. Let me explain to you how this works: First of all, the release has little to do with what HTC is doing or not. Also, except in a few extremely rare situations when a mistake is made, documents don't "leak" from the FCC. The FCC approves a device and with the approval officially publishes a few documents related to the device (like the SAAR report for example) on the day of approval. For competitive reasons, the FCC allows manufacturers to mark certain documents they have to submit as part of the approval process (like the user guide for example) as confidential for several months after the approval so that competitors can't find out too much info on the device before it is sold. Where there have been true 'leaks' in the past has been when someone at the FCC accidentally marks one of the documents that the company requested to be temporarily private as public. However, like I said, again, some documents like the SAR report you attached for the EVO are always provided to the public immediately upon device approval. There's no "leak" for that. It's official.

Look, the situation is such that these devices contain very sophisticated radios transmitting on several different bands. The FCC is very stringent on how those radios emit their signals and phone manufacturers have to tinker with the devices a lot to make sure all the radios transmit within certain allowed safe parameters. This means having to make hardware and/or software configuration changes to the device and then test and retest it over and over until they get it just right. Sometimes a device is problematic and it takes more time than average time to go through this process. That's what delayed the release of the EVO 3D for example which was originally supposed to be released at the beginning of June. My guess is that that's exactly what's going on with the Photon, Moto is trying to get the configuration right so it will pass the FCC but no one, not even Moto can predict exactly how long it will take them to find just the right magic combination of hardware and software tweaks to make that happen and that's why you don't see an official release date. Once that does happen then the phone gets a final configuration and Moto can ramp production of the device. Once they already have a device going through the process, they don't really care what HTC or Samsung are up to, they just want to come to market as soon as they possibly can but they can't do that until they have a final configuration for it that will pass the safty tests of the FCC.

So all the speculation you are trying to go through is really mostly moot. Since they already have the basic device spec worked out, now it's basically just how long will it take them to finalize the configuration so it's approved by the FCC, then how long it will take them to source parts, then how long to ramp production and ship it. They also need to let the carrier know so that they can prepare advertising, literature, and train associates but again, it all hinges on getting a final device configuration.

 

[drexappeal]

@drexappeal, you are reading way too much into this. Let me explain to you how this works: First of all, the release has little to do with what HTC is doing or not. Also, except in a few extremely rare situations when a mistake is made, documents don't "leak" from the FCC. The FCC approves a device and with the approval officially publishes a few documents related to the device (like the SAAR report for example) on the day of approval. For competitive reasons, the FCC allows manufacturers to mark certain documents they have to submit as part of the approval process (like the user guide for example) as confidential for several months after the approval so that competitors can't find out too much info on the device before it is sold. Where there have been true 'leaks' in the past has been when someone at the FCC accidentally marks one of the documents that the company requested to be temporarily private as public. However, like I said, again, some documents like the SAR report you attached for the EVO are always provided to the public immediately upon device approval. There's no "leak" for that. It's official.

Look, the situation is such that these devices contain very sophisticated radios transmitting on several different bands. The FCC is very stringent on how those radios emit their signals and phone manufacturers have to tinker with the devices a lot to make sure all the radios transmit within certain allowed safe parameters. This means having to make hardware and/or software configuration changes to the device and then test and retest it over and over until they get it just right. Sometimes a device is problematic and it takes more time than average time to go through this process. That's what delayed the release of the EVO 3D for example which was originally supposed to be released at the beginning of June. My guess is that that's exactly what's going on with the Photon, Moto is trying to get the configuration right so it will pass the FCC but no one, not even Moto can predict exactly how long it will take them to find just the right magic combination of hardware and software tweaks to make that happen and that's why you don't see an official release date. Once that does happen then the phone gets a final configuration and Moto can ramp production of the device. Once they already have a device going through the process, they don't really care what HTC or Samsung are up to, they just want to come to market as soon as they possibly can but they can't do that until they have a final configuration for it that will pass the safty tests of the FCC.

So all the speculation you are trying to go through is really mostly moot. Since they already have the basic device spec worked out, now it's basically just how long will it take them to finalize the configuration so it's approved by the FCC, then how long it will take them to source parts, then how long to ramp production and ship it. They also need to let the carrier know so that they can prepare advertising, literature, and train associates but again, it all hinges on getting a final device configuration.

Thanks, but why are you so angry? This is a forum right? Wtf is the problem with voicing logical guesses? Ands if you work in the industry and have all this knowledge, then why not focus on providing information or contributing to informing people rather than, bottom line, coming in here and saying all the release date speculation is moot?

Let me tell u something I'm an expert at. Marketing's best asset is word of mouth advertising. The more people talk about something and build hype about it, the more popular it becomes. Posts like yours, shooting down discussion and speculation, KILL any build up of anticipation or excitement for a product.

But that's your prerogative, so do what u want. It's not gonna stop me from building up hype, just like it was for the EVO. My goal is to make Sprint feel like this device will be just as popular as the EVO, so it gets just as much support and attention. Otherwise, we'll end up taking a back seat to both evo's as far as product support is concerned.

 

[KnowProblem]

...Wtf is the problem with voicing logical guesses?
...

Because you mostly seem to be making the basis for these "logical" guesses to be the release dates from other manufacturers, e.g. if they release this one phone on this and this date then they that might be proof that the photon will be released on such and such date. I'm not angry, I'm just trying to help you understand these are not the the reasons to try to make logical guesses regarding this issue. The actual factors which are driving the release date are as I mentioned above.

And I have no problem in you or anyone else building up hype on a device. On the contrary, I think the photon in particular is probably under-hyped, mainly due to the the fact the the 3VO is over-hyped and the fact that Motorola is a company run by idiots who insist on locking their bootloaders, thus shunning many of all important the early-adopter technology leaders away from their products and in general have gotten the reputation of a company which turns out product of generally low appeal compared to their competitors. I think that certainly if they unlock the bootloader on the Photon they will get buy in from the Android geek type who buys the phone on launch day, which then encourages all the other non phone geeks at his or her workplace for example to get the same device as those folks usually follow the technology leader they seek advice from on technology matters. Unfortunately Motorola has proven to be a very nearsighted company in the past and the results are reflected in their financial performance. So they have a chance for a hit product here. Will they run with it or will they drop the ball like they've done so many times in the past?

 

[drexappeal]

Because you mostly seem to be making the basis for these "logical" guesses to be the release dates from other manufacturers, e.g. if they release this one phone on this and this date then they that might be proof that the photon will be released on such and such date. I'm not angry, I'm just trying to help you understand these are not the the reasons to try to make logical guesses regarding this issue. The actual factors which are driving the release date are as I mentioned above.

And I have no problem in you or anyone else building up hype on a device. On the contrary, I think the photon in particular is probably under-hyped, mainly due to the the fact the the 3VO is over-hyped and the fact that Motorola is a company run by idiots who insist on locking their bootloaders, thus shunning many of all important the early-adopter technology leaders away from their products and in general have gotten the reputation of a company which turns out product of generally low appeal compared to their competitors. I think that certainly if they unlock the bootloader on the Photon they will get buy in from the Android geek type who buys the phone on launch day, which then encourages all the other non phone geeks at his or her workplace for example to get the same device as those folks usually follow the technology leader they seek advice from on technology matters. Unfortunately Motorola has proven to be a very nearsighted company in the past and the results are reflected in their financial performance. So they have a chance for a hit product here. Will they run with it or will they drop the ball like they've done so many times in the past?

Okay.

 

[drexappeal]

Man, this website labeled the wi-fi certification as fcc certification.

http://img.gadgetian.com/Motorola-Photon-4G-FCC-Certification.jpg

Thought I found something cool for a second there.

 

[viber]

Manufactures and service providers plot timelines for releases, and product lines on a carrier WILL influence release dates.

Sprint and Motorola know exactly when they want the Photon to hit shelves, and the formality of FCC cert is already written into the equation. They are not holding their finger to the wind and leaving it in God's hand.

The Photon is not going to drop anywhere near the Evo3D, or the SGS2. Expect 25-50 days between each release.

I still say the Photon will drop in late July to early August.