Figured I would start a thread about pre-ordering the Photon. Called Radio Shack this morning and they said they hadn't even heard of the Photon lolz. So has anyone heard anything about when we can pre-order?
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I called the local sprint store, they just got training on them yesterday, and confirmed the release date, but they did not have any info on when and if you can pre-order them. They said that it would probably be a week before they knew more.
Now, I have to decide between the EVO 3D and the Photon. Things where so much easier when there was no real competition. Either way it will be a bit of an upgrade from my LG lotus
If you have done business with Sprint before they should have your email on file. Usually they will send you an eblast letting you know when their latest/greatest phone is available for pre-sale. At least they did that for the Evos. Also check their site and their facebook/twitter accts and you should get the info as soon as its released.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by amimemeami
I called the local sprint store, they just got training on them yesterday, and confirmed the release date, but they did not have any info on when and if you can pre-order them. They said that it would probably be a week before they knew more.
Now, I have to decide between the EVO 3D and the Photon. Things where so much easier when there was no real competition. Either way it will be a bit of an upgrade from my LG lotus
Have you gone into the store to try the EVO 3D yet? I suggest you do that, prior to making a decision.
What you're getting with the Photon 4G is pretty straight forward because some of the bells and whistles are already on other phones. Main thing you'd have to decide on is form factor and if the 3D is too much new tech to pass up for you.
I personally hated the 3D when I tried it. As much as I've been a diehard HTC fan for so many years, I've decided to go with the Photon because it is geared towards business.
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I'm definitely looking forward to getting the Photon. I'm tempted on ordering early, Thursday the 28th thru Sprint (Premier Gold Member) but would hate the possibility of not getting it overnighted, thus having to wait till atleast the following Monday for delievery.
Do you think the Sprint Stores will have them ready for sale on Sunday the 31st?
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I agree as I'd always want to check a new phone out before getting (think evo3d), but my Evo 4G has been recommisioned to someone else so using my old Treo Pro until this new comes out. Plus I figure if I didn't like the Photon for some crazy reason, I have the 30 day guarantee from Sprint I can fall back on and look into a different new one.
Last edited by vegasr; July 14th, 2011 at 11:39 AM.
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Originally Posted by burgertime
Wow, I hate when they run the promotions that pull in the new customers instead of taking of the current ones.
The wirefly upgrade deal is still good at 179. Only reason I'm not planning on that right now is because I'd get a good amount of rewards points from best buy and I'm a silver member now, so that means I can hold the points until I'm ready to use then.
I have the EVO 3D and I am considering returning it to get the Photon. Main reasons being the camera (2D) sucks on the EVO 3D, not really interested in the 3D part of the phone, screen is just OK on the EVO 3D and the speaker on it totally sucks. Anyone know if the screen or speakerphone is any better on the Photon? Camera is 8MP so I assume it's better than the EVO's. Plus the Photon has an active kickstand which I like and 16 GB of storage. Anyone know how teh Tegra 2 pairs up against the EVO's processor?
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Originally Posted by mwarez
I have the EVO 3D and I am considering returning it to get the Photon. Main reasons being the camera (2D) sucks on the EVO 3D, not really interested in the 3D part of the phone, screen is just OK on the EVO 3D and the speaker on it totally sucks. Anyone know if the screen or speakerphone is any better on the Photon? Camera is 8MP so I assume it's better than the EVO's. Plus the Photon has an active kickstand which I like and 16 GB of storage. Anyone know how teh Tegra 2 pairs up against the EVO's processor?
From what I've heard, since it's built to attract business consumers, the speakerphone is exceptionally good. I'm not sure about the camera, but if it's on par with my EVO 4G, I'll be happy and there have been a lot of people that complained about the EVO 4G camera.
If we're talking about the 3VO, then I've heard playback on the 3VO is better w/ the 1.2ghz dual-core snapdragon. If we're talking about the EVO 4G playback, I can't see any reason why the Tegra 2 wouldn't blow the single core snapdragon out of the water.
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While there are quite a few places stating lower prices for the Photon 4G, most are geared toward the new line customer. For existing customers wanting to upgrade, usually there is no other recourse than to haggle with the CSR.
But being that existing customers will most likely not use the older phone (since you are getting the new one to replace it), you can probably lower the cost of the new phone by trading in your previous one.
I wrote a review on trade in programs (shown below) and although it's written last year when I was upgrading to the EVO 4G, it still stand true today. I would suggest reading it and looking into the programs and who knows you may get a very sweet discount for your new Photon 4G.
Edit: Just realized that with the Walmart trade in the Walmart Price of $247 goes down to $146 woohoo
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Last edited by twospirits; July 14th, 2011 at 06:44 PM.
I have the EVO 3D and I am considering returning it to get the Photon. Main reasons being the camera (2D) sucks on the EVO 3D, not really interested in the 3D part of the phone, screen is just OK on the EVO 3D and the speaker on it totally sucks. Anyone know if the screen or speakerphone is any better on the Photon? Camera is 8MP so I assume it's better than the EVO's. Plus the Photon has an active kickstand which I like and 16 GB of storage. Anyone know how teh Tegra 2 pairs up against the EVO's processor?
Hows your call quality?
mine is horrible, which is why I a considering the photon 4g
I have the EVO 3D and I am considering returning it to get the Photon. Main reasons being the camera (2D) sucks on the EVO 3D, not really interested in the 3D part of the phone, screen is just OK on the EVO 3D and the speaker on it totally sucks. Anyone know if the screen or speakerphone is any better on the Photon? Camera is 8MP so I assume it's better than the EVO's. Plus the Photon has an active kickstand which I like and 16 GB of storage. Anyone know how teh Tegra 2 pairs up against the EVO's processor?
Tegra2 and dualcore Snapdragon match up pretty well. I don't think theres one that clearly better than the other. The positive for the Tegra2 is that a lot more games are optimized for it. So if gaming is your thing, it's definitely an advantage.
Wirefly has a discount too but I had a bad experience with them before.
I was on the verge of doing a pre-order through Amazon, but you can't pay with American Express points. Damn. Plus, for some reason, you have to add a new plan, even though you're upgrading. It's odd.
Tegra2 and dualcore Snapdragon match up pretty well. I don't think theres one that clearly better than the other. The positive for the Tegra2 is that a lot more games are optimized for it. So if gaming is your thing, it's definitely an advantage.
I did an little write up in another thread but I have researched it further. The Tegra 2 is a nice processor but it is at the end of it's life cycle and is clearly over matched by the new snapdragons. Even games that run on Tegra are now shown to run even better on the dragons. There are reports out now stating the chips in the 3vo are under clocked for power saving reasons.
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Originally Posted by Rico college
I did an little write up in another thread but I have researched it further. The Tegra 2 is a nice processor but it is at the end of it's life cycle and is clearly over matched by the new snapdragons. Even games that run on Tegra are now shown to run even better on the dragons. There are reports out now stating the chips in the 3vo are under clocked for power saving reasons.
That being said, it is no slouch either.
Here's my thing though. Even though the 3VO is being shown as underclocked, if we're talking straight out of the box, how does the Tegra 2 match up.
From what I've seen, it's pretty even, right? Granted, a lot of the people on the forums root their phones, but I haven't even rooted my EVO after 1 year and it was fast enough for me, even when it was dragging due to some cache issues I wasn't aware of until I hard reset my phone.
If the Tegra 2 works faster than my EVO 4G out of the box, that's all that I need.
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Originally Posted by Godfather13
Can someone explain to me what underclocked and overclocked means in laymans terms?
So if the processor speed is at 1GHz, underclocking it would mean changing it to run at say 800MHz and overclocking it would mean changing it to run at say 1.2GHz.
Underclocking would allow it to not use as much power and use less battery, thus u would having longer battery usage before needing to charge it but slowing things down a bit. Overclocking would make it run faster, more pep to it but use more power and run a bit hotter, thus using more battery and such.
You try and find a good balance between the speed and battery life and keep the heat in mind too. For most users, the stock settings are more than adequate.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rico college
I did an little write up in another thread but I have researched it further. The Tegra 2 is a nice processor but it is at the end of it's life cycle and is clearly over matched by the new snapdragons. Even games that run on Tegra are now shown to run even better on the dragons. There are reports out now stating the chips in the 3vo are under clocked for power saving reasons.
Last couple of reports Ive read says it has a locked bootloader.
How horrible is having a locked bootloader? It only means I cant delete the motorola apps that are pre-installed correct? So the benefit is bascially creating more memory by deleting? Is that a deal breaker for a phone with so much possible memory?
If it was unlocked could they be deleted right off the bat or only deleted if rooted?
How horrible is having a locked bootloader? It only means I cant delete the motorola apps that are pre-installed correct? So the benefit is bascially creating more memory by deleting? Is that a deal breaker for a phone with so much possible memory?
If it was unlocked could they be deleted right off the bat or only deleted if rooted?
I'm not entirely sur but I don't think you can load custom roms and I know custom kernels are out of the question. As long as the system is stable with minimal to no lag I wouldn't have a problem. Now if it's like my EVO and sense constantly crashing and causing problems then I would have serious issues and want to load custom roms.
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Originally Posted by busted bones
I'm not entirely sur but I don't think you can load custom roms and I know custom kernels are out of the question. As long as the system is stable with minimal to no lag I wouldn't have a problem. Now if it's like my EVO and sense constantly crashing and causing problems then I would have serious issues and want to load custom roms.
Non-issue for me. Using launcher pro plus and not being rooted has worked just fine for me.
Getting back to preorders, does anybody work at best buy or know someone at best buy that can share when or if they'll be doing a preorder?
I asked their "Twelpforce" (I think that's what it's called...)
They said they did not know & just to keep checking the web & the store. I've been checking their website every day & nothing so far.
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Originally Posted by Whiskeypawz
I asked their "Twelpforce" (I think that's what it's called...)
They said they did not know & just to keep checking the web & the store. I've been checking their website every day & nothing so far.
I went into one of the nearby stores yesterday to see if they're taking pre-orders and the guy said they most likely will, but don't usually start pre-orders until 2 weeks before release. I didn't even realize that yesterday actually marked 2 weeks prior to release, so I'm wondering if a pre-order will be announced sometime within the next couple days for Best Buy.
Right now, I'm hedging between the Wirefly friends & family and Best Buy. Only reason I'm still hedging towards Best Buy is because of the rewards points I'll get from it.
I went into one of the nearby stores yesterday to see if they're taking pre-orders and the guy said they most likely will, but don't usually start pre-orders until 2 weeks before release. I didn't even realize that yesterday actually marked 2 weeks prior to release, so I'm wondering if a pre-order will be announced sometime within the next couple days for Best Buy.
Right now, I'm hedging between the Wirefly friends & family and Best Buy. Only reason I'm still hedging towards Best Buy is because of the rewards points I'll get from it.
Hopefully we'll see it soon. When I looked this morning it wasn't even on Best Buy's website. My only choice is Best Buy bec of the Buy Back Program. I'm not familiar with Wirefly, this thread was the first I've heard of it. I don't have any discounts available to me yet, as I've had the Evo less than 6 mos. If it wasn't for the fact that GB turned it into a piece of... I wouldn't be in such a hurry to upgrade.
Can't believe there is no info on when we can start pre-ordering through BB or RS. I just realized when the phone is released I'll be out of town in Vegas on a business trip! D'oh!
I have read elsewhere that they are promising a software update to unlock it in the future, but as this will be my first Android phone, I am still not 100% certain what all having an unlocked boot loader will allow you to accomplish, but I know I want one
I have read elsewhere that they are promising a software update to unlock it in the future, but as this will be my first Android phone, I am still not 100% certain what all having an unlocked boot loader will allow you to accomplish, but I know I want one
If it's going to be your first android phone, why are you worried about a locked bootloader? It's still a possibility they'll unlock afterwards via ota update.
If it's going to be your first android phone, why are you worried about a locked bootloader? It's still a possibility they'll unlock afterwards via ota update.
I am a geek, it is no fun unless you can take it apart and play with the insides. At least at a software level. Although I am no stranger to a soldering iron, and destroying those tiny little traces on accident...
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Originally Posted by amimemeami
I am a geek, it is no fun unless you can take it apart and play with the insides. At least at a software level. Although I am no stranger to a soldering iron, and destroying those tiny little traces on accident...
LOL...Okay. If that's the case, you may just want to hold out until it's confirmed that the bootloader will be unlocked via OTA update. If you're intention is to root the phone and get it extremely customized, then it may not be ideal for you to get the phone right out the gate.
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FYI - For those of you still unsure of where to upgrade, I just found out that Amazon doesn't charge tax on upgrades! They've entered back into the mix for me. I'm really just waiting to see when Best Buy offers pre-order and then I'll make my decision from there. No tax is a really good deal, especially in CA where they charge tax on the retail price, not the upgrade price.
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FYI - For those of you still unsure of where to upgrade, I just found out that Amazon doesn't charge tax on upgrades! They've entered back into the mix for me. I'm really just waiting to see when Best Buy offers pre-order and then I'll make my decision from there. No tax is a really good deal, especially in CA where they charge tax on the retail price, not the upgrade price.
Hmm. Well since Im a Sprint Premier Member Ill prob pre-order from them so I get the phone Thursday July 28th. If for some reason thats not the case Ill look into the wirefly deal since I plan to upgrade my plan as well. However with Sprint online you dont pay for activation I think and other places like Best Buy I believe you do. Thats a $30 savings in itself.
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Well being that I have 4 devices on my account, one of which is out of contract, I can use that one to upgrade to the Photon. Now I just have to decide on where and whom to do it with. Thursday is payday too so woo hoo, perfect timing.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Godfather13
Hmm. Well since Im a Sprint Premier Member Ill prob pre-order from them so I get the phone Thursday July 28th. If for some reason thats not the case Ill look into the wirefly deal since I plan to upgrade my plan as well. However with Sprint online you dont pay for activation I think and other places like Best Buy I believe you do. Thats a $30 savings in itself.
Nope, any gold premier member doesn't have to pay activation. In fact, the past 4 upgrades, 2 of 4 on secondary lines, I haven't paid activation fees. All Best Buy mobile upgrades.
Even better, they're SO much more accommodating than Sprint as far as returns and exchanges are concerned. My first 2 EVO's I had to exchange because of issues (1-screen not responsive to touch motion, 2-bricked due to double froyo update release), and there were no questions asked when I went into exchange. The 3rd one was great, but I only got that one because they happened to have an extra the day I called (even though it was sold out everywhere) and then they let me exchange for a white one when that one was released (a week or so after my 30 days from original purchase expired).
Nontheless, I've had great experiences with best buy mobile.
Last edited by drexappeal; July 19th, 2011 at 09:48 PM.
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Just got off the phone with Best Buy mobile and they still don't have a pre-order going. They guy I spoke with said, it's not even in their system yet, so I guess they're not anticipating that many orders. That said, it worries me a little that they'll be shipped limited stock. This is making me lean towards Wirefly or Amazon pre-order upgrade. If Best Buy doesn't have a pre-order by Sunday, I'm definitely doing either Wirefly or Amazon.
Just got off the phone with Best Buy mobile and they still don't have a pre-order going. They guy I spoke with said, it's not even in their system yet, so I guess they're not anticipating that many orders. That said, it worries me a little that they'll be shipped limited stock. This is making me lean towards Wirefly or Amazon pre-order upgrade. If Best Buy doesn't have a pre-order by Sunday, I'm definitely doing either Wirefly or Amazon.
but do you get the phone earlier then Sunday by pre-ordering thru BB or amazon? Or is that only a Sprint thing?
Sprint and Motorola have teamed up to bring us the Motorola Photon 4G, the carrier's first international handset with Android. It's a 4.3 inch powerhouse with its dual-core Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and more.
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The Photon 4G Pre-Order Info Thread
Available for pre-order right now :O
