Release date is July 31st

[DroidBabe]

Does anyone know the release date for this phone? I'm thinking sometime in July.

 

[drexappeal]

Does anyone know the release date for this phone? I'm thinking sometime in July.

Only rumor I've seen that actually tabbed a specific month was saying July...but I think that was based on all the initial speculation (prior to yesterday's luncheon event).

The Galaxy S 2 (Within) was rumored to be a July release and if that end up happening, I can see the Photon being pushed back to August.

Either way, the Photon 4G is the front runner in terms of which device I'll be upgrading to from my EVO. I still really like my EVO a lot and don't really have a need to upgrade, but the Photon's specs add things that I wanted on the original EVO (while still keeping the same things that I've used on the EVO for the past year).

The only thing that HTC has that I use a lot is the FriendStream app, but I've seen that there are a ton of different alternatives that'll have the same functions. Do you know (or does anybody else know) if Motorola has a similar app? All it does is link the news feed for Twitter and Facebook.

I've never really liked MotoBlur much, but my only viewpoint on the UI has been a Tmobile Cliq, so I'll likely still be using LPP as my launcher.

 

[twospirits]

Same here about the Motoblur comments and Sense. Don't like MotorBlur and I like Sense. And although one can probably find HTC Sense like replacements, none compare to the originals.

In one of the announcements about the bootloader it was mentioned that due to time constraints, the phone would be locked, so that tells me that we just may see the phone out by the end of July/August. This coincides with the annual June/July/Aug distribution of new sprint phones. (usually its HTC)

As for price, me thinks that it will be priced too high, knowing how Motorola botch their tablet prices being greedy and all. Probably around $399 or more.
With discounts/rebates etc it may drop to $299.00 but i doubt it will go lower with all the features this thing has. But i hope i am wrong and they sell it for much less. I really like the features (minus the bootloader and the Motorblur) and wouldn't mind jumping ship from HTC to Motorola, but I still have a month or two before finally deciding what to do.

TS

 

[drewsg]

World phones don't come too cheap.. you're right, it'll probably be around 249-299

 

[momoceio]

I can't upgrade until Oct 1 so hopefully the SGII and Photon are out by then so I can compare the 3 new power phones from Sprint.

 

[drexappeal]

I can't upgrade until Oct 1 so hopefully the SGII and Photon are out by then so I can compare the 3 new power phones from Sprint.

I can't imagine they'd wouldn't be released by then, so I think you'll have a good opportunity to compare the three (3).

Who knows, they may have even more lined up for Fall.

 

[drexappeal]

Same here about the Motoblur comments and Sense. Don't like MotorBlur and I like Sense. And although one can probably find HTC Sense like replacements, none compare to the originals.

In one of the announcements about the bootloader it was mentioned that due to time constraints, the phone would be locked, so that tells me that we just may see the phone out by the end of July/August. This coincides with the annual June/July/Aug distribution of new sprint phones. (usually its HTC)

As for price, me thinks that it will be priced too high, knowing how Motorola botch their tablet prices being greedy and all. Probably around $399 or more.
With discounts/rebates etc it may drop to $299.00 but i doubt it will go lower with all the features this thing has. But i hope i am wrong and they sell it for much less. I really like the features (minus the bootloader and the Motorblur) and wouldn't mind jumping ship from HTC to Motorola, but I still have a month or two before finally deciding what to do.

TS

I actually wouldn't mind if it were $299 after rebates. That's as much as I paid for my HTC Mogul back in the day!

 

[Androidalltheway]

I am guessing it will release end of July or early August

 

[twospirits]

World phones don't come too cheap.. you're right, it'll probably be around 249-299

I actually wouldn't mind if it were $299 after rebates. That's as much as I paid for my HTC Mogul back in the day!

Well Currently the Sprint phones that offer Worldmode (850/1900 CDMA and 900/1800 GSM) and Advance worldmode on the Sprint Network are...


As you can see from the image (click on it to open the spreadsheet if you want to sort), I predict the Photon will be $299 but looking how the HTC Pro 2 came out at $349.99 and the Photon has better features it might be priced even higher.

TS

 

[drexappeal]

Well Currently the Sprint phones that offer Worldmode (850/1900 CDMA and 900/1800 GSM) and Advance worldmode on the Sprint Network are...


As you can see from the image (click on it to open the spreadsheet if you want to sort), I predict the Photon will be $299 but looking how the HTC Pro 2 came out at $349.99 and the Photon has better features it might be priced even higher.

TS

Thanks,TS. I guess all we can do is hope for the best, expect the worst.

 

[Slash Overkill]

Hi there, Interested in upgrading from my Evo4g to possibly the Photon, and was wondering if someone could shed some light on a question.

At my current location all sprint phones that I have owned have horrible reception (Unusable). From what I've read the Photon will be a dual mode GSM/CDMA phone. Verizon phones however have much better reception here. Would this mean that with the Photon I could use GSM at home and have better reception?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can clear me up on this.

 

[drexappeal]

Hi there, Interested in upgrading from my Evo4g to possibly the Photon, and was wondering if someone could shed some light on a question.

At my current location all sprint phones that I have owned have horrible reception (Unusable). From what I've read the Photon will be a dual mode GSM/CDMA phone. Verizon phones however have much better reception here. Would this mean that with the Photon I could use GSM at home and have better reception?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can clear me up on this.

The GSM is for out of the country use, from what I understand. And for that matter, even if you were to link it to a GSM service, I'd assume you'd have to do so through T-Mobile or AT&T...and as far as I know, they don't have pre-paid SIM cards like over seas, so I doubt that it's possible. I could be completely wrong, but that's my estimation based on what I've read.

 

[twospirits]

The GSM is for out of the country use, from what I understand. And for that matter, even if you were to link it to a GSM service, I'd assume you'd have to do so through T-Mobile or AT&T...and as far as I know, they don't have pre-paid SIM cards like over seas, so I doubt that it's possible. I could be completely wrong, but that's my estimation based on what I've read.

I cannot say if the Photon 4G is going to have an unlocked Sim card slot, since no one has yet to dissect it, most of the phones I listed above allow for pre-paid sims besides the default one.

Yet, in the reviews for the HTC Touch Pro 2, there is no mention if it allows for pre-paid sim cards.

The phones stay connected to CDMA here in the states, once overseas they go into gsm mode. Its my understanding if you stay with the default sprint issued sim card you will be hit with international roaming charges. I'm hoping that the Photon 4G allows for unlocked sims so that one can get a sim card at the airport and not have to deal with Sprint international charges.

TS

 

[drexappeal]

I cannot say if the Photon 4G is going to have an unlocked Sim card slot, since no one has yet to dissect it, most of the phones I listed above allow for pre-paid sims besides the default one.

Yet, in the reviews for the HTC Touch Pro 2, there is no mention if it allows for pre-paid sim cards.

The phones stay connected to CDMA here in the states, once overseas they go into gsm mode. Its my understanding if you stay with the default sprint issued sim card you will be hit with international roaming charges. I'm hoping that the Photon 4G allows for unlocked sims so that one can get a sim card at the airport and not have to deal with Sprint international charges.

TS

I SO hope that it allows for unlocked sims to be used, otherwise the "world" part would be a little disappointing for me. I have family in the UK and the Philippines, so those are two locations alone that I'd benefit from being able to use pre-paid sim cards. Not that I'm completely opposed to paying the Sprint international charges, but it would definitely be cheaper to be able to use a pre-paid sim.

 

[Orion]

This phone looks like its going to be a winner. But my upgrade is on 2012. The waiting game is awesome.

 

[twospirits]

If your upgrade is in 2012, then I assume you are in the middle of your 2 year contract which means that you should be able to have the $75 dollar upgrade option at your disposal.

If so, then this "Slick Deals" dealmight work out for you. Although the deal states for EVO 3D, i am sure it can work for the Photon 4G when it comes out.

This topic might be of interest as well.
Sprint Premier "Silver" Customers: Get your last one year upgrade from Sprint.


TS

 

[Orion]

I'm aware of that. I just like to have the option to wait this thing out. I want to save my upgrade later this year or ultimately 2012. I'm already hearing about GS3 or more likely I want to get next years EVO.

 

[viber]

I say it drops in August, a month or so before Sprint's iPhone 4S if rumors hold true.

I need to get a closer look at this new version of Motorblur, because in the vids it doesn't look all that intrusive or laggy like the version featured on the Atrix. It looks really lean in fact.

If it delivers, I would consider replacing my Nexus S 4G with a Photon for the ability to travel with it. A lot can happen in the next 10 weeks though, so we'll see.

 

[drexappeal]

I say it drops in August, a month or so before Sprint's iPhone 4S if rumors hold true.

I need to get a closer look at this new version of Motorblur, because in the vids it doesn't look all that intrusive or laggy like the version featured on the Atrix. It looks really lean in fact.

If it delivers, I would consider replacing my Nexus S 4G with a Photon for the ability to travel with it. A lot can happen in the next 10 weeks though, so we'll see.

I think it all depends on the SGS 2 release. If the SGS 2 release is confirmed for July, then it'll be August. If the SGS 2 release is confirmed for August, then it'll be July. My money is on July because the SGS 2 hasn't "formally" been introduced as a Sprint phone yet, while the Photon has. Even though the SGS 2 has been announced over seas, it just hasn't had that formal introduction for Sprint.

As for Motoblur, I've actually completely ignored the reviews of the stock UI because I'll either be using LPP or Go Launcher. With all the internal storage the phone has, I won't worry about running out of memory due to lack of storage space (like I've been experiencing lately on my EVO).

 

[drexappeal]

Motorola Photon 4G Review And Full Phone Specifications | Reviews On Gadgets

September release? I hope it's not that long. That's bad timing for me...hahaha.

 

[viber]

Motorola Photon 4G Review And Full Phone Specifications | Reviews On Gadgets

September release? I hope it's not that long. That's bad timing for me...hahaha.

I wouldn't expect anything new to other than the Evo3D to drop win the next 45 days or so.

I don't really care about the Galaxy S2, but I am looking forward to the Photon.

 

[Ronnie]

Let's think about that sept release date for a minute here ......why would sprint even announce the phone and then wait for 3 months to release it ??? By sept who knows what kinda stuff will be out. The screen quality and tegra 2 could be old news by then. Really doesn't make much sense to me. It has to be earlier then that. Just my .02 .

 

[twospirits]

much like what they did with the EVO 4G when it was announced in Dec 2010 and didn't come out till June of that year. see source.

TS

 

[JinCA]

much like what they did with the EVO 4G when it was announced in Dec 2010 and didn't come out till June of that year. see source.

TS

That date is incorrect on that article, the Evo wasn't announced until March 23, 2010 although it was speculated on for months before it was announced. I remember I was paying very close attention because I had an instinct and couldn't stand it lol. A lot of people were upset that it wasn't announced at MWC but sprint always waits for CTIA to show off their "high end" phone (although now they finally will have more than 1 a year)

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HTC EVO 4G announced: The biggest, the baddest smartphone ever | MobileTechWorld

HTC EVO 4G Announced for Sprint - Tested

HTC EVO 4G Announced by Sprint, Handled at CTIA Wireless 2010 (Video) | GSM Dome - Mobile Phone News

 

[drexappeal]

That date is incorrect on that article, the Evo wasn't announced until March 23, 2010 although it was speculated on for months before it was announced. I remember I was paying very close attention because I had an instinct and couldn't stand it lol. A lot of people were upset that it wasn't announced at MWC but sprint always waits for CTIA to show off their "high end" phone (although now they finally will have more than 1 a year)

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HTC EVO 4G announced: The biggest, the baddest smartphone ever | MobileTechWorld

HTC EVO 4G Announced for Sprint - Tested

HTC EVO 4G Announced by Sprint, Handled at CTIA Wireless 2010 (Video) | GSM Dome - Mobile Phone News

Yeah, I remember the supersonic being rumored early and pics were shown, but no official information until it was officially announced at ctia. Then, at google io, people were given the early production model, prior to the official release date being announced.

Nonetheless, I'm anticipating mid-August, but any earlier would be awesome. I think it also depends on the sgs2 release as well.